Last week I decided to wear my heart rate monitor as I practiced salsa steps.  Dancing is an activity that I enjoy doing, so I wanted to investigate the level of its effectiveness.  After 30 minutes of an intense, fitness targeted salsa footwork DVD my heart rate hovered around 110 bpm.  Apparently dancing isn’t the work out I thought it was.

I decided to look further into this and found a comparison of aerobic exercises at the mayo clinc.  On their chart of activities and calories burned, dancing comes in at around 300 calories per hour.  This is similar rate for brisk golfing, gardening, brisk walking, or badminton.  Gardening?

Wanting more information I found an article from the American Heart Association on general aerobic suggestions.  Mid way through the article, they answer the question of using moderate level exercises to increase health.

What about moderate-intensity activities?

Even moderate-intensity activities, when performed daily, can have some long-term health benefits. They help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Here are some examples:

• walking for pleasure, gardening and yard work
• housework, dancing and prescribed home exercise
• recreational activities such as tennis, racquetball, soccer, basketball and touch football

I’ve come to the conclusion, while social dancing is mildly beneficial, it shouldn’t be my main source of fitness training.  Dancing should play more of an active lifestyle than a source of exercise.