Dance as exercise

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girlviernes
girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I love dance. It is my main fitness activity, and it is wonderful for so many reasons. My main dance is swing dancing, although I’ve done salsa, hula, ballroom, and ballet in the past. You can try out different forms of dance, just google in your area (lindy hop, salsa, hula, ballroom, ballet, tap, line dancing, contra dancing, etc.)

Here are some reasons to get your groove on:

1. It’s a ton of fun
The more you enjoy your physical activity, the more likely it is to become integrated into your life and something you can sustain over the long term

2. It’s social
Particularly if you are doing a social dance like swing dancing or salsa, it is a great way to meet people. Taking dance class is a nice way to meet like-minded people. You usually don’t need a partner, as in class they will rotate people so you always have someone to dance with.

3. Great fitness
Dancing can be great workout. There is a lot of built in variety in tempo and movement. Swing dancing for me is a bit like doing intervals for an hour or more. Some songs are slow and easy, other times the pace is very fast and my heart rate gets up there! In the past six months of dancing regularly my resting heart rate has gone from above 90 to 50-70.

4. Gets you out of your comfort zone and thinking differently
Dance is so different that what we typically do, it really forces you to do differently. Since I’m a girl, I’m usually following, so it means getting out of my head and really paying attention and being guided by my lead. For leads there is a lot of planning moves to meet the music and also connecting to the partner and figuring out how the follow interprets things.

5. Creativity and musicality
These are good things you will develop through dance :)

I'll leave you with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9xxeWRxSbA

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Replies

  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I love dancing! I'm a contemporary dancers. And I also enjoy swing, salsa, African, and many other forms for recreation.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    Binary, very cool! African seems so fun :)
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,197 MFP Moderator
    edited January 2015
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    I love dancing - but probably look more like a flailing squid when I do it. There is a square dancing club around here somewhere, and I LOVE that... but my partners probably don't appreciate me stepping on their feet.... GREAT exercise though. I always work up a decent sweat when I do it.

    @JoRocka‌ !!! Let's Dance!

  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    I watched the whole thing. I was mesmerized!

    I wish I had rhythm.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    You can actually develop rhythm, although it does take time and effort!
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    girlviernes wrote: »
    You can actually develop rhythm, although it does take time and effort!

    You give me hope. <3
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    When I was a pre-teen I was a competition tap dancer. My shoes still fit and just today I thought maybe I should go to a tap class again. Thanks for reminding me.
  • streamgirl
    streamgirl Posts: 207 Member
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    Great post! Thanks for the inspiration and reminder that working out can also be play!
  • balletgirl77
    balletgirl77 Posts: 61 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Dancing accounts for most of my exercise too. On average I have 20 hours of ballet classes per week. It really is a great form of exercise because it builds cardiovascular and muscular endurance, not to mention that it's super enjoyable as well! I've had some people ask me what exercises I do at the gym or what sports I do in order to have such toned legs and I always say, "It's just from ballet!"
    Awesome post, thanks!
  • travisbirt
    travisbirt Posts: 2
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    We dance Ballroom a few times a week.. As well as Salsa, Swing etc.. It is a great form of exercise! We get to interact and have a good time together well getting some decent exercise!
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    I'm in total agreement!

    I do dance fitness--both hip hop and Zumba (freaky-intense Zumba...there is twerking).

    I also do all of the Latin partner dances with varying degrees of skill. These include salsa (Cuban rueda and casino, plus standard salsa), mambo, merengue, cha-cha-cha, bachata. I do Mexican cumbia too.

    When I grow up, I want to be a flamenca. See, I already have the hair accessories!
  • urbancoko
    urbancoko Posts: 2
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    I got back into dancing in March and I've lost 30 pounds with 20 to go although doc says my weight is fine. I may just get back to my college weight when I was a dancer. This is the only thing I've kept up with. I can get so focused with working out at the gym then 4 months in I lose all interest and the weight comes back. But with dance, I schedule 30 mins but I find myself still dancing an hour later.

