Tired of your old gym routine? Try tap dancing
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOR fitness outside the box-step of the gym, why not try hoofing it?
Experts say whether you've got rhythm, or just crave it, an extended foray into the purely American art form of tap dance can boost your balance, cardio and core.
"It's great for balance because tap dance is all about weight shift," said Courtney Runft, an instructor at the American Tap Dance Center in New York. "You're forced to stand on one leg, so you're really using those fine muscles on the bottom of your feet."
Runft, who turned to tap dance after injuries sidelined her ballet career, said while the learning curve for tap varied as broadly as her students, who range in age from three and a half to the mid-70's, consistency yielded results.
"I look at some adults who could not stand on one leg three months ago, now they can balance and move their other leg freely," she said. "It really builds the lower body. And once you have the basics under control it's definitely a cardio workout."
The roots of tap dance reach back to the days of slave trade in America augmented in the mid-19th century with the jigs and clog dances of Irish and English immigrants.
Elizabeth Larkam, a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, said tap dance was safe to do throughout one's life because it adapts to any fitness level.
"It's very easy to moderate the intensity," said Larkam, a Pilates and dance medicine specialist, based in San Francisco. "It's more difficult to get a cardiovascular workout in ballet, because one needs a higher level of skill to get those benefits without injury."
Larkam said studies had shown that the rhythmic aspects of tap dancing were good for the brain, but it was not a complete workout.
"It lacks strengthening for arms, shoulder girdle and upper body, " Larkam explained.
Experts say whether you've got rhythm, or just crave it, an extended foray into the purely American art form of tap dance can boost your balance, cardio and core.
"It's great for balance because tap dance is all about weight shift," said Courtney Runft, an instructor at the American Tap Dance Center in New York. "You're forced to stand on one leg, so you're really using those fine muscles on the bottom of your feet."
Runft, who turned to tap dance after injuries sidelined her ballet career, said while the learning curve for tap varied as broadly as her students, who range in age from three and a half to the mid-70's, consistency yielded results.
"I look at some adults who could not stand on one leg three months ago, now they can balance and move their other leg freely," she said. "It really builds the lower body. And once you have the basics under control it's definitely a cardio workout."
The roots of tap dance reach back to the days of slave trade in America augmented in the mid-19th century with the jigs and clog dances of Irish and English immigrants.
Elizabeth Larkam, a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, said tap dance was safe to do throughout one's life because it adapts to any fitness level.
"It's very easy to moderate the intensity," said Larkam, a Pilates and dance medicine specialist, based in San Francisco. "It's more difficult to get a cardiovascular workout in ballet, because one needs a higher level of skill to get those benefits without injury."
Larkam said studies had shown that the rhythmic aspects of tap dancing were good for the brain, but it was not a complete workout.
"It lacks strengthening for arms, shoulder girdle and upper body, " Larkam explained.
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