Using Dance to Reduce Body Fat

Today’s blog is all about dance—not what you do in nightclubs, but dance as a cardio-vascular exercise that can be used to reduce body fat.

Step One—let’s go learn some moves. I went to Gotta Dance Atlanta (www.got2dance.net). Let’s get it on! I asked Ricky from Gotta Dance, “Besides cardio, if I want to get on the town and bang some moves out, what are some dances I need to know?”

He responded by saying, “Considering that Atlanta is the city of diversity, as well as variety, I would say that you need to learn all of the best dance styles. You can go to the Latin clubs, and do some salsa. You can go to the country line dance clubs or the saloons, where you can do some country line dancing. But I would say that the style which would fit you best is Hip-hop, you know with that soldier boy. I think you could do that.”

Cici, also from Gotta Dance, said, “You say you’re from Florida. So, you are from the south, and you’ve come to Atlanta; you’ve got to know the soldier boy.”

So, I tried it. Very cool and a lot of fun.

Okay. Here is the bottom line. You can use dance as an effective way to reduce body fat. Here’s what I want you to do: fast song, high energy, bring your body heart rate up. Then I want you to go slow song, low energy, bring your heart rate back down. Do this for twenty to thirty minutes.

Just then, Ricky said, “Corey, if you are going to go to the clubs, you’re going to embarrass yourself unless you know how to krump.”

He showed what krumping is: when you krump, you dance, jump, move your arms all around, grab and release your legs, all to a rocking hip-hop beat.

Whether you are going to krump in your living room or in a dance studio, you can make it happen!

In-home Exercise of the Week
The Walking Lunges
Level: Intermediate
Equipment needed: weights
Primary muscles used: quads and glutes

The most effective in-home exercise of the week is the walking lunges. It’s a great exercise for the foundation of your body—the legs. What I want you to do is to grab some weights to add some additional resistance. All you need is fifteen or twenty feet. You can do this anywhere—in your house, outside, on a walkway. All you are going to do is to slowly step out, alternating your feet, side by side, and bend slightly at your knees with each step, as you look straight ahead. You should focus on something straight ahead so you are not looking down. This is high intensity exercise. By the time you are finished, you are going to be out of breath, rest assured. But I want you to do this exercise for two minutes straight. Just make sure your front knee, as you lunge out, does not go past your toes. And make sure that your rear knee does not touch the ground—that’s just a little bit too far.

That’s the most effective in-home exercise of the week!

Product Review of the Week

It’s time now for the product review of the week. It looks like just a watch, but it is the Polar Heart Rate Monitor (Polarusa.com). I’ve been using Polar devices forever. This one is a great way to track your heart rate when you are performing cardio to make sure you are taking it up and you are taking it back down. You hear me often say that, and here is the bottom line: Heart rate up, 80% of your maximum heart rate, let’s say (Maximum Heart Rate = 220 – Your Age). Heart rate down, 60% of your maximum heart rate. Do this for twenty to thirty minutes--boxing, running, jogging, walking. That is how I recommend you do your cardio-vascular exercise to reduce the most body fat.

Polar Heart Rate Monitor-product review of the week.

Most Outrageous Product of the Week

It’s the most outrageous product of the week—the Ab Lounge. Here’s the deal: It’s not that this is a bad product. It’s just that it makes outrageous claims that cannot be delivered. It says that it is more effective than other ab exercises and that it will help users to get rid of their abdominal fat. Eighty percent of the way in which people lose abdominal fat is through good nutrition.

It is scientifically impossible to directly target the fat of a specific body part. Period! If the buyers from all of the huge retailers would just do a little more homework, they would save consumers from suffering a lot of aggravation and frustration. Now, let me make it clear—I like Wal-Mart. I like it a lot, but today they are not getting a free pass. You can get just as good a workout using a stability ball or a basic bench as you can on the Ab Lounge. I don’t care what anyone says. The bottom line is this: The claims that most of these companies make are absolutely ridiculous. The only thing I like about this product is the name—the Ab Lounge. They say, “Forget about proper nutrition and exercise. Just sit back, and relax on Ab Lounge.”

Outrageous? You decide.

Quick and Healthful Recipe
Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, Red Peppers, and Sweet Potatoes

Here’s the quick and healthful recipe of the week. It is the get yourself right plate. That’s right. It contains just the right amount of lean protein and complex carbohydrates. This is it: baked sweet potato, a little red pepper, steamed broccoli, and some grilled chicken breast. This is a great dish to fuel your body. I prepare it and I save it as seven servings for the week. All I have to do when I am hungry is to dish out a serving, and throw it into the microwave to heat it up. Two minutes, and there it is—quick and easy.

And that’s the quick and healthful recipe of the week.

Factor Mail

It’s time for the Fitness Factor mail. Lisa Wilson, one of Atlanta’s recording artists has helped us to sort through the mail, and she has come up with a question.

She read an email question from James from Houston, Texas. He wrote the following: “I am trying really hard, but finding it impossible to eat six meals/snacks a day. Do you have any tips to make it easier?”

That is a great question. When it comes to changing your body, there’s no doubt that nutrition is the hardest component. Here is what I recommend: Set aside three hours one day each week. Buy the food, prepare it, and store it so that when you’re hungry, you can reach for that food. You’re hungry, you’re ready. It’s nutritious food. You can eat it up, and it’s good to go. That gives you five to six meals. It’s all about prior preparation. You can also use protein shakes for snacks between meals.

I asked Lisa, who has been maintaining a healthful lifestyle for years, what she would recommend.

She said, “Well, I keep a very busy schedule, so I find it much easier if I take some protein shakes with me wherever I go, whether I’m working or playing or I’m out with my friends.”

That is a great suggestion.

Until next time, make it happen!

Corey Ritter

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