    I have a hectic work schedule so I dance in my living room. I spent some time searching all over youtube for choreography that I like. I then put together about 10 videos as one work out; I have 6 so far. Each batch would include a warm up dance, increase intensity then a cool down. If you like the song and the choreography is great, you'll just loooooove it. E.g. I hated that Beyonce song; 7/11. But I saw a choreography on Youtube that has me addicted to the song. Even on a day like today when I'm sleep deprived, worked a long day without a lunch break, I got home so tired but I ended up putting in 40 minutes. It just makes my day brighter and shake off all that "work stress".
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    davis_em wrote: »
    I love dancing - but probably look more like a flailing squid when I do it. There is a square dancing club around here somewhere, and I LOVE that... but my partners probably don't appreciate me stepping on their feet.... GREAT exercise though. I always work up a decent sweat when I do it.

    @JoRocka‌ !!! Let's Dance!

    All the dancing! All the time!,!

    And yes. Outside of an actual neurological issue...balance and rhythm can be grossly improved with regular practice so to am those people saying 'I can't' you're wrong. You CAN... You just don't want to.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,566 Member
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    My DW lost 35lbs from just dancing and reducing her intake. She's now at 125lbs at 5'4" and still dancing ballroom (6 days a week 2 hours a day and competes as of last year).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • char_88
    char_88 Posts: 13 Member
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    I love dancing too, I'm always considering getting back into it as I miss it so much. Ballet was always my favourite and it's so effective for toning muscles.
  • megsterftw
    megsterftw Posts: 10 Member
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    I've just gotten back into Irish dance over the last few months, it's definitely an intense workout! But so much more fun than going to the gym XD
  • jjscholar
    jjscholar Posts: 413 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Believe it or not dance workouts or cardio dance can also alleviate certain heart conditions such as cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. I know this from my personal experience with Zumba and Hip Hop Fitness. Let me put it this way when I started cardio dance my heart's ejection fraction or efficiency rating was only 27-35 percent. I had undergone implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation surgery in order to prevent sudden cardiac death. My doctors were even telling me that I might have to have a heart transplant if things did not improve. As of the last time I had an echo-cardiogram which was December 2013 my heart's ejection fraction had gone up to 65 percent which is within the normal range. Also, my last ICD checkout indicated that my ICD device has not picked up an sort of heart rhythm anomaly. That reminds me I have another ICD check out appointment latter on today January 13, 2015. In addition, my resting heart rate now ranges from 58-72. While I know that my results are not typical, it can be said that I had made great progress. That was why I decided to take the Zumba Basic 1 Instructor Training course in May 2013. While I do not currently teach any Zumba classes of my own, I do demonstration routines in my friends' Zumba classes on a regular basis. I am still a member of the Zumba Instructor Network, and I had attended the 2014 Zumba Instructor Convention. I would say that the only drawback of doing dance workouts in my experience is that where I live it is not really socially acceptable especially with online dating sites. This is because many think that I am weak or that I do not like to date women which is absolutely wrong. But I do my best to ignore those people.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    Awesome, jj!! That is very inspiring!

    Good points, JoRocka, also balance is a great thing especially as you get older.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7MRI_Sn-NM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHWZdcZnVH0
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    davis_em wrote: »

    All the dancing! All the time!,!

    And yes. Outside of an actual neurological issue...balance and rhythm can be grossly improved with regular practice so to am those people saying 'I can't' you're wrong. You CAN... You just don't want to.

    I think that dancing is a real challenge for those who don't grow up doing it, but it certainly is something that can be improved with effort.

    I have a friend who became a Zumba instructor in his late 40s. He was a TERRIBLE dancer when he first started--really quite bad. He was very fit though and had great balance due to other active pastimes such as surfing. It took a couple of years, but he really became quite good. Now he travels the world doing Zumba events and giving master classes...in his 50s.

  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    I do pole fitness/dancing classes. Can I join the party?

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