Dancing for Beginners

By Kimberly Dawn Neumman

According to fitness expert Grace DeSimone, "Dancing three to five times a week offers so many total body benefits. You'll feel stronger, harden your bones, improve your balance and learn to move more gracefully just to name a few."

In DeSimone's opinion, it's no surprise that a little fancy footwork can help trim your waistline. "You burn between 200 and 350 calories an hour depending on whether you're into the Fox Trot or Disco," says the creative director of Ethos Spa in Midland, New Jersey.

She points out that dance can do more for you than you drop a few dress sizes. "It's also an excellent cardio activity, as good as many traditional fitness workouts." A recent 2006 Italian study of 110 cardiac patients backs her up by showing the waltz to be just as effective as cycling or treadmill training for increasing endurance. The dancers in the study also reported sleeping better, feeling less moody and having an increased ability to perform hobbies, do chores and have sex compared to their non-dancing counterparts.

Dancing might have positive impact on cognitive functioning, as well. In a report published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003, ballroom dancing was found to be the only one of 11 physical activities (including housework, babysitting and various sports) studied that was significantly associated with fewer dementia cases. Experts speculate that this is because you must engage your brain to perform the choreography and keep beat with the music -- plus there's a brain-pleasing, social element that's often missing from other fitness activities.

Think you're ready to dance yourself to better health? We've reviewed three of the most popular dance-fitness DVDs to get your party started.

Dance Off the Inches, Sizzling Salsa
Price: $8

Intermediates will love this low impact workout full of spicy, fat-burning moves and energetic footwork. The routine is progressive: first you learn the basic foot patterns, then you add in the hip shakes and arm movements. The result is a quick tempoed workout that's so much fun you'll forget you came to sweat. Instructor Stella Sandoval has the knack for taking tango, mamba and other Latin flavored fundamentals, shaking them up and making them her own. If you need a little extra dance training to get started, check out the 17-minute dance tutorial. (57 minutes)

Dance Off the Inches, Tummy Tone
Price: $9

Who knew that an abdominal workout could be so much fun? By naturally integrating waist-whittlers such as torso twists, intensified hip action and extended arm reaches into traditional dance movements, fitness host Marie Forleo has created an innovative, easy-to-follow core training routine unlike any other. The dance styles range from grapevines to funk moves to Latin-style cumbias so there's plenty of variety to keep you entertained as you tone your tummy. Afterwards, head to the mat and finish up with an über-focused, traditional ab training session. (51 minutes)

10 Minute Solution, Fat Blasting Dance Mix
Price: $9

You'll practically feel the calories go up in flames as sweat through five fun and energetic dance routines that are just 10 minutes each. Three of the segments are for building cardio-endurance, each with a different dance attitude ranging from the mellow to heart pumping. These are followed by two toning segments -- one focuses on the butt and thighs and the other on the core muscles of the abs and lower back -- packed with standing, dance-inspired moves. Whether you do one segment at a time or all of them at once, fitness pro Jennifer Galardi delivers an awesome, high energy workout. (54 minutes)

PREVIOUS: Need to Know: Dance Workout