Exercise becomes fun and entertaining when you enjoy it with some sort of dance movements. Dance is such an amazing form of workout, where everyone would enjoy its each and every moment with joy, happiness and excitement. It is an amazing aerobic activity that helps in total-body workout and is as effective as an exhaustive session on the treadmill or the elliptical. An hour long dance class will burn up to 400 calories and tones almost all the muscles of our body. The best part of dance is that you get to learn something new in the process of toning your body. So, put on your dance shoes and get ready to burn the dance floor.
The Health Benefits of Dance Fitness
Now-a-days dance has become more than an art form and it is making a permanent place in the health and fitness circle. The health benefitting aspects of dancing such as weight loss, stress relief, enhanced flexibility and bone health is inspiring more and more people to opt for dance fitness regimes rather than bland gym training.
Weight Loss – Weight loss doesn’t have to be a miserable process if you can enjoy it. Dance is an aerobic activity that most people enjoy doing which encourage them to stick to it.
Better Balance – The intricate foot movements on tip of toes and sharp turns help in improving balance and reduce the risk of injuries.
Enhance Mood – Like any other exercise, dancing helps in releasing the antidepressant hormone endorphin that helps you stay happy and jovial.
Muscle Toning – The fast paced moves of the limbs, pelvis and abdomen help in toning and strengthening the muscles, so that you can achieve a lean figure.
Increased Flexibility – The high kicks and flamboyant moves involved in most dance formats help in stretching and working the muscles and joints, which in turn enhances flexibility and range of motion.
Improved Posture – Hours of slouching in front of the T.V or computer heavily damage the posture leading to back ache. Dance routines require you to perfect your posture- straighten your back and lift your chest up and constant remembrance of these points helps in improving posture so that you appear tall and graceful.
6 Amazing Dance Formats for fast Weight Loss and a Toned Body
This article is about all the popular dance formats around the world that have become immensely popular in the fitness circles and among celebrities because of their capacity to enhance endurance, stamina and promote weight loss. We shall look into the first six dance forms that can help you achieve the perfectly toned bikini body this summer.
Aerobics Dance
You don’t need to be a dance pro in order to get into the groove. Just be confident about yourself and let loose. Aerobics dance is one of the most popular formats of dance fitness that is practiced all around the world. It an easy way to stay in shape and as the name suggests aerobics dance is a combination of aerobic exercise moves with rhythmic and graceful dance movements. Dance aerobics consists of both high impact and low impact exercises which make it suitable for women of all ages. Aerobic dance sessions are usually 20 to 30 minutes long and it begins with 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up moves.
Benefits of Aerobics Dance:
- Aerobics dance helps in strengthening the heart by improving the functions of the cardiovascular muscles.
- It is a total-body workout format that helps in tightening and toning all the muscles of the body.
- This dance form improves the strength and endurance of the bones, especially the weight-bearing
- It is a versatile form of exercise that can be enjoyed by both men and women and is suited for people of all ages.
- The intense moves pump up the heart rate and increase blood circulation and oxygen supply to all parts of the body.
- Aerobics dance has been shown to lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels.
- The intense moves enhance the efficiency of the lungs and the heart.
- It is an amazing stress buster that helps in relieving tension, anxiety and depression.
Ballet
Ballet is undoubtedly the most graceful and disciplined of dance forms that require a lot of commitment and willpower. Although, the moves of the ballerina appears almost effortless and fluid, each move demands total-body precision, including the way you position and move your head, fingers and toes. Ballet workout has gained immense popularity among fitness enthusiasts because it is a total-body workout that increases flexibility of the entire body – from head to toe. It also helps in improving the posture so that you move tall and gracefully even off the dance floor. The preliminary dance moves in ballet involve ballet barre workout which helps in toning the muscles and improves balance and flexibility.
Benefits of Ballet:
- Ballet workout helps in developing long and lean muscles by continuously toning and stretching the body.
- Ballet gives a tall and graceful posture by enhancing the awareness of the way you stand, sit and walk.
- Ballet moves strengthen the back and abdominal muscles which help in defining the waistline and developing a flat tummy.
- Ballet moves engage even those muscles that are not used in other workout activities, which in turn enhances flexibility.
- Ballet moves work out the arms, glutes, buttocks and quads in addition to the core muscles, which helps in increasing overall strength.
- Because the ballet requires a lot of concentration to perfect the coordination of the body with music, it helps in relieving stress by shifting the focus from worries.
- Ballet is not only beneficial for the body, being a creative dance form; it helps in releasing the personal creative expression of each individual that helps in enhancing emotional and mental health as well.
Belly Dancing
Belly dance or belly dancing is an ancient Middle Eastern dance form that gained huge popularity in the Western world because of the rhythmic and appealing moves involved in the dance. Belly dance primarily gives emphasis to torso driven movements and fast hip movements. If you are looking to have a toned abdomen and great shaped butt then belly dancing workout is a great and fun-filled alternative to countless crunches and sit ups. The moves in belly dance engage your upper and lower abs, obliques and butt muscles which help in developing stronger and tighter core muscles. In addition, it is a low-intensity dance format that can be practiced by women of all ages.
