You can use almost any kind of cardiovascular exercise to meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for aerobic exercise, which work out to about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per weekday. But if you enjoy moving to a beat, dancing can be an almost effortless way to keep fit and enjoy the health benefits of regular aerobic activity. These include a stronger immune system and prevention of obesity-related diseases like types 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and some types of cancer.
Advantages and Intensity
As long as you're not break-dancing or moshing, dance is a fairly low-impact and weight-bearing activity. This type of exercise helps build stronger bones in your spine, hips, legs and feet at the same time it conditions your cardiovascular system. Dancing to upbeat music that you like can also make the workout aspect of dancing seem easier than it actually is. Use the talk test to gauge whether you're meeting your goal of moderate-intensity cardio. If you're working out at the right intensity you should be able to carry on a normal conversation, but shouldn't be able to sing or do a monologue.
Goal Setting
Dancing for fitness can be a particularly interesting and challenging way of structuring workout time and setting goals, especially if you're not already one of the crowd that lives and breathes dance. Structure your exercise time around dancing nights out, dance classes or even purchase dance DVDs or music and groove your way around the house. Examples of both short- and long-term dance goals that will steer you toward fitness and preventing obesity-related diseases include completing a series of classes, learning a certain number of dance styles or preparing for a local competition.
Couples Dancing
Couples dancing is a particularly fun and social way of burning calories, but in order to use is as an efficient exercise tool, you either need to have a partner that wants to stay up and constantly dance as well, or be able to switch quickly from partner to partner so that you dance almost continuously. If this doesn't appeal or the social-dance crowd in your area is too small to make it work, you can either couples dance anyway with the rests in-between songs -- you'll still burn calories, just not as many -- or try line dancing, group dances like Irish set and ceili dancing or contra dancing, or just hit the club and shake your booty.
Privacy
One of the biggest hurdles to enjoying dancing in public is getting over the idea that everybody is watching you. That might be the case if you're the only one on the dance floor, but in general people won't pay as much attention as you might expect -- after all, most of them are there to dance, too. If you still can't bring yourself to dance in public, you can dance in the privacy of your own home or build confidence and a supportive circle of dance friends by taking a few group dance lessons.
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