Archive: March 2008

Get Your Groove On and Shimmy off the Pounds

by Lisa Marie Metzler

Former couch potatoes are doing it. Seasoned gym rats are doing it. People with two left feet are doing it. Dancing is making a comeback, but not just for social reasons. Men and women alike are dancing for fitness because it’s a fun way to exercise. Dancing burns calories, improves circulation, tones muscles and releases the positive feel-good endorphins that improve our mood.

No doubt TV shows like “Dancing with the Stars” awakened our twinkle toes and prompted us to think about dancing again. While some signed up for dance as an enrichment class, others were looking for another alternative to the gym. “Over half of our students now use dance as their regular exercise program,” says Evan Mountain, owner of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Cha Cha to Fitness
If you’re looking for a dance that’s going to give you a total body workout, try one of the Latin varieties. “Salsa and Latin dances are very hot right now,” says Mountain. Elizabeth Anderson, director of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Norwood, Mass. says the Latin based cardio program is the hot ticket for their studio, too. “The class incorporates dances such as Merengue, Samba, Cha Cha and Salsa. The students are led through a series of exercises that gently warm up their bodies, begin to raise their heart rate and get them working in their target zone where they burn calories and fat, then we take them back gently lowering the pulse, cooling the body and stretching the major muscle groups,” says Norwod.

Latin dance seems to be the craze nationwide. Latin-based dance DVD’s are abundant on the shelves, too. Jaana

Kunitz, fitness instructor and co-creater of Core Rhythms, a Latin dance workout DVD set says, “Latin dancing is easy and fun and a very effective cardio and toning workout at the same time. It doesn’t require too much coordination of your arms along with your steps.” Kunitz says, depending on the dance, you can burn between 200-500 calories per hour.

Get Your Groove On
If you’re looking for a dance that provides a full cardio and toning workout, Latin dance has several moves to target specific areas. “Samba tones and tightens your upper arms, middle and lower abs. Paso slenderizes the butt, thighs and arms and Merengue, Salsa, Rumba and Cha Cha works your obliques,” says Kunitz.

Zumba is another fun way to get in some interval training. This aerobic/fitness training has a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body.

Mountain says the Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango are effective for toning the whole body because of their sweeping movements across the floor. “You could liken it to long distance running,” says Mountain. Any dance that incorporates aerobic and resistant training can easily be substituted for a traditional workout at the gym.

Tired of hoping on the treadmill to log in your cardio? Try a heart pumping dance like Swing, Samba, Salsa or Merengue. “The beats per minute range from 35-65,” says Mountain. To complete the workout hit the weights for strength training and you’ve got a new routine.

My Two Left Feet
Dancing always looks easy when you watch someone else do it but when it’s your turn to hit the floor you have two left feet. No worries. “I always tell students that we have a closet full of right feet to match their left feet,” says Mountain. “The reality is that dancing is a continuation of walking.” Mountain says we just need to learn some of the basics, like moving forward and backward, rock steps and box steps and then the basic steps of the different styles of dance.

So, if you’re new to exercise or just looking for a fun alternative to break up your normal workout routine, try dancing. You’ll get all the benefits that a traditional workout yields, plus you’ll gain better posture, project a more graceful stride and have an outlet for your creativity. Whether it’s in the privacy of your own living room or in a class, you’re likely to shimmy and shake unwanted pounds and not even feel like you’re exercising!