Bellydancing?
 

Umm..just a question but has anyone on here tried any type of bellydancing videos to get in shape? Success stories? I looked on Amazon.com and there is a lot of videos but not a lot of info. Anyone care to suggest anything? :)

my sister does it and lost alot of fat, and now has a really cool 6-pack!
Plus she can now show off at the club and getts alot of attention!

My older sister uses bellydancing as part of keeping in shape, and she loves it!

Well, it looks really fun to do! Since I have a mild case of ADD I need something to entertain me when exercising! lol :) I work out at the gym doing all the machines 5 times a week, but it doesn't seem to be working, so I figured if I added in the bellydancing it'd speed up the process. Now if I can find a decent dvd.... :D

i had to learn bellydancing for greek week, and while i didn't lose weight like i've heard can happen (i wasn't trying either) i did discover all sorts of muscles i didn't know i had. give it a try! i know at my school they even offer it as a recreation elective (maybe 2 hours) so you might want to look into it as a way to exercise and get hours done.

It sounds like a fun exercise. Maybe I should try this summer. I think that Borders has some good exercise DVDs.

I've been bellydancing for a few months now. I have 4 videos from Natural Journeys that I currently rotate

Veena and Neena:
Bellydancing Fitness for Beginners Basic Moves
Bellydancing Fitness for Beginners Slim Down

Rania:
Bellydancing Fitness for Weight Loss Hip Hop Hip Drop
Bellydancing Fitness for Weight Loss Pure Sweat

I prefer the Veena and Neena videos over the Rania videos, becaus Rania's are all voiced over and she's kinda creepy looking. Several other people I know who bellydance prefer the Goddess Workout with Dolphina. I've watched some of the clips from the videos, and they seem much better than the ones I currently use. I plan on getting those videos after I move.

Bellydancing videos can never give you the kind of feel and intensity as going to an actual class. Not to knock them but you guys should really check and see if there are live bellydancing classes in your area!

Bellydancing is a great workout, a lot of fun and REALLY gives you something to show off on the dance floor, lol. A lot of the motions in bellydance are similar to those I was doing for years dancing to reggae, so it was a lot easier for me than it was for some people in the class, but no matter the skill level EVERYONE had a great time. Having a teacher there to help you focus made sure that everyone progressed.

Also, buy a scarf w/ coins. You can make a lot of noise when you shimmy, and it makes a huge difference to the hip thrust and figure eight movements. THere are a lot of online markets where you can buy them.

i agree with lovelyivy84
i hate exercising but i love goign to my class
i get to see the exercises
and i can ask advice
and make sure that i'm doing the exercises right

plus, i get to make friends
and i love it that when you don't show up
people miss you
you feel like a family

I LOVE the Neena and Veena videos!!! I own two of them and LOVE them. The Slim Down video is a great workout...you DEFINATELY feel it. It helped me to lose weight(I lost 50 pounds this past year, and this was one of the workouts I used). The Basic Moves video is fun, but I would say it's more for just learning the very basics of Bellydance and not really for a good workout. It's fun and relaxing, and gives you energy...but try Slim Down if you want a good workout.

I too have the Neena and Veena Slim Down Belly Dancing workout! I never thought I would sweat so much from dancing! I really wish that there was a class offered somewhere around me, because I would love to take it and learn what I am doing wrong. Not only do you get a good workout, you learn some interesting moves to show your boyfriend/husband/whatever in the bedroom!;) I definately reccomend it!

Thank you all for your responses!! I've decided to go for the Neena and Veena slim-down video :) I really don't need to lose weight just tone up a bit, heh :)

On the classes thing, I've already checked and no classes are even close to here :( White_Chocolate- Ditto on the gym=family deal, I go to a gym in which all the seniors (60+ years) are my grandparents, lol! I've noticed one thing, you do get close to people at gyms, even if you didn't plan to.

PS: Wal-Mart doesn't carry ANYTHING! grr! Amazon.com here I come!

PSS:Another plus..I told TKE209 about this..he's now a very excited boyfriend...:p

Try Target. I got them there for 6.99 each.

The closest target is an hour away :( But I may try the mini road-trip, heh

You can buy excercise videos online at collagefitness.com or even on amazon.com, just in case you can't find it at Big K.

*bump*

I want to see how many GCers have tried this. A friend of mine told me about a woman who teaches belly dancing classes in the Orlando area and I'm curious.

Is belly dancing a full body workout or does it specifically target the abs? I think it would be a cool thing to learn and it would also help me with some new club dance moves. ;)

For the Central Florida people who are interested, the website for this place is www.orlandobellydance.com

It doesn't seem too expensive but Longwood is pretty far from where I live.

It's definately a total body workout! It works your legs really well especially.

I have Veena and Neena's, and I really like it. I've kinda quit doing it cause I live in an apartment where there are always like 10 people there, but when I did it, I lost weight, and got nice abs!!

It really is a good workout. My friend and I took a class just to be stupid and it ended up giving us a good workout.

I don't think it would hurt your knees and as long as you don't do it for 7 hours then your feet should be fine. It's really fun! But it will make you sore at first......

I tore a ligament in my knee, and bellydancing doesn't hurt any worse than anything else. I think arthritis or any other knee problem would be fine with this.