What Kind of Dancing Will Work Out Your Stomach?

Music motivates. Exercising to a dance beat feels more like having fun than working out. When you want to get a good workout for your stomach, try sensuous and sinuous belly dancing, core crunching Zumba or popping and locking hip-hop, and bust a move for your abs. Dances such as these engage your stomach muscles, or abdominals -- the transversus abdominus and the rectus abdominus -- and the internal and external obliques, for a tummy-toning exercise routine.

  1. Belly Dancing

    • Belly dancing, as the name implies, gives a workout to the muscles of your stomach with moves such as rib slides that require you to swivel from the waist, or hip circles that roll from front to back. Drawing figure eights with your hips works the obliques and core. The camel and belly rolls work your core muscles with undulating and crunching movements, all performed to lively, exotic middle eastern tunes. Harem pants are optional.

    Hip Hop

    • You can incorporate a basic move into your hip-hop dance to give your stomach muscles a workout. Tuck your butt under as you tighten your stomach muscles and slightly hunch your shoulders forward while bending your knees. Straighten your knees and pull your shoulders back. Repeat these two moves to work your stomach muscles. Use this sequence while stepping sideways or doing other steps, such as kicks and hops.

    Zumba Dance

    • Latin music and other lively tunes provide the beat for Zumba-style workouts. Music selections generally contain slow passages, providing the rest necessary for interval training. Dance moves are borrowed from hip-swiveling Latin dances. Developed by Alberto "Beto" Perez of Columbia, Zumba dances sculpt your abs with rib slides and standing-side-stretch exercises, among other moves. Official Zumba classes are conducted by certified instructors.

    Cautions

    • If you have been away from exercise for a while or have a medical condition, consult with your medical provider before you begin a new exercise regimen. Whether you join a class, dance to a DVD or choreograph your own routine to your favorite tune, use a dance regimen suited to your current fitness level to avoid injury.