Dance Your Way to Better Health
October 23, 2008 10:23 amIt’s no secret that dancing is good for you – it burns calories, strengthens muscle, and gets your heart pumping. But did you know that certain types of dancing benefit different areas of the body?
photo courtesy ABC
Salsa Dancing
- Increases endurance and stamina
- Tones calf muscles
- Strengthens core
Belly Dancing
- Improves posture
- Can help and prevent lower back problems
- Tones muscle
Ballroom Dancing
- Cardio keeps your heart in shape
- Shapes arms and legs
- Builds stamina
Hip-Hop Dancing
- Since hip-hop is so widely varied, it can provide a myriad of benefits including the strengthen and lengthening of muscles, making you leaner and keeping your heart in shape given the amount of cardio it requires.
Ready to bust a move? Here are the best tips to make sure you get, stay, and feel energized on the floor.
- Drink up! H2O, that is. Dehydration will trigger fatigue and sluggishness, so make sure you drink lots of water to replenish the fluids you’re losing through sweat.
- To combat tiredness and exhaustion, especially if you will be dancing for a prolonged period of time, try a supplement (such as Akavar) that is designed to boost energy levels.
- Make sure you get enough shut-eye every night.
- Avoid dancing if you’ve experienced even a slight injury - not doing so can make the injury worse and cause further damage.
- Make sure to stretch before an intense dancing workout.
- Wear the proper attire and footwear to avoid injury and keep you comfortable.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
This may sound silly, but break dancing keeps me in crazy good shape. Many of the moves require serious core strength for balance. Moreover, there are many moves that require upper body strength to strike balance. I don’t think it offers the same cardio workout as Salsa or Swing dancing (probably the best of the bunch), but is certainly helps keep me in shape - and it’s fun too!