Dance yourself fit
| Published: 4th March 2008 15:18 |
Dance yourself fit
Most of us want to stay fit, but exercise can be dull. If you are not the type who likes to pump iron in the gym, sweat it out pounding the pavements or swim length after boring length in your local pool, how are you going to hone your figure the way you want it? By dancing, that's how.
One of the smartest ways to exercise, say sports psychologists, is to do it while also doing something you enjoy, such as dancing. You're not only more likely to do it for longer but more likely to do it more intensely. Singing and bopping along while your favourite performer's CD is on the player is one way of doing it. But better still is to enrol in a dance class.
Great for kicking those calories is the sexy salsa, the Latin dance craze that first hit Britain in the mid-70s.
It's a heady fusion of Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances performed to hot rhythms. Over the past few years it's become much more mainstream and hugely popular, with classes and salsa nights now widely available.
It's super-sociable and sexy and offers one hot workout. Generally, it's pretty energetic and involves lots of steps and turns so you'll get an aerobic workout doing it. How many calories you burn depends entirely on how long and how intensely you do it, as with any exercise.
To really see the fat-blasting effects though you need to do it non-stop for at least 20-30 minutes at a time, intensively and regularly, at least a few times a week.
Salsa specifically focuses on moving the hips from side to side and turning. Rotating the torso is something most people neglect in their workouts.
"Our bodies are designed to twist and turn," says Nick Hudson, head trainer at Holmes Place Academy. "These days we lead sedentary lifestyles, which means we don't work the muscles that rotate our spines enough, which can make us prone to injury. Salsa is a good way of gently waking these torso muscles up and helps to lightly tone your midriff as well as your legs."
If salsa doesn't sound like your thing, there are loads of other dance styles which you may find more appealing, each one working on your body in a different way but all brilliant at keeping you trim and healthy.
Tap is tipped to be the next big thing. It's energetic and exuberant fun. Belly dancing has soared in popularity lately as a glamorous way to exercise, plus you get to wear sexy outfits. Ballet is the latest keep fit craze of the stars, jazz is young and funky, while flamenco will allow you to stamp your feet in fiery passion.
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