fohre yaoltuhr
Hoof your way
tohealth
PHOTODISC
From foxtrot to disco,
dancing is good for
body and brain
By Liz Neporent
THE BIGGEST LOSER on TV isn’t someone who
stood on a super-sized scale for all of America to see
or starved in the jungle for six weeks. It’s Emmitt
Smith, winner of ABC’s smash hit Dancing with the
Stars. The pro football great shimmied, shook and
paso dobled his way to a 16-pound weight loss. He
wasn’t the only contestant to dance off the pounds:
Even Jerry Springer was looking trim and chiseled
by the time he exited the competition.
Grace De Simone, the creative director of Ethos
Fitness and Day Spa in Midland Park, New Jersey,
says it’s no surprise that Stars’ contestants slimmed
down with fancy footwork. “Dance is such a fun,
absorbing way to burn off calories,” she says. “You’ll
burn between 200 and 350 calories an hour depending on whether you’re into the foxtrot or disco.”
A regular turn around the dance floor can do
more than help you drop a few dress or pants sizes.
According to De Simone, dancing is as good a cardio activity as many traditional workouts. In fact, a
2006 Italian study of 110 cardiac patients found the
elegant, stately waltz to be just as effective as cycling
or treadmill training for increasing endurance.
The dancers in the study also reported slightly
greater improvement in sleep, mood and the ability
to do hobbies, chores and have sex compared to
non-dancing exercisers. Other investigations have
demonstrated dance’s ability to deliver a whole
array of other health benefits, including improved
strength, bone health, flexibility, posture, coordination and balance.
Dance has even been shown to sharpen the
mind. In a report published by the New England
Journal of Medicine in 2003, ballroom dancing was
the only physical activity studied that was significantly associated with fewer dementia cases. The
reason? Experts think it’s because dance helps keep
your brain on its toes, so to speak.
“You engage your brain to perform the choreography and keep beat with the music, plus there’s a
social, joyful element that’s often missing from
other fitness pursuits,” De Simone notes.
With so much proof of how good a little cha-cha-cha can be for you, it’s no wonder there are
more places than ever to master the moves. At least
one dance studio, school, club or disco can be
found in just about every town in America, and,
according to the International Health Racquet and
Sportsclub Association, a health-club lobbying
group, more than half the gyms in America now
offer some sort of dance-based classes. Those who
prefer to hoof at home can always just crank up the
tunes and freestyle, or pop in a dance-fitness DVD.
As for choices, dance offers something for
every age, ability and fitness goal. Looking for a
low-impact workout full of spicy, fat-burning
footwork? Give salsa, mamba or one of the
other Latin-flavored techniques a whirl.
Interested in getting in touch with your
inner dancer, fine-tuning your flexibility and bettering your posture? Try
ballet, tap or modern. And if
weight loss is what you’re after,
you’ll practically feel the calories
BLEND IMAGES
going up in flames when you hustle,
quickstep or jive.
So if you’re ready to dance your way to a slimmer body and better health, grab a partner, sign up
for a class or queue up a DVD. Once you learn the
steps, you’ve got a workout you can do for the rest of
your life. C
Liz Neporent is an emeritus board member of the
American Council on Exercise and writes for publications such as Shape, Self, Fitness and the New York
Daily News.
The Costco
Connection
Costco offers a variety of
dance DVDs in the ware-
houses, including:
■ Dance Off the Inches:
Sizzling Salsa. Led by fit-
ness pro Stella Sandoval,
this intermediate workout is
hot, hot, hot. ( 57 minutes)
■ Dance Off the Inches:
Tummy Tone Party Zone.
This waist-whittling dance
routine, hosted by Marie
Forleo, is innovative and
easy to follow. ( 51 minutes)
■
10 Minute Solution: Fat
Blasting Dance Mix. Shake
your groove thang through
five 10-minute dance seg-
ments. Jennifer Galardi
stars. ( 54 minutes)
