Dance, Dance, Dance Your Way to Fitness!

Keli Roberts

Getting fit doesn't mean you have to spend hours chained to a treadmill, nor do you have to be good at sports to improve your health and fitness. Dancing is a great way to burn calories, improve your aerobic fitness and you don't need anything fancy to do it, just your favorite music and a little space to move. Just turn the music on and go! You don't even need to be good at learning dance moves—you just come up with your own!

Here are some tips for getting the most from your dance workout.

First, put on music that really gets you going, use your favorite tunes. Warm up by doing slow dance moves, go ½ time and do the kind of moves you're going to do in your workout. Add some shoulder circles and some big arm circles and you'll be ready to start your workout. Next, think of a dance step to start your routine, maybe it's a side step, step touch or a squat. Repeat it till you feel comfortable, then add an arm movement. Now go on to your next move, always start by learning the leg movements first, then the arms.

If your first dance step moved sideways, then try a move that moves forward and backward. Once you've established your first two moves, put them together and repeat them till your movements feel natural. Then it's time to add on the next move. Think of moves that stay in place and moves that travel, think of all the directions you could move it, side to side, forward and back, diagonals, as well as moves that go to the floor and come back up. Keep adding on till you have a routine built. Once it's complete repeat it several times. By the time you've done this you'll have been working out for 30-40 minutes! The time flies when you're having fun and staying focused on what you're doing.

Plan on doing your dance workout 2-3 times a week, this will give you the best results. Change your routine each week, to prevent boredom and burnout. Once you've got a few routines set, you'll find it easier and easier to come up with new routines by cutting and pasting different moves in and out of the workout. Use the same music for each routine, so when you change your routine, you change your music. This way each routine will reflect the music you used. The idea is to let the music "speak to you", how does it make you feel? How would you like to express yourself? This is the creative process of doing your own choreography.

Lastly, write each routine in a book, so you can come back to it a few weeks later. Include the music you used, this way you'll develop a workout library! You can even invite friends over and teach it to them! The possibilities are endless and will offer you hours of fun, effective and expressive workouts that challenge both your mind and your body. So, what are you waiting for? It's time to dance, dance, dance!