• Dear Dancers, weight belts are for everyone, not just belly dancers
• Premise for Belly dancers
• List of Benefits
• Safety Tips
• Weight Belt Sizing Help? Click here
• Additional Exercises
• Strong Women Stay Young:
An overview of the bennifits of weight lifting on bones
• Other resources
Dear Dancers,
My new belly dance weight belts are becoming very popular with dancers of all styles. These dancers are using them and fast discovering for themselves the exciting benefits. I've been using my weight belt for more than 20 years. After I'd tell my students about it, they said they couldn't find one in the stores. Now you can order one from me! I’ve researched and arranged to have these belts especially made with a more feminine sensibility than traditional sporting equipment. The design is pleasing to the eye, soft, colorful and washable! You can call, write, or order one from our Bazaar page.
The weight belt is not just good for belly dancers. Men, women, kids, seniors, fit and unfit, can all gain benefits from using a weight belt.
Weights are used for all sorts of sports and rehabilitation. Weighted toys on a high chair table help children with disabilities gain control and strength. Basketball players use weighted vests to watch the game so when they take them off, they will join the game with extra and instant vitality! Senior citizens use weights for increasing bone density (strengthening bones) and maintaining fluid mobility.
Here is the premise for their use by belly dancers:
You wear the 8 to 14 pound belt on your hips as you slowly and mindfully concentrate on your hip combinations. All your hip, leg and torso muscles work a little bit harder. After a few sessions with the belt, you'll notice without the belt your hip begins to responds effortlessly to the new pattern you’ve been working on. Even just walking around with one, doing tai-chi, climbing stairs, or doing house work, will have added benefits for conditioning and strengthening your body and increasing your dance ability. The weight feels heavy when you hold out the belt in front of you, but when you fasten it around your hips you hardly notice it's on. These are considered light weights and you will not get bulky muscles from using them. You will become better conditioned and look great. When it's time to take off the belt you will feel a wonderful little boost of energy, like you just lost 10 pounds or like you had an injection of vitamin B-12!
Benefits
• It is soft and comfortable to wear.
• It is adjustable (velcro closure).
• The weights are soft and if you drop one on your toe you won't bruise anything!
• It speeds up the learning curve when learning to develop hip articulations in bellydancing!
• It helps the slow hip catch up with the smart hip (many of you know what I mean).
• It increases and maintains muscle fitness and general muscular balance.
• It strengthens torso, back,leg muscles and core balance development essential to all dancers.
• It trims the waist line, decreases fat and changes body shape.
• It builds endurance.
• It strengthens your awareness of where center is!
• Like all weight exercises, it helps improve bone density (strengthens bones) - so important for older women!
• The weight feels good on your back because it's evenly distributed.
• The weights are removable so you can wash the belt.
• It's streamlined and femininely designed rather than looking so jock-like.
General Safety when using all weights
• A medical check up is essential prior to commencement of a full weight program for those who are over 35 years of age, if have been inactive or have a medical condition - e.g. heart problems, asthma. If you have an injury consult your doctor or physiotherapist.
• Always follow correct techniques at all times and take care of your back! Be mindful of your body and listen to its warning signs. Always maintain good posture by keeping your knees unlocked, feet apart, head up and chin in. Tighten your stomach muscles and squeeze the buttocks. When doing arm exercises, keep your shoulders down and back.
• Always remember to breath out on exertion. Do not hold your breath.
Control the weight throughout the entire range of the exercise. Progress slowly and never try to lift heavier weights than you are capable of lifting.
• Children under 15 should only use light weights. Beginners should allow a day of rest in between the use of weights. Using heavy weights can be dangerous and should be done with shoes, gloves, various safety equipment and a buddy system.
Additional exercises
There are tons of other exercises to do with the weight belts working any part of your body. The amount or repetitions and sets will vary for different exercises and individuals. Consult a fitness trainer for a personalized exercise plan. For general use, start out with a few repetitions and gradually build up.
Some examples
• Lay it on your chest and do sit ups.
• Use it like a dumbbell for all areas of your arms.
• Wrap it around your leg and do all sorts of leg exercises.
• Use one pound weights in each hand and hold your arms high while you dance. This will straighten your alignment and work on energy extension.
• Spin or turn with a one pound weight held overhead in each hand.
• Roll a one-pound weight up and down your tummy while on your back.
• Try popping one into the air like Delilah does with her silver dollar on Delilah’s Bellydance Workshop Volume 3!
• Slowly rotate the belt overhead for chest, shoulders, upper back, midriff and core balance.
• You can simply lay it on your shoulders for 10 minutes now and then while you are on the computer and feel the shoulder and neck stress melt away!
Strong Women Stay Young
by Mariam E Nelson Ph.D. with Sarah Wernick, Ph.D. (New York, Bamtum books 1997)
Based on the Tufts University Research Project, 1996
The report featured in Strong Women Stay Young demonstrates that elderly people with osteoporosis and other chronic conditions can benefit greatly from strength training programs. Many aspects of normal aging, such as loss of muscle mass, slowed metabolism and bone thinning, can be reversed with a regular program of weight lifting and muscle strengthening exercises.
This book targets woman over the age of 35. The authors describe their work as a scientifically proven strength training program which replaces fat with muscle, reverses bone loss, and improves energy and balance. They stress the importance of regular aerobic activity because it will increase longevity and decrease the risks of heart disease and many other chronic conditions. Walking is recommended as good for your legs and lower bone mass but it does not increase bone mass in the hips as Tai Chi would, for example, because of the swaying motion involved. The book stresses that aerobics and walking are not enough to achieve good health and suggests participating in simple overall strength training as a better way to increase bone mass. The authors outline a program that only needs to be followed twice a week.
End notes
If Tai Chi works well because of the swiveling hip action, we wonder what those researchers would have to say about bellydancing with weights? We think the secret to good health is to do a little of everything: aerobics for your heart and endurance, free weights for strength and good bones and bellydancing for fun, creativity and self expression!
