Can You Lose A Lot Of Weight By Dancing?

You can lose a lot of weight by dancing because you can lose a lot of weight via any intense activity regardless of whether it's a formal exercise. The amount of weight you lose dancing depends primarily on your effort, which can be measured by your heart rate. You will likely lose more weight via dancing that requires a lot of movement than slow, romantic dancing.

Explanation

Some kinds of dancing are categorized as aerobic exercises. You are more likely to lose a lot of weight via aerobic exercises than with exercises like weight training, stretching and team sports. Aerobic exercises such as bicycling, jogging and swimming require a much higher heart rate than your resting heart rate, continuously for at least several minutes, because they require continuous movement. Nonaerobic exercises don't. You burn more calories when your heart rate is higher. Aerobic dancing is recommended as one of the best aerobic exercises by exercise experts such as Dr. Kenneth Cooper and Dianne Hales, author of the textbook, "An Invitation to Health."

Aerobic Dancing

Aerobic dancing combines music with bending, jumping and kicking. Hales recommends it for people who are interested in intense exercise that doesn't require skill or technique. Cooper recommends that people choosing aerobic dancing as their primary aerobic exercise dance 30 minutes three times per week and try to exercise intensely enough for their heart rate to beat 130 times per minute. Aerobic dancing burns 422 calories per hour in people who weigh 155 lbs., according to a study by the state of Wisconsin. Ballet dancing and the twist burn the same amount of calories. People burning 422 calories per hour will lose 1 lb. in slightly more than eight hours because 3,500 calories equals 1 lb. Consequently, aerobic, ballet and twist dancers can lose 13 lbs. per year if they dance two hours per week.

Fast Ballroom Dancing

Fast ballroom dancing burns almost as many calories as aerobic dancing, because it also requires continuous movement and a continuously higher heart rate than your resting heart rate. Fast ballroom dancing burns 387 calories per hour in people weighing 55 lbs., while 190-lb. people burn 474 calories per hour and 130-lb. people burn 325 calories per hour. People burning 387 calories per hour will lose 1 lb. in slightly more than nine hours and 11.5 lbs. per year dancing two hours weekly. Disco and square dancers lose about the same amount of weight as fast ballroom dancers, according to a "Harvard Heart Letter" report.

Slow Ballroom Dancing

Slow ballroom dancing burns far fewer calories than fast ballroom dancing -- 211 calories per hour in 155-lb. people, 259 calories per hour in 190-lb. people and 177 calories per hour in 130-lb. people. People burning 211 calories per hour will lose 1 lb. in about 16.5 hours and about 6 lbs. per year dancing two hours weekly. Foxtrot and waltz dancers lose about the same weight as slow ballroom dancers, reports the "Harvard Heart Letter."