One of the questions I get asked a lot is how many calories can be burned by dancing salsa. Like for most sports the answer depends on your skill level and commitment but factors such as speed of the song, your personal body weight, skill level of your partner, the style of salsa being danced etc. will also heavily influence how many calories you will burn per hour.
Estimates of the number of calories burned per hour range from 393 per Oprah’s website to up to 528 depending on body weight as per the latindancepro website.
The most important factor that makes salsa dancing such a great way to lose weight and improve your general fitness level is, however, not the fact that you can lose a lot of calories in intensive one-off sessions but rather the fact that the enjoyment felt while dancing salsa is generally much higher than doing repetitive exercises that are designed purely for the purpose of slimming down. In addition, through the ecstasy of the dance most people lose themselves in the music and completely forget that they are actively working out. I.e. salsa dancing has the effect of an intense work-out without making people feel like they are exercising. This makes the probability much higher that people will stick to the activity helping them to not only reach their ideal weight but also to keep it subsequently.
Salsa requires quick steps, as well as different simultaneous body movements creating a cardio workout that is more effective than a large number of other dances including most ballroom dance types and it can certainly rival with many other sports looking at the rate of calorie burning in isolation. However, what makes salsa such an ideal way to exercise is the fact that it is so addictive and social that many people find themselves dancing for many hours at a dance social. Even at relatively amateur level I have met many people who enjoy dancing for over 3 hours at a time several times per week which is a level of commitment that is unheard of in many other sports at a beginner to intermediate level. This means that within the span of a week a relatively passionate salsa dancer can easily burn a huge amount of calories without the need to supplement it with any other form of exercise or special dietary requirements.
Adding to this the relative ease and accessibility of this dance means that you are not dependent on the weather or the gym opening times or your friends being available etc. Simply switching on some music in your living room to practice some suelto steps is enough to get the full benefits from this amazing form of exercise and once you realise how much fun cardio can be you will never look at your treadmill or exercise bike again.
