Dance's rhythmic music, personal expression, choreography and pulse-pounding motion offers varied fitness options. Choices includes aerobic dance, fitness belly dance, pole dancing and Zumba -- fitness dance featuring Latin and other upbeat music and cardiovascular interval training for a high-powered, fat-burning workout. Dance fitness offers calorie burning for weight loss at all fitness levels, with different styles of music and moves. Consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program, particularly if you're out of shape, obese, over 35 or have a family history of heart attack or stroke.
Advantages
For many dance fitness classes, you require only clothes that you can move in, such as a leotard and tights or a T-shirt and sweatpants. DVDs or videos allow you to learn and practice dance fitness at home. This provides a comfortable option for people with limited time or anyone who feels self-conscious about exercising in groups. The variety of music and movement in fitness dance reduces the risk of boredom and makes for enjoyable exercise -- increasing the odds that you'll stick with your exercise plans and lose weight.
Burning Calories
Based on 150-lb. person, ballroom dancing burns 210 calories per hour and aerobic dancing burns 510 calories per hour, notes the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. A high-intensity interval workout such as Zumba can burn even more calories per hour. Ka 'Ohana Newspaper from the University of Hawaii and Windward Community College estimates as much as 1,000 calories per hour. If you're a beginner, 20 to 30 minutes of fitness dance may be challenging for you. As you lose weight, you'll be able to exercise longer and burn more calories.
Benefits
As a weight-bearing exercise, dance fitness promotes bone health in addition to heart health, increased lung capacity, balance, flexibility, strength, muscle tone and exercise endurance. Because you're moving the weight of your body as you dance, dance fitness helps you to maintain bone mass -- a key strategy for reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Because carrying more weight causes your muscles to work harder, the heavier you are, the more calories you burn during fitness dance.
Tips
Making fitness dance a regular part of your life increases the number of calories you burn and ensures that you'll lose weight -- provided you don't increase your calorie consumption. Reducing calories combined with exercise offers the most efficient means to lose weight. Cutting calories without reducing the nutrients you need requires avoiding empty calories. Empty calories include processed snack foods, candy, alcohol and sweetened beverages.
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