Dancing Through the Holidays...

Though it seems to have crept up on us, the holiday season is upon us!

It is so easy to fall out of regular physical activity routines and put your hobbies on the back burner when the holidays roll around. Family comes to town, gatherings need planning, meals require prepping, and the list of to-dos seems to keep growing and growing. Whatever you do this holiday season, don’t let your dancing fall behind! The holidays can be stressful and dancing can help you stay sane through it all. Not to mention, social ballroom dancing is great exercise, which is much needed to work off that extra comfort food that is such a part of the holidays. No need to feel guilty this year about indulging if you’re keeping up with your dancing! We are always happy to see you here at Dance FX Studios here in the Phoenix East Valley, AZ to help you to keep moving and having fun throughout the winter.

Dancing, from the Country Two Step to the Swing, Tango and Salsa, is an excellent form of exercise. It is a great way to raise your heart rate, work off unwanted body fat, and build lean muscle. Social dancing uses a wide variety of motions to engage multiple muscle groups in an effective, dynamic way. And, since this is also cold and flu season, regular workouts like dancing can even help you ward off sickness! 

Sticking with exercise throughout the holidays is much more likely if the activity is enjoyable, and dances like the Swing and Cha Cha are tons of fun! You are much more likely to get fit and stay fit if you are having a great time while exercising. Dancing burns a significant amount of calories so get moving and breeze through this season in your favorite jeans without fear. :)

The types of dances that will get you the most results this holiday season vary in style from Country to Latin.  Depending on your weight, muscle mass, gender, and intensity, you can burn up to 650 calories in an hour with us at Dance FX Studios. How much effort you are putting into your dancing also affects the amount of energy required. Dancing can actually burn as many, if not more, calories as more traditional forms of exercise like running and lifting weights. It is very easy to “plateau” in a workout routine, but if you switch up the types of dances you learn and learn many styles, you will keep your physical activity fresh! Here’s a list of different dance styles and an estimate of how many calories you can burn while dancing them. We offer all of the following types here at Dance FX Studios, near Tempe and Chandler, AZ!

• Salsa – Roughly 405 to 480 calories are burned in an hour of Salsa dancing.

• Swing – Different moves and styles of Swing dancing can change the intensity of this dance. You can burn between 300 and 550 calories depending on how high impact the style is. Swing dancing can easily expend even more if you perform intensive maneuvers.

• Country Western – Again, energy expended relies upon the speed and difficulty of the movements, but Country dancing typically uses up 290 to 420 calories per lesson.

• Zumba – Zumba is an exceptional way to burn calories, as it is designed to be an exercise class that provides toning as well.  Anywhere from 350 to 650 calories can be burned in a Zumba class!

• Cha Cha – An energetic dance with a steady beat, the Cha Cha can burn from 260 to 530 calories.

• Waltz - As a simple, yet elegant ballroom dance, the Waltz can burn 140 to 275 calories. If a faster paced song is danced to, even more calories can be expended.

• Tango – The Argentine Tango can burn from 150 to over 220 calories per hour!

Whether you taking private dance lessons or Zumba fitness classes at Dance FX Studios, we can help you to keep trim this holiday season. We have great specials during our Holiday Savings Season to give you even more reasons to stay on track! Take advantage of great private dance lesson deals now through December, 2013. If you've never tried Zumba, we also have a new member special so you can give it a test run, or we have great membership deals if you want to continue with your classes. Give us a call at Dance FX Studios and keep moving this holiday season. Do it for you!