Dance moves have given a new dimension to the world of fat-loss techniques. These moves can be fun and effective. They tone your muscles and burn unwanted fat while you socialize at dance class or have some fun at home. There is a wide range of dance moves that can be adopted to drop unwanted pounds, relieve stress and add to your stamina and flexibility.
Latin Dances
Latin dances can help you drop extra pounds. Latin dances are often fast-paced cardio workouts and can include ballroom dances, folk dances and those dances that originated in Latin America. While dancing, you not only burn calories but also focus on your posture and your core muscles. In all kinds of Latin dances, you engage your obliques, thighs, hips, calves and lower back muscles. For example, one Zumba move involves your standing with your feet hip-width apart, bringing both of your arms to your left side and raising your right knee toward the left shoulder. This works the oblique muscles. This move not only stabilizes your body but also burns fat.
Dances Targeting the Midsection
Several dances work the muscles of the midsection. Dances such as the samba, belly dancing and core-rhythm dance are forms of cardiovascular exercise as well as core exercises and help tone the midsection because they involve a lot of twisting and movements of the torso and hips. These dances effectively tighten the midsection and burn unwanted body fat. For instance, in the samba, dancers must keep up with the rhythm of the music, all the while moving the hips and waist, which burns calories.
Calories Burned
Latin dancing is an effective way of burning calories. You can burn several hundred calories during an hour of dancing, depending on the dance and your weight. For example, a 150-pound person can burn about 540 calories during an hour-long Zumba class and 420 calories during a salsa class, according to the K-State Research and Extension website. You can burn up to 500 calories during a one-hour class of belly dancing and core rhythm dance.
Considerations
For beginners, get help from a trainer or buy an instructional DVD. Begin with a slow pace and small steps. Later, take your dance to a faster pace to match the music and combine the steps to make a proper sequence. In addition to your dance workouts, avoid empty calories and eat a low-calorie, healthful diet. Also, drink at least eight, 8-ounces glasses of water a day to stay hydrated.
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