Dance As Exercise A Fun Way to Get Fit

Seeing the viewing figures of dance shows on TV, spending time and energy on the dance floor has become very popular. So, if you want to improve your health, dance as exercise might be the activity that we all needs to stick with the cardio workouts known to be so very good for your health.

Two recent studies, one out of Italy, the other conducted in the United Kingdom, suggest this might be the way to go, and both were presented at the most recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle.

The results of the Italian research found that salsa dancing improved aerobic fitness, while the UK work found that the less strenuous, but still fun, fox trot or tango added two thousand steps to our daily walking total.

Ten thousand steps, it is suggested by experts, are required daily for good health - But every little bit helps, specially as you get older.

The Italian researchers looked at lively salsa dancing, measuring the heart rate and oxygen levels in dancers who were doing the dance either during lessons, at a night club or doing a group dance known as the rueda de casino.

Eleven pairs of dancers were involved in the study, of an average age of 36 years old.

The maximum heart rate of the dancers went up 58-75% and their oxygen levels went up 41-56%, depending on where the subjects danced.

Dancing at the nightclub was the most aerobic of the three places, though all increased heart rate and oxygen levels.

Study author Gian Pietro Emerenziani, from the University of the Studies of Rome stated that Salsa is an energetic dance. All three types of salsa in the study, practiced regularly, will have a positive affect on fitness and health.

Also, a team of UK researchers conducted a study of the effects of dancing by offering a 12-week series of ballroom dancing lessons to a group of non-active adults.

The average age of the 27 subjects was 53; most, 22, were females. They attended lessons once a week for two hours, all led by a qualified instructor. The dances the subjects learned and performed included the tango, fox trot and cha-cha.

Learning to dance can be a fun, social, local and friendly way to enjoy low-intensity physical activity and skill learning, explains the author of the second of the two studies, Stephen Cobley who is a senior lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Dancing means you dont have to go to the gym or get all hot and sweaty to get the cardio benefit of a workout.

It helps strengthen bones and muscles without hurting joints, it tones your body, helps with posture and balance, improves your stamina and flexibility, reduces stress, wards off potential problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis and even depression.

As you move your feet, you want to keep an eye on your heart rate however, so that youre sure the dancing is intense enough.

Also don't take away the benefits of the dance session by consuming high calorie drinks or snacks.

However, before you just straight into it, be sure that you've had a word with you family doctor about what type of activity is right for you, especially if you have been inactive for some while.

There are many options, square dancing, swing dancing, line dancing, folk dancing, ballroom dancing, belly dancing, salsa, flamenco, jazz, modern, clogging and contra - They can be great for your health, and your overall fitness , not to mention your social life.

Next - just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on using dance as exercise or dance as exercise as an alternative to other exercise, plus for alimited time get 5 free fantastic health reports.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Cardio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.