Did you know that Ballroom Dancing
- Conditions the body
- Helps keep the heart in shape
- Builds and increases stamina
- Develops the circulatory system
- Strengthens and tones legs and body
- Increases flexibility and balance
- Helps with weight loss
- Relieves stress
- Builds endurance and stamina
- Helps with weight loss
- Relieves stress
- Helps you release toxins via sweating
- May help lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels
- Can lead to a reduced heart rate over time
Exercise to Develop a Flat Belly
Ballroom dancing is a reasonable way to develop a flat stomach. Because ballroom dancing increases the
number of calories burned, it helps to create a calorie deficit which forces the body to burn fat - including belly
fat.
Ballroom Dancing Burns Abdominal Fat
About 10 minutes of ballroom dancing burns about 33 calories. In one year, this daily fitness workout burns a
total of 12,045 calories per year - about 3.4 pounds of body fat. A significant proportion of this fat tissue is likely
to be stomach fat. In addition, many exercise routines improve abdominal muscle tone in the waistline area (the
"six-pack" effect) to give the appearance of a flat belly.
The Health Benefits of Dancing -- Including Specific Benefits of
Different Dances
by www.SixWise.com
If you secretly sashay across your living room when you're home alone or long to cha-cha with your significant
other, you're in luck. Not only is dancing an exceptional way to let loose and have fun, but it also provides some
terrific benefits for your health.
In fact, Mayo Clinic researchers reported that social dancing helps to:
Reduce stress
Increase energy
Improve strength
Increase muscle tone and coordination
Dancing the night away can burn more calories per hour than riding a bike or swimming.
And whether you like to kick up your heals to hip hop, classical or country, the National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) says that dancing can:
Lower your risk of coronary heart disease
Decrease blood pressure
Help you manage your weight
Strengthen the bones of your legs and hips
Dancing is a unique form of exercise because it provides the heart-healthy benefits of an aerobic exercise while
also allowing you to engage in a social activity. This is especially stimulating to the mind, and one 21-year study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine even found dancing can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's
disease and other forms of dementia in the elderly.
In the study, participants over the age of 75 who engaged in reading, dancing and playing musical instruments
and board games once a week had a 7 percent lower risk of dementia compared to those who did not. Those
who engaged in these activities at least 11 days a month had a 63 percent lower risk!
Interestingly, dancing was the only physical activity out of 11 in the study that was associated with a lower risk of
dementia. Said Joe Verghese, a neurologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a lead researcher of the
study, "This is perhaps because dance music engages the dancer's mind."
Verghese says dancing may be a triple benefit for the brain. Not only does the physical aspect of dancing
increase blood flow to the brain, but also the social aspect of the activity leads to less stress, depression and
loneliness. Further, dancing requires memorizing steps and working with a partner, both of which provide
mental challenges that are crucial for brain health.
How Good of a Workout is Dancing, Really?
The amount of benefit you get from dancing depends on, like most exercises, the type of dancing you're doing,
how strenuous it is, the duration and your skill level.
Says exercise physiologist Catherine Cram, MS, of Comprehensive Fitness Consulting in Middleton, Wisconsin,
"Once someone gets to the point where they're getting their heart rate up, they're actually getting a terrific
workout. Dance is a weight-bearing activity, which builds bones. It's also "wonderful" for your upper body and
strength."
Most people agree that social dancing gives them a more positive outlook on life.
Plus, dancing requires using muscles that you may not even know you had.
"If you're dancing the foxtrot, you're taking long, sweeping steps backwards. That's very different than walking
forward on a treadmill or taking a jog around the neighborhood ... Ballroom dancing works the backs of the
thighs and buttock muscles differently from many other types of exercise," says Ken Richards, professional
dancer and spokesman for USA Dance, the national governing body of DanceSport (competitive ballroom
dancing).
Specific Benefits of Different Dances
If you're looking for specific health results, here's a breakdown of the benefits of some popular dances. Just
remember that any type of dancing is better than no dancing at all!
Belly Dancing
Improved posture and muscle toning
Maintains flexibility
Helps prevent lower back problems
Tones and firms arms and shoulders
Helps with weight loss
Helps prepare women for childbirth
Reduces stress
Dancing Off Those Calories
How many calories will you burn while dancing? That depends on the type of dancing. Here's a range of some
of the most popular varieties, based on a 150-pound person, per hour:
Swing dancing: 235 calories/hour
Ballroom dancing: 265
Square dancing: 280
Ballet: 300
Belly dancing: 380
Salsa dancing: 420+
Aerobic dancing: 540+
Ballroom Dancing
Conditions the body
Helps keep the heart in shape
Builds and increases stamina
Develops the circulatory system
Strengthens and tones legs and body
Increases flexibility and balance
Helps with weight loss
Relieves stress
Builds endurance and stamina
Helps with weight loss
Relieves stress
Helps you release toxins via sweating
May help lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels
Can lead to a reduced heart rate over time
Square Dancing
Provides cardiovascular conditioning
May lead to a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure and an improved cholesterol profile
Strengthens bones
Helps you develop strong social ties
Loosens and tones muscles
Physical benefits aside, dancing has a way of brightening up a person's day, says ballroom owner and operator
Karen Tebeau.
"A lot of times, when people come into the studio, it's because there's been a change in their life: a divorce or
they've been through a period of depression. They (continue) coming in, and you see a big change. After a
while, they're walking in with a sunny expression. You know it's the dancing that's doing that," she says.
Ballroom dancing a good workout
September 5th, 2006 in Medicine & Health /
A Mexican study finds ballroom dancing can give as good an aerobic workout as more conventional forms of
exercise.
Dr. Hermes Ilarraza of the National Institute of Cardiology reported on his findings to the World Congress of
Cardiology in Barcelona, Spain, the Daily Mail said.
"The benefits of physical training in patients with heart disease is well established," he said. "However, exercise
compliance is often inadequate because patients find exercise boring. People like to dance so we thought it
would be an attractive option."
Ilarraza tracked a group of 40 heart disease patients. All the patients committed to doing half an hour of
exercise a day five days a week for five weeks, the Daily Mail said.
Half got their exercise from a dance routine choreographed by a professional dancer who also had heart
disease, while the others exercised on stationary bicycles.
Ilarraza found that the dance group's exercise capacity increased by 28 percent, almost as much as the 31
percent increase for the cycling group.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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