By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
Who says promoting heart health has to be boring? Dance is a great way to keep your heart healthy.
It may look fun, but learning to dance is a work out.
St. Luke's Physical Therapist Erik Nieuwenhuis said, "I think dancing is really one of the best cardiovascular exercises because it's a whole body exercise and you use your hips, you use your legs, you using your back, your abdominal muscles, you're using full body motions of pulling your arms across your body up."
And Channel Nine's Jessica Cihacek knows dancing is good exercise and good competition.
She'll be hitting the dance floor with St. Luke's Doctor Richard Ayi on Saturday as part of the Dancing With The Siouxland Stars competition.
And Doctor Ayi says dancing is helping him get fit.
"When we started, I had to do a couple of lifts and I dropped Jessica about five times. Now, I'm able to hold on tight," said Dr. Ayi.
Dance is just one ingredient to a healthy heart. A good, well-rounded diet, drinking at least 40 ounces of water a day and a good night's sleep are important as well.
But if you have to get moving, why not make it a dance party?
"It allows you to be more of yourself and just have a lot more fun and to kind of play...just to play," said Nieuwenhuis.
"It's good. This is the best way to get fit. You have fun with it and you break down some fat here and there," said Dr. Ayi.
To learn more about heart health, be sure to check out St. Luke's Day of Dance, this Saturday from 10am until 2 pm at the Marina Center in South Sioux City.
