Dance Fitness To Burn Fat - Cardio Dance Workout to Lose Weight

Getting great abs doesn't have to involve the drudgery of crunches and planks. Channel your inner dancer to lose belly fat and reveal a toned tum.

However, losing belly fat isn't just about looking good on the dance floor — it's a matter of health. Too much belly fat, especially the deep inner fat that widens your waistband, puts you at greater risk of chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Don't fear, though. If you've got rhythm, you've got the tools to lose the extra pounds. Borrow moves from hip-hop, belly dancing and jazz to tone your muscles.

Get Your Groove on to Burn Fat

Belly fat shrinks in response to a more physically active lifestyle, and dancing is an effective way to move more -— and enjoy it. Whether you shake it in Zumba or swivel your hips in your own living room, you're burning calories, which is key to losing belly fat.

While you can't target a specific area for fat loss, your belly is one of the places that shrinks first when you get moving, explains Rush University Medical Center. Movement helps boost your daily calorie burn, so you end up with a caloric deficit and your body has to dip into fat stores to provide energy.

Dancing is a fun way to burn calories. If you weigh 155 and dance fast for 30 minutes, expect to burn 223 calories in 30 minutes, equal to a cross-country hike. Slower ballroom dance still sizzles 205 calories in 30 minutes and even a slow waltz fries 105 calories in the same amount of time — the amount you'd burn in a casual game of volleyball. People who weigh more burn a greater number of calories when dancing, too.

Tips

Watch portion sizes and the quality of your food choices to make sure you lose belly fat. Limit sugary sweets, including soda, and refined grains.
Waist-Whittling Moves

After you've danced to burn calories, perform some concentrated skills to tone your abs and further dance away your flab.

Hip Circles
This belly dancing move targets your outer ab muscles — the obliques — and your glutes. Put on some swanky tunes to get you in the mood. The jazz hip roll is a similar movement.