Shake it. right. off.

June 30, 2006 6:46 AM

Does anyone have a video recommendation to dance my way to skinny?

A little while ago, a friend and I rented the new Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory remake and, while I didn't care for the movie, I absolutely loved the dvd extra where I got to learn that kick-ass dance sequence. I would love to find something like this to do for a real workout. Does anyone know of a video that teaches you an extended dance sequence, any high-energy kind of dancing, that could get me to work up a sweat?

posted by Foam Pants to Health & Fitness (21 answers total)

This isn't a video, but trust me: what you want is Dance Dance Revolution for PS2, or Stepmania for the PC.
posted by Prospero at 6:54 AM on June 30, 2006

I second Prospero. Heck, this kid is in great shape.
posted by rinkjustice at 6:58 AM on June 30, 2006

you can also get DDR for the original Playstation, Xbox and DDR Mario for the Gamecube. I have a friend that swears by it.
posted by nimsey lou at 7:00 AM on June 30, 2006

Crunch Fitness has a lot of cardio-dance videos available. I use Crunch's Cardio Dance Blast which has several fun sequences to learn and it's a great workout too.
posted by tastybrains at 7:06 AM on June 30, 2006

Sorry, I thought I was linking to a page of Crunch videos, but I just linked to the main Collage Video page. You can find the Crunch videos either at Collage or Amazon or even at your local Target.
posted by tastybrains at 7:07 AM on June 30, 2006

I am a Mac user and I don't want to purchase any video game equipment. This does put a bit of a restriction on things.
posted by Foam Pants at 7:08 AM on June 30, 2006

if what you loved was learning a dance routine and then dancing, i do not think you will enjoy DDR. i'm completely unfamiliar with the "learning the dance routine extra" on the Chocolate Factory DVD, but i've played a lot of DDR (which i enjoyed) but it's not even remotely like dancing and a lot more like hopping and occasionally running in place.

i don't have a suggestion (sorry) for a high-energy dancing DVD, but netflix has salsa dance lesson DVDs, tango lessons, stripping lessons, if you have a subscription, you could try a couple.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:14 AM on June 30, 2006

Foam, there are DDR-like games for the Mac, but you'd have to purchase a $15-$20 dance pad to dance on (which would probably cost less than a tape/dvd). I think the games might even be free. If you do a search in the AskMefi archives on DDR you'll find the links on how to do it.

I am 37 years old and I LOVE DDR. My