Dancing is becoming a popular alternative to going to the gym. According to the NHS Choices website, just 10 minutes of aerobic dancing can burn up to 65 calories, helping you shed some of those unwanted pounds. Beginning a dancing program can, over time, lead to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which will improve your fitness level and heart health.
Belly Dancing
According to MayoClinic.com, belly dancing burns as many calories as walking, swimming or riding a bike. The key to getting the most out of your dancing, in terms of burning calories and losing weight, is to move continuously and mix up the types of movements and dance steps. If you are new to belly dancing, take classes with an instructor that teaches traveling steps, which keep you moving around the dance floor.
Ballet
Ballet is an intense dancing form that engages your thighs, hips, abs and back, according to the SheKnows website. The many distinct movements of ballet dancing increase flexibility by bending and stretching the arms and legs. Ballet, while not always a fast-paced dance, requires great concentration and balance as many of its postures and forms require being held in place for several counts. This often challenges muscles such as the abdominals and quadriceps to work harder than normal, burning a high number of calories.
Jazz & Hip-Hop
Quick-tempo jazz and hip-hop dance routines can burn up to 300 calories per hour, according to the SheKnows website. Hip-hop movements in particular incorporate many jumps and exaggerated twisting and bending movements that work the core and leg muscles. The fast rhythms often associated with jazz and hip-hop dictate the speed of the dance routine. This keeps your heart rate up, giving you an intense aerobic workout, which also builds fitness endurance.
Ballroom Dancing
Ballroom dancing works nearly all muscle groups of the body, improves balance and coordination, and can help build bone density, according to the SheKnows website. This style of dancing keeps you moving around on the dance floor almost non-stop, making it a great aerobic workout. Women traditionally wear high heels in ballroom dancing, which makes it even more challenging to complete movements. This forces women to use fast-twitch stabilizer muscles in their legs, helping burn more calories.
Salsa
Salsa dancing tends to place more focus on the core muscles than most other dance styles. Depending on the speed of the music and dance routine, salsa can burn hundreds of calories per hour. The movements in salsa require you to use your oblique muscles quite often, which can help tone and define your midsection. The constant rotating and shaking of many salsa dance moves also helps improve balance and core strength.
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