Healthy Living

Time to Boogie Quiz

October 15, 2008

by Ginny Temple
From Health magazine

A wise woman (choreographer Martha Graham, actually) once said, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” How true. And how great that what’s good for the soul is also great for your booty. Depending on your weight and how vigorously you shake, shake, shake, you can burn 300-plus calories per hour. Think you can’t dance? Think again. This quiz—which staffer Ginny Temple created with Josie Gardiner, a certified trainer and former ballet dancer, and Joy Prouty, a dance and fitness instructor and ex-Rockette—will help you find your groove.

Your ideal dance flick is:
1. The Nutcracker
2. Dancing With the Stars
3. Chicago
4. Girls Just Want to Have Fun

A good dance class leaves you:
1. Glistening (you don’t sweat)
2. Pleasantly exhilarated
3. On a post-cardio high
4. Sweaty—and proud of it

Your favorite outfit is:
1. Pink and feminine
2. Anything with heels
3. Formfitting with funky shoes
4. Sweats, preferably baggy

You’d love folks to drool over your:
1. Flat, strong abs
2. Pristine posture
3. Toned legs
4. Rapidly slimming figure

You describe yourself as:
1. Classic and disciplined
2. Elegant and easygoing
3. Lively and ambitious
4. Carefree and creative

Next page: Score yourself


Dancing Queens: Getting in Shape with Grace

July 8, 2008

Follow in the steps of these 5 women: Forget “exercise” and find bliss by dancing your way to a fitter, happier, sexier you. You’ll burn 300 calories for every hour you shake your booty. Read More


Dancing Queens: The Hip-Hop Dancer

July 8, 2008

Ellen Regenstreif, 40
Stay-at-home mom, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

The shimmy in her hips and bounce in her step keep Ellen going back every Tuesday to her hour-long hip-hop class. Last January, after yet another boring Spinning session, she found herself riveted by the grooving going on across the hall. Read More


Dancing Queens: The Jazz Dancer

July 8, 2008

Michelle Spencer, 34
Architect and design consultant, Chicago

“After I had my baby, my legs felt big and my arms were flabby,” Michelle recalls. “Everything had shifted.” When a dance studio opened in her neighborhood a year ago, she resumed the jazz classes that had helped her sizzle through high school. Read More


Dancing Queens: The Ballerina

July 8, 2008

Yvonne Shortt, 33
Client-services director, Rego Park, N.Y.

Once Yvonne had her children, she stopped exercising and gained 20 pounds. To get back in shape, she bellied up to the barre, doing ballet exercises at home. She’d grudgingly begun dancing at age 5, pushed by her mom into classes. This time, though, she was determined to go en pointe on her own terms. Read More


Dancing Queens: The Contra Dancer

July 8, 2008

The
Megan North Shuford, 28
Social worker, Knoxville, Tenn.

Dancing is something that Megan started doing as a teen with her friends—just a simple free-form style. Since then it’s been a high for her, a spiritual release, a way to blow off steam. Last fall, she ventured into a new kind of dance: contra dancing. Read More


Dancing Queens: The Salsa Dancer

July 8, 2008

Konajilo Luseni Barrasso, 28
Public relations account supervisor, New York

By her mid-20s, Kona still carried the 15 extra pounds she’d gained in college. Bored by the treadmill, she Googled “dance classes”—and salsa sites covered the screen. Read More


Is Nordic Walking a Better Way to Walk?

March 4, 2008

I’ve heard only good things about walking with Nordic poles—the most important being that it burns more calories and targets more muscles than regular walking, all while making your workout feel easier.
 
But now, in Central Park, just minutes into my first workout, there’s a boy riding his bike and staring at me. Not that I can blame him. I look sort of like a cross-country skier without the skis or the snow. The boy pedals faster and flies by me only to brake for a second take. While trying to decide whether I’m indeed a confused skier or maybe an arthritic modern dancer, he nearly collides with an older couple who seem equally perplexed by my presence. I can’t help but wonder: Is all this attention really worth a sweet calorie burn?

Read More


Synchronized Sex: Getting on the Same Schedule With Your Partner

February 8, 2008

How many nights have you spent on your side of the bed awake with passion, while your partner’s curled up next to you deep in sleep? Or maybe you’re the one who’s OK with having sex every week or so, while he’s looking for it every other day. Read More



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