Exercise and Physical
Fitness
With the pressures of job and social obligations tugging
us every which way, it's more and more difficult to find time for exercise.
Maybe that's why Canadians are struggling with their weight and health more
than ever. It's no secret that moderate exercise and sensible eating habits
are the key to remaining trim and fit. However, the thought of spending thirty
minutes on a treadmill, or jogging around the block five times is not appealing to many of us.
Dancing works like a stress and tension reducer. For
people on a hectic schedule it can become a passion that helps you improve your
attitude and increase your confidence in both social and business situations.
That's what makes dance the ideal exercise! Dancing is a mild aerobic
workout, minus the boring part. When you take dance lessons, you make exercise
a fun and enjoyable social event, every night of the week. Your dance "work
out" takes place with pleasant music and everyone's in a good mood. It's fun to learn and develop more skill.
Consider these dance facts:
- Dance contributes to increased personal confidence.
- Olympic athletes often include dance in their training
to sharpen their control, agility, speed and balance.
- Dance is considered to be one of the top five physical
activities, out of 60 studied.
- Dance contributes to good posture and body alignment.
- Dancing encourages gentle stretching.
- Ballroom
dancing has been found to be one of the best activities for preventing
dementia later in life (see the bottom of our main dance benefits page for detailed information on this).
- Dance increases your flexibility and stamina.
- As an aerobic exercise, dance benefits your cardiovascular
system as you swing and sway from hips to shoulders.
- Some doctors recommend thirty minutes of dance, three
times per week.
Ever since the International Olympic Committee gave ballroom
dancing provisional recognition, it has been getting a lot of attention as a
true athletic activity. One look at the fitness level and physiques of professional
ballroom competitors, trainers and dance teachers is proof of its virtues.
"Ballroom dance is a rigorous activity that uses the
larger muscle groups, and is usually done over the course of an hour, or an
entire evening," said George B. Theiss, President of Arthur Murray International.
"It's most frequently compared to ice dancing, and no one would question the
athletic ability of an ice skater.
Many people turn to ballroom dance when more traditional
exercise programs fall by the wayside, either because of injuries or sheer boredom.
Ballroom dance can be a low impact activity. This makes it accessible to people
of at any age or fitness level. With less emphasis on "going for the burn" and
more on having fun; the weight loss, improved circulation and aerobic conditioning
emerges as a wonderful side effect.
We have several recent article links to health references in the news on our "Dancing in the News, Movies and TV" section for some further info.
click
to enlarge and print certificate
Getting started is easy. The first step is to schedule
a free introductory lesson with one of our trained instructors. During that
lesson, your instructor will determine your current level and recommend an appropriate
course for you to continue. To set up your free introductory lesson now, call
us at 604-552-3052, e-mail us at info@dancecoquitlam.ca.
