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I'm wondering how pole dancing compares to other kinds of exercise. I want to do something fun for my fitness program. Will pole dancing help me burn a lot of calories or is it mainly for toning up?
Comments for
How many calories does pole dancing burn?
How Many Would You Like It To Burn? by: Susan from PDFF
As with any physical activity, the number of calories burned depends on a variety of factors including the duration and intensity of the activity, and the weight, age and gender of the participant.
A 130 pound woman performing very basic pole dance moves that elevate the heart rate only slightly will burn significantly fewer calories than a woman of similar weight and body composition who performs a continuous series of advanced tricks. A 180 pound man performing those same advanced tricks will burn calories at an even higher rate.
As a general guide, pole dancing at a beginner level, where few spins or tricks are involved, burns a similar number of calories per hour as a mild-moderate aerobic fitness class.
Intermediate level pole dancing, where spins and other airborne moves are interspersed with more basic moves, is roughly equivalent to a moderate-intense aerobic fitness class in terms of calorie burn.
And at an advanced level, such as that shown in this video of Felix, the 2009 World Pole Dance Champion, the number of calories burned per hour is obviously very high.
At this level, pole dancing is both a cardio and strength workout, which places heavy demands on the body's energy systems and results in a high rate of caloric burn both during and after the workout. It would not be unreasonable to assume a rate of 800+ calories per hour at this level, assuming the activity could be sustained for this long!
So the short answer? As with any activity, what you put into it is what you'll get out of it. Hopefully that includes a whole lot of fun too. Remember, if you enjoy your fitness program you're much more likely to stick with it. And in the final analysis, the calorie burn of any activity remains purely theoretical unless you actually do it!
