Bellydancing Is My Favorite Exercise

by Lorelie
(Connecticut, USA)

Bellydancing is my favorite exercise. I fell in love with it eight years ago when I walked into my first belly dance class. Hi My name is Lorelie, I am a personal trainer / bellydancer.

The movements and isolation's that you learn in bellydancing work every part of your body. The core muscles of course are worked but believe it or not your legs and arms get a great workout as well.

I am fortunate to have a GREAT mentor and teacher who is still going strong and in her 70's. The sheer joy of moving to Middle Eastern rhythms takes your mind off of any problems you may have in your daily life and relieves stress.

I now teach classes for my teacher and love watching the new comers excitement as they learn to move there bodies in new ways. To see women and girls of all ages discover the grace and beauty that is within them is priceless.

All classes start out with a stretching segment and isolations such as shimmies, rib cage slides, snake arms etc. We then work on hip drops, shimmies, figure eights, hip circles etc. From there we do movements across the floor, which sometimes turns into a bit of cardio. From there we work on a specific choreograph, sometimes with veils, zills (finger cymbals) or canes. After a year of hard work the students perform either on a stage or in a restaurant setting for their families and friends.

It keeps me in shape for parties and performances which I/we sometimes get hired to do.

As a former bodybuilder as well I also recommend lifting weights to maintain some muscle mass, along with bellydancing and even doing another form of aerobic exercise.

I like to mix it up

by Christa
(Colorado)

I've tried every workout program out there.

Recently I purchased the gravity trainer. It's a simple system that fits in any standard doorway. Easy to use and you only need your body weight as the resistance.

Can't get any better than that. I don't need to lift a car but if I fall down I need to be able to get myself up off the floor. I also enjoy the 10 minute trainer from Beach Body.

Lastly I use some of the exercises that my son does in in fencing class. Great way to work out the quads with lunges.

Variety is the spice of life.

My Favorite Workout

When I work out, I love feeling my muscles work. That's why I like free weights and the weight bench the best.

Muscles burn more calories than other tissue, so I try to make sure my muscles work as hard as possible. The calorie burning effect continues even after my workout is over, so it's so worth it!

Of course, I alternate with an aerobic workout every other day to exercise my heart and lungs. If I do a cardio workout, I like to use a stepper or elliptical on high to really feel the burn and make my legs work. That way, I get both cardio and strength training all in one workout!