Dance and fitness

Mallika

New member
Can someone help me?i want to combine dancing and dieting together,and also i do exercises at home every day for an hour..and i go for belly dance classes 3 times per week for 1 hour..would these classes help me to get slim?or i should better go for fitness or gym?
 

Imeera

New member
Can someone help me?i want to combine dancing and dieting together,and also i do exercises at home every day for an hour..and i go for belly dance classes 3 times per week for 1 hour..would these classes help me to get slim?or i should better go for fitness or gym?

Hi Mallika =] Doing what you are doing will definatly help you. Belly dance is an increadable work out and it doesn't feel like your doing much but you will deffinatly lose weight this way, it is the eqivilent of going to the gym for an hour. Remember to diet properly though, eating just under the daily amount (100-500 calories) not way under it that wouldn't be healthy and make sure your getting everything you need, as your exercicing so much you will need carbohydrates, protine ect. You can also do half an hour or an hour dance at home if you wish on the days you have no lessons, this will not only help in dance but speed up your weight loss. You can mix and match what you do at home, it will all help. There are a few DvDs about using belly dance for weight loss on the market, if you so wish, I will name a few. If you have any questions don't be afraid ask here or to post a new thread if you can't find the answer searching though the previous threads, the women here give amazing advice and they are all wonderful.
 

Daimona

Moderator
Hi Mallike and Imeera!
I moved your post to the Beauty and Fitness section as we've already got some related threads in this forum.
:)
 

Aniseteph

New member
Hi Mallika =]Belly dance is an increadable work out and it doesn't feel like your doing much but you will deffinatly lose weight this way.

I have to disagree. I do two hours of belly dance classes together and no way is it anything like what I could do in even half an hour at the gym. A workout/fitness focused class might be different, but learning technique and stopping and starting is not a calorie burner IMO.

Very good for toning and strengthening and developing control over muscles you never knew you had though.
 

goddessyasaman

New member
Can someone help me?i want to combine dancing and dieting together,and also i do exercises at home every day for an hour..and i go for belly dance classes 3 times per week for 1 hour..would these classes help me to get slim?or i should better go for fitness or gym?



Well I would say yes cause I lost alot of weight doing belly dance as part of my workout, when I started doing belly dance for fitness thats the only workout I was doing and I lost over a hundred pounds you have to eat better to if your not. But I was dancing about 1hr to 2hrs 5 days a week I was learning and cutting weight at the same time, now I dance 1hr a day along with my workout and I eat things that keep me healthy and fight fat, I was on here talking to the ladys about my workout day and what I eat I just started in Feb with this plan I came up with and I have cut another 20 pounds and it's real weight not water weight.

I was doing fast pace belly dancing when I lost all that weight my style at the time was Turkish Cab which is fast I would dance like this for 1hr and the other hr was balancing, belly dance posture, Isolations ect.

so I lost weight with belly dance, It may not work for everyone, but my students have been cutting weight since they started taking my class so it does work from what I have seen.
 
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shiradotnet

Well-known member
Not all belly dancing classes are the same. Some require you to move/dance continuously for the entire hour, while others have times where you stop dancing and stand around to listen to instructions. Needless, the latter won't do a lot to help you lose weight, but the former MIGHT.

Folkloric styles will do more to promote weight loss than standing in place doing hip circles. But, it's rare to see folkloric dances such as Saidi, debke, etc. taught in beginning belly dance classes. Most teachers (including me) save those for more experienced levels of dancers.

Here's an article on my web site that goes into this topic in more depth: Belly Dancing and Weight Loss
 

Imeera

New member
I have to disagree. I do two hours of belly dance classes together and no way is it anything like what I could do in even half an hour at the gym. A workout/fitness focused class might be different, but learning technique and stopping and starting is not a calorie burner IMO.

Very good for toning and strengthening and developing control over muscles you never knew you had though.

I was thinking if a calorie work out was done, like the one in Joyce's DvD. Normally no it is endurance and strength but you can turn it into a cardio workout really easily. Sorry I should have made that clearer.
 

Mallika

New member
wow,thanx a lot for all u told me.. i do at home all these things,even the days i dont have classes but i match my fitness with belly dancing..,and i ll keep doing,also i ll go to my classes regulary..and i ll inform u about my success))
 

Kashmir

New member
i go for belly dance classes 3 times per week for 1 hour..would these classes help me to get slim?or i should better go for fitness or gym?
Depends on the class and also your level. While you are learning fine control or a new choreography it may not help too much. Doing drills, repetedly practicing dances all the way through and most folk classes will help though.
 

Elfie

New member
I used belly dance moves as a fitness routine for months before I actually started dancing. Granted, I am not taking classes, but I think using the moves as a fitness routine really helped me get the core moves drilled into my muscles' memories. This is what I did at first:

*Full exercise warmup incorporating standard yoga stretch poses as well as regular stretches (make sure you stretch/warmup your arms, neck muscles, and shoulders too) And execute all moves from dance pose - tucked/neutral pelvis, shoulders back, chest lifted

* Twist movement - one full twist is a single count - 50 repetitions
* Hip drops - slow and deliberate at first to really get the most out of your muscles - 50 reps with each hip
* Lebanese hip circle - alternating starting hip direction left to right and direction of circle forward to back - count of 10
* Maya - again, slow and deliberate to really get the most out of your muscles (using the point to point system works really well at first) - a full rotation on both sides counts as one - 30 reps
* Reverse Maya - slow and deliberate - full rotation on both sides (both hips) counts as one - 30 reps
* Lebanese hip circle - alternating starting hip direction left to right and direction of circle forward to back - count of 10
* Various rib and hip isolations including figure 8's... Try writing your ABC's with your sternum and each hip using both uppercase and lowercase letters
* Shoulder rolls, shoulder bounce, shoulder shimmy and snake arms

Keep in mind that slow and deliberate movements at first will speed up as you go along. Increasing speed and number of properly executed repetitions over time is the goal. Pay attention to which muscles you use and make sure they are the proper muscles that are supposed to drive the movement.

Now, this takes about 35 minutes, not including the warmup section. Take the isolations above and dance with them without music for two minutes. Then, if you want, add music and dance for another three minutes - just free dance, doing whatever comes to you. Use only belly dance moves and single step movements at a quick pace for a cardio type workout (at first, you can drill step movements later on when you know how to do them). Proper execution isn't important here, moving is. Try to execute properly, but if you don't it's no big deal... the moves are going to be faster and less crisp as first while you dance. The more you drill isolations, the crisper the moves will get when you dance. But walking and shifting weight while you dance, flat footed or on half-toes, at a quick pace will help get your heart beat up and burn calories. You aren't performing, you're exercising... and it's fun. ;)

* Shimmy for as long as you can. A clock or stop watch nearby will help you keep track of how long you can shimmy. Each time you exercise, try to shoot for ten seconds longer than the previous workout.
* Squats - your general wall squats or free standing squats for 25 reps and then again with your feet only about three inches apart - keep them slow and deliberate at first... these help with leg/thigh strength and later on, level changes

*Cool down using the warmup from before.

The full workout is about 50 minutes. I did this every single day, which I do not recommend for everyone. Tailor your workout to you and your skill/fitness level.

This was tailored to me and my level of fitness when I started. I wasn't terribly out of shape, but was overweight from a form of birth control I used. Listen to your body... it will tell you how many of each repetition you can handle. If you get winded, take a break. If you start having pains and cramps (beyond the normal good exercise burn), stop immediately and stretch. Pay attention to how your joints handle the circular movements. And catching or popping may be an issue you'll need to bring up with your doctor and your dance instructor. Talk to your doctor before you start ANY fitness routine on your own. This is very important.
 

Mallika

New member
Not all belly dancing classes are the same. Some require you to move/dance continuously for the entire hour, while others have times where you stop dancing and stand around to listen to instructions. Needless, the latter won't do a lot to help you lose weight, but the former MIGHT.

Folkloric styles will do more to promote weight loss than standing in place doing hip circles. But, it's rare to see folkloric dances such as Saidi, debke, etc. taught in beginning belly dance classes. Most teachers (including me) save those for more experienced levels of dancers.

Here's an article on my web site that goes into this topic in more depth: Belly Dancing and Weight Loss

thanx a lot,i have found the answeres i wanted..and i c i do almost all things r mentioned there..thanx all of u for ur support..i hope all this will really help me)
 

MariaAZ

New member
I'm a total newbie to belly dance, and have been taking a weekly class for about two months. I also supplement with beginners videos.

At this time, my primary fitness outlets are walking (I've been walking as exercise for many years) and now beginner belly dance classes. In the two months since picked up on the latter, I've really toned up. I've dropped almost two dress sizes, even though the scale shows only a few pounds lost.

Fo me, belly dance may have not contributed a whole lot to weight loss as measured by a scale, but it has done wonders for tightening up those flabby muscles :D
 
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