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Something to dance about - GetFit News
Shape, April, 2004 by Maureen Kennedy
Want to improve your athletic performance? Try hitting the dance floor. One study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found that athletes whose training included various types of dance, such as ballet, modern and jazz, six hours a week had greater flexibility and range of motion in their hips and spines.
Researchers at Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm divided 20 cross-country skiers ages 12-15 into two groups; both did the same amount of running and skiing, but one group added dancing to their weekly exercise routines. At the start of the study, and at three and eight months later, the dancing athletes performed better on tests for speed, agility and flexibility. In fact, those who didn't dance showed impaired agility and flexibility. The scientists theorize that dancing leads to improved balance, coordination and rhythm, all of which help improve sports performance.
Dancing is also a fun way to burn calories (approximately 316 an hour for a 145-pound woman) and strengthen almost all of your muscles, especially those of the lower body. So even if you're not an athlete, you've got plenty of reasons to shake your groove thing.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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