Exercise and fitness, it’s not only all the rage with a whopping $100 billion spent each year in the U.S. on diet related products alone, but it is a necessity if you want to live a healthy life free from debilitating mental stress, medical problems and disease. Of course, there are always a percentage of folks who think that going to the gym is boring, who snub their noses at cycling and who roll their eyes at the mention of a brisk run.

Luckily, for you fun loving folks who despise exercise and yet still have that nagging voice in the back of your head to “get in shape!” there happens to be a great way to do just that… swing dancing. Dancing alone is a great workout if done on a consistent basis (well, excluding those starry eyed slow dances), but swing dancing happens to jettison dance into a top-notch level of fitness for both the mind and body.

What is Swing Dance?

Swing dance describes a style of dance which grew out of the jazz era of the 1920’s and 30’s. Fanciful tunes such as the Lindy Hop, Charleston, East and West Coast Swing and, later on, the Jitterbug wafted through the streets, alleyways and night spots.

Hitting the dance floor in those days were cool cats dressed in their zoot suits bearing reave-sleeves and donning black-and-white spectator shoes. Following behind them were ladies with bouncing hairdos decked out in knee length dresses or skirts and strap-on shoes. It was a fun, vibrant and energetic time.

Swing as a Fitness Dance

Swing dancing is back and has swept the nation, complete with its colorful dress style and, albeit tweaked, retro-style jazz music. Most who participate in jazz dance today say they do it because it’s fun and because it’s a great way to get in shape stay fit.

Swing dance provides an excellent cardiovascular workout. The fast-paced moves have you bouncing, spinning, stepping, turning and twisting through the night. One hour of swing dancing will burn between 200 and 400 calories depending on your level of scat.

Benefits of Swing Dance

However, not only does swing dance provide a fun way to a healthy heart and the dropping of unwanted fat rolls, it also requires quite a bit of strength in order to successfully and continually make its challenging “swing” moves. Swing also creates a solid body core, which consists of the muscles that make up your abs and back, since most of the moves originate from there.

Besides the physical benefits, swing dance also requires a good deal of concentration, providing stimulation for your mind and coordination between it and your swinging body. Therefore, from regular bouts of swinging fun, you get a toned body, stronger joints and bones and an improved posture as well as better balance, flexibility, agility and coordination.

Become a Sultan of Swing

An added benefit of taking swing dance lessons and getting involved in swing dance events is that you will get to meet a lot of other hep cats in this exhilarating social activity. Start out with swing dance classes and gradually hit the dance floor as you build up strength and endurance.
Swing dance is fun, friendly and great for fitness. Now, that’s a win, win, win exercise program!