Benefits of Belly Dance:
- An hour of belly dancing can help in burning up to 300 calories which make it a great dance form for weight loss.
- Being a weight bearing exercise involving intricate foot movements, belly dance helps in increasing bone density and bone strength.
- It is a total-body workout that engages all major muscles such as arms, abdomen, thighs, legs and glutes.
- Being a low impact dance form, it helps in toning and strengthening the body without causing any injury or damage to the joints.
- The soothing a fluid pelvic movements help in increasing blood circulation to the area and calms pre-menstrual symptoms.
- Belly dancing strengthens the core and manoeuvres the pelvis which aids in natural child birthing.
- The smooth and fluid movement involved in the dance takes the body to a state of trance with helps in mental relaxation and relieves tension and stress.
Bollywood Masala Dance
The Bollywood masala dance form has gained popularity all around the world thanks to some groundbreaking Bollywood movies such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”. Almost all Bollywood movies have 2 to 3 foot taping numbers which are sure to turn you on. Bollywood dance workout is based on the Bollywood dance form that is a blend of Indian classical dance moves with western Funk, Jazz and Latin. The moves involve vivacious hip shakes, pelvic thrusts and rapid arm and leg movement. Being a non-rigid and flexible dance form, it is more enjoyable compared to the strict classic western formats. The Bhangra inspired moves helps in shaping the upper body including shoulders, arms and back.
Benefits of Bollywood Masala Dance:
- Being a high-intensity dance form with fast and upbeat movements, it helps in shedding the extra kilos fast.
- The full-body moves help in working both the upper and the lower body at the same time and tones the core muscles.
- Bollywood masala dance improves the body’s balance and coordination because one needs to move according to the musical beats.
- This dance fitness format is a great aerobic exercise that boosts oxygen supply to all parts of the body.
- The energetic movements involved in the dance form helps in keeping the joints flexible and lubricated.
- Dancing to the upbeat and jovial music helps in moving your mind away from all worries and relieves stress.
- Bollywood dance makes you feel sexier because the movements of the eyes, arms and hips are charged with sex appeal.
Jazz
The Jazz dance routine is an effective cardio dance workout that is a fun and funky way of boosting health and fitness combined with entertainment. Having its roots in Caribbean traditional dance and ballet, modern jazz dance is a constantly evolving dance format that allows the dancers to improvise and express themselves through a wide range of flowing movements. Jazz dance moves are pretty similar ballet along with aspects of Hip Hop and Latin American Dance. The moves involve sharp turns, quick footwork and leaps which require a lot of coordination and balance. Almost all Jazz moves are built upon centre control; therefore, all the moves emerge from the body’s center.
Benefits of Jazz Dance:
- Jazz dancing improves muscle strength and physical endurance, particularly in the lower body.
- It’s aerobic nature helps in working the entire body and promotes fat burning and weight loss.
- The amazing muscle-toning and tightening capacity of the moves make you look good.
- The intricate foot work which involves jumps, twists and turns helps in enhancing coordination.
- The light-footed moves help in developing grace and poise so that you move with elegance and style.
- Because the move involves immense self-discipline and memory, it helps in raising the level of concentration.
- The wide range of motions suing arms and hands promote better flexibility.
- The wide range of energetic body movement workout the muscles and improves stamina to a great extent.
- A 30 minutes Jazz dance session boosts the heart rate and makes you break into a sweat, thereby improving blood circulation and boosting cardiovascular health.
Hip Hop
Hip Hop dance workout can be a fun and entertaining alternative to jogging and running because this dance form has both aerobic and anaerobic benefits. Hip Hop dancing involves a wide range of street styles based on rhythmic Hip Hop music. The dance includes popular moves such as popping, krumping and locking and it also shows some influence of break-dancing. Hip Hop dance has its roots in the US, where the African-American community popularized this format during the 1970s. It is a versatile and flexible dance form that allows the dancer to improvise the moves. The power packed jumps and bounding steps of the dance involves a wide range of motion that tones and strengthens the muscles.
Benefits of Hip Hop Dance:
- Hip Hop dance workout calls for a wide range o movement that helps in burning the unwanted calories quickly to give you a toned and shapely figure.
- The complex moves engage the core muscles, glutes, thighs, calves and arms and helps in toning and strengthening almost all the muscles of the body.
- Hip Hop is an amazing aerobic activity that pumps up the heart rate and supplies oxygen to all the muscles.
- It is a great form of cardiovascular exercise that helps in improving your heart health.
- Being a high-intensity dance form, the dancer has to struggle constantly to stay with the pace and this effort helps in building muscular resistance and stamina.
- Because Hip Hop dance involves powerful jumps and lifts, it helps in improving bone strength and bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
- Hip Hop is a fun filled dance form that makes you smile and enjoy so that your mind is relieved of worries and you can develop a positive outlook.
So, get into your dancing gear and start shaking your booty in order to achieve the perfectly toned figure and we will come up with another set of six sexy dance styles in the Part 2 of 12 Sexy Dance Formats for a Toned Body and Flat Abs.