The "Workout" In Bellydance
- Thread starter Jack
- Start date
Mosaic
Super Moderator
It would depend entirely on how active the hour was. I find some of my classes are a constant sweat making hour and others not so full on, so i am sure in the heavy duty ( so to speak) classes the calories are turning to mush ... how many I have no idea.
One of my instructors did say she had been told a full on vigorous hour of BD can burn up to a 1000 cals. I think that is a bit much. But one never knows
~Mosaic
One of my instructors did say she had been told a full on vigorous hour of BD can burn up to a 1000 cals. I think that is a bit much. But one never knows
~Mosaic
CandaceHolly
New member
It would depend on the type of class, what you're going over and how intensive the class is that day. I am not sure how many calories per hour/15 minutes/30 minutes you can burn. I do know one thing...since I began belly dancing I have lost a lot of weight. Much of that is attributed to dancing.
I remember when I worked at a gym, the personal trainer told me that there are goals when working out to lose weight and tone. The goals are; heart rate up, work your entire body and, endurance or repitition . Belly dancing covers all three of those goals. Plus, you enjoy yourself while doing it!
I remember when I worked at a gym, the personal trainer told me that there are goals when working out to lose weight and tone. The goals are; heart rate up, work your entire body and, endurance or repitition . Belly dancing covers all three of those goals. Plus, you enjoy yourself while doing it!
Jack
New member
Thanks for your information ladies.
I knew it mattered on how intense the boogie-ing goes down, I was just wondering if anyone could just give me an estimate on the calories.
Per say,
How many cals for a begginer class?
Intermediate class?
Advanced class?
Just to dance using all you know for an hour?
Slow moves mostly?
Fast moves mostly?:think:
If I were to tell someone who is new to belly dance what would I tell them? Maybe I would say anywhere from 250 cals to *choke, 600 cals?
Those are some pretty acurate goals. It would do to keep people motivated very well.
I knew it mattered on how intense the boogie-ing goes down, I was just wondering if anyone could just give me an estimate on the calories.
Per say,
How many cals for a begginer class?
Intermediate class?
Advanced class?
Just to dance using all you know for an hour?
Slow moves mostly?
Fast moves mostly?:think:
If I were to tell someone who is new to belly dance what would I tell them? Maybe I would say anywhere from 250 cals to *choke, 600 cals?
Those are some pretty acurate goals. It would do to keep people motivated very well.
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Shanazel
Moderator
Calorie burn depends on age, personal metabolism, and weight as well as how long and how energetically one moves. I would not even hazard a guess as to calorie burn in a dance class. Belly dance class does not usually consist of sustained aerobic activity like running. I can just see my students coming unglued because I spent time working on smooth transitions and graceful hands instead of a full hour of running shimmies with simultaneous snake arms and head slides to get in the maximum amount of calorie burn.
Aniseteph
New member
... a full hour of running shimmies with simultaneous snake arms and head slides to get in the maximum amount of calorie burn.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! :shok: :shok: :shok:
And if you DO know how many calories you've burned, what do you do with it? Award yourelf the corresponding percentage of a doughnut or something? I really don't get this profit and loss calorie counting when it's taken to extremes. Eating a whole cheesecake = bad. Getting a bit puffed doing some sort of activity = good. Take it too far and it can get a bit obsessive IMHO - in many cases I don't think it's healthy.
Reiana
New member
Agreed, but when you're trying to lose some excess weight, it often comes down to numbers. Some people keep track of their numbers, and some people don't. *shrug* It's still valuable to know how good of a workout belly dance usually is, just so you know if you should add additional aerobic exercise into your week or not.
sedoniaraqs
New member
Its important, unfortunately, because one doesn't get to be fat by gorging on cheesecake everyday. Most people who are overweight eat almost what they burn every day. Almost.
If you eat on average a mere 100 cals more than you need (thats a cookie, or a piece of bread, or a banana extra), you'll put on a pound in a little over a month, 10 lbs in a year, and after 5 years of that you'd be 50 lbs overweight. That is how most people gain weight.
If you are trying to lose weight, you can't (or at least most people can't) "just try to be sensible". What feels like sensible to our bodies is the amount of cals that maintains us where we are. You have to create a calorie deficit within a fairly narrow range of parameters. Too little of a deficit won't negate the occasional "cheat" and the error in the system (error in measuring/estimating portions etc). Too big of a deficit will leave you feeling tired and prime to fall off the wagon within a very short period of time.
So for me any way, obtaining fairly accurate estimates of calories consumed and burned has been very important. Call me obsessed if you will, but obsessive calorie counting has gotten my cholesterol from 289 to 180 and it has gotten me into size 8 clothes and back looking good in bedlah at 42. It worked where other strategies failed.
Would you consider balancing your checkbook to the penny to be obsessive? What if someone told you to not worry about finding out how much your paycheck was, or how much your bills add to, just work hard, try to be frugal, and everything will work out peachy keen? Why treat your body so much more sloppily?
Ankebuzz
New member
I agree!
I do the calorie counting thing, so I know if I'm on track or not. I'd call it a general guideline for my daily eating habits... I've also lost about 7 kgs in 7 weeks, so it works for me and I don't feel obsessed or even preoccupied with diet stuff...
I'm too focussed on my dancing!
I do the calorie counting thing, so I know if I'm on track or not. I'd call it a general guideline for my daily eating habits... I've also lost about 7 kgs in 7 weeks, so it works for me and I don't feel obsessed or even preoccupied with diet stuff...
I'm too focussed on my dancing!
Tikvah
New member
The best way to figure out calorie burn is to get a heart rate monitor and wear it to your dance classes. Amount of calories burned depends a lot on how fast your little heart is beating
Tikvah
New member
I think that a search about heart rate monitors and calorie burn would probably do it. There are individual differences that the HR monitor wouldn't catch, but it's a great tool to see if you are in fat burning, aerobic, or anaerobic states. I use them for my triathlon training to make sure that I'm exerting myself at the right level (not fat burning, not anaerobic, but maintaining aerobic levels)
Amanda (was Aziyade)
Well-known member
I second the heart rate monitor. Best $79 I ever spent.
It's way cool to see how hard (or not so hard) you have to work to get your heart rate into your target zone. For me, I can expect to burn about 190 calories for about a 50 minute intermediate class, where we keep the arms in the air, or over the head. Running "choo-choo" shimmies can get it even higher.
Belly dance CAN be good cardio, but it takes some work to come up with a plan that is appropriate for you. Definitely get the HRM.
It's way cool to see how hard (or not so hard) you have to work to get your heart rate into your target zone. For me, I can expect to burn about 190 calories for about a 50 minute intermediate class, where we keep the arms in the air, or over the head. Running "choo-choo" shimmies can get it even higher.
Belly dance CAN be good cardio, but it takes some work to come up with a plan that is appropriate for you. Definitely get the HRM.