Does Tae Bo Burn More Calories Than Hip Hop Dancing?

When you're choosing an exercise, how many calories it burns can be an important factor -- especially if weight loss is one of your primary purposes for taking on an exercise program. With similar workouts like tae bo or hip hop dancing, this comparison can function as a "tie breaker" when other factors all seem equal.

Calorie Basics

A calorie is a unit used to measure energy, the way a mile is a unit used to measure distance and a pint is a unit used to measure volume. One calorie equals the amount of energy it takes to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius. When nutritionists use the word "calorie," they mean what physicists call a "kilocalorie" -- enough energy to heat one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. It takes 3,500 of these calories to equal one pound of fat.

Tae Bo and Calories

Tae Bo, and similar cardio kickboxing workouts, can be found in health clubs and spas nationwide -- as well as in home DVDs for getting your sessions in alone. According to weight loss resource website HealthStatus.com, a 160 lb. person will burn between 450 and 500 calories in one hour of high-impact aerobics like Tae Bo. Heavier people will burn more calories. Lighter people will burn fewer.

Hip Hop Dance and Calories

Hip hop dance is the kind of energetic dancing you see on rap and R&B videos. It involves fast footwork, sinuous core exercise and an attention to fast rhythm. According to HealthStatus, a 160 lb. person will burn between 400 and 450 calories in one hour of hip hip dancing. This assumes she is dancing for the entire hour, rather than in a classroom setting divided between practice and instruction.

Bottom Line

Tae Bo classes burn marginally more calories than hip hop dance under similar circumstances. However, the margin is small enough that other factors -- such as enjoyment that leads you to take one exercise on with more vigor -- come into play. If you enjoy both activities equally, Tae Bo may help you burn more calories than hip hop. If you prefer hip hop, your greater engagement and likelihood you'll keep attending class makes it the better choice.