Work It Out Wednesday: Dance Your Way to a Leaner Midsection

One of the dangers that many Americans face today is the overwhelming epidemic of obesity.  Weight gain is on the rise, and according to USA Today, many Americans simply carry too much weight in their midsection which can cause dangerous health problems! “People with wide girths are more likely to have large amounts of deep-hidden belly fat around their organs. It might be the most dangerous kind of fat and could increase a person’s risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer.” Luckily, there are solutions to this epidemic. Robert Ross, an exercise physiologist at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, says that: “People with waists that wide need to reduce them immediately.”

So what should you do? Well for starters, diet and exercise! Although these two things sound easy, many Americans have a difficult time maintaining a healthy balance between the two. I hear it over and over again, “I get bored running on the treadmill”, “I don’t like going to the gym”, or “I need something that is fun and exciting”. My solution? Ballroom dancing! And here’s why:

• Ballroom dancing encourages good posture and body alignment.This will help strengthen your bodies core abdominal muscles. Believe it or not, having a strong core can improve your performance in everyday activities and improve your health! When you have a strong core, you reduce the risk of back injury, developing heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
• Ballroom dancing is a cardiovascular exercise that will get that heart pumping and will help you burn more calories! Did you know that depending on the step, ballroom dancing can burn anywhere from 250-400 calories an hour-about the same as a brisk half-hour walk on the treadmill! So if you are someone who hates the treadmill, get on that dance floor! You can burn calories while having FUN and blast away unwanted fat.
• Exercise is about rewarding the body with endorphins. Endorphins, scientifically speaking, are neurotransmitters produced in the brain that reduce pain and give you that feeling of euphoria. In other words, they make you feel good! Ballroom dancing is a wonderful way to trigger those endorphins.
• NO MATTER HOW SLOW YOU GO-YOU ARE STILL LAPPING EVERYONE ON THE COUCH! Instead of watching re-runs on Netflix, get that booty on the dance floor!

Did I also mention how incredibly sexy ballroom dancing is? 

References:

MSNBC.COM: “Ballroom Dancing Puts the Swing in Exercise”

USATODAY.com: “Belly Full of Danger”

Ivillage.com: Endorphin 101: Your Guide to Natural Euphoria