If you are one of the many Americans who made a New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds, Fred Astaire Dance Studios recommends dancing as a fun way to burn calories and get fit.
Experts agree, ballroom dancing is a great option for weight loss. Besides burning calories, dancing can increase muscle strength, improve flexibility, and bolster endurance. One of the main perks of dancing is that you burn calories and improve muscle tone without feeling like you are working out. Dancing allows you to pair getting in shape while enjoying time out on the town with good friends. It’s also a great option for couples who are focused on making healthy choices. You and your significant other can enjoy an evening moving to the music at a club, or taking a dance lesson.
Pick the Right Dance
If losing weight is your goal, it’s important to choose your dance wisely. If you cut 500 to 1,000 calories a day from your diet, you can expect to lose one pound per week, the Mayo Clinic reported. You could opt to eat less, or you could burn off the calories with exercise. Most ballroom dances burn approximately 118 calories in 30 minutes, according to Healthline. However, the salsa burns slightly more, at 143 calories, and the swing tops the list by burning 207 calories. Picking the right dance to achieve your weight loss goals is key to your success. If you’ve got a trouble area, there’s a dance to fix it! Ballroom dancing can burn calories, while belly dancing or the hula are great for slimming your hips and toning your abs. Hip-hop dancing and ballet help engage your glutes.
Take Time to Stretch
Before starting any exercise routine, especially a new exercise, it is important to stretch to warm up your muscles, according to a report in Harvard Health. Every dance lesson at Fred Astaire Dance Studios begins with a stretching routine to get your muscles ready for dancing and to prevent injury. Not taking the time to stretch properly can lead to muscle strain, joint pain, and damage. Regular stretching can help increase flexibility and improve range of motion.
Pair Dancing With a Healthy Diet
Having fun dancing is not the only step you’ll need to lose those pesky pounds. Any exercise program needs to be coupled with a healthy diet to meet weight loss goals and keep the pounds off. Fred Astaire Dance Studios urges moderation at meals to see results. Dancers need to eat a high-fiber diet focused on lean meats and vegetables that avoid refined sugar. Sugary drinks, potato chips, white bread, juice, desserts, and alcohol are all red flags when it comes to sabotaging a healthy diet. Nutritionists recommend cutting processed foods and adding healthful alternatives, like full-fat yogurt, eggs, beans, apples, and nuts to lose weight, according to WebMD.
Check out how these fitness gurus and celebrities opted to get their daily steps in while having fun.
Beachbody recently launched a new workout video incorporating country line dancing to help its members lose weight. The trailer showcases the unique moves and fun tunes featured during the workout.
Bollywood dancing is a high-energy Indian dance style that shot to popularity in popular films of India. It has elements of Indian classical dance and numerous other dance forms, including hip-hop, jazz, and Western dances. In this clip, Stephanie Sen, an actress and dancer, teaches Bollywood dancing. In this trailer, you learn about her series of Bollywood Dance & Fitness sessions to help you get fit at home.
Former First Lady Michele Obama dances to “Uptown Funk” at the White House’s annual Easter celebration to showcase her “Let’s Move” program. The program encouraged young people to exercise to tackle childhood obesity.
Contact your local Fred Astaire Dance Studio to schedule a dance lesson or find out the best dance moves to help trim your waistline this year.
