From Start to Fitness: Dance your way to fitness

Q: I enjoy dancing and started taking a group exercise dance class twice a week. Each class lasts about an hour, and we move the entire class, leaving me exhausted at the end of class. Compared with other types of cardio activities such as the treadmill or biking, could I just use my dance class as my cardiovascular workout or would I need to do more?

A: Dancing is an excellent form of exercise that is becoming more and more popular with televisions shows featuring dancing, home DVDs and videos, and group exercise classes in fitness centers focusing on dance-inspired workouts.

Dance styles from ballroom, Latin dance, hip-hop, funk and many more are being used to give exercisers a challenging workout while still having fun. The moves done while dancing are definitely beneficial cardiovascular exercise — how much you challenge yourself will determine how many calories you burn.

On average, a dance class in which the participant is moving the entire time can burn from 300 to 400 calories for a 55-minute class. This type of cardiovascular workout is great due to the use of your entire body and the constant movement.

Many people are able to keep their heart rate elevated throughout a dance group exercise class because they are not thinking that they are exercising, but just having fun. Also, the challenge of learning new dance styles and choreography keeps participants excited.

But while dancing provides a great workout, it cannot be your ONLY type of exercise. Since you attend class twice a week, you would still need to exercise two to three days more each week. This should include some type of strength training and additional cardiovascular workouts.

A balanced workout is important for promoting overall fitness and should include at least four days a week of cardiovascular exercise and at least three days a week of strength and flexibility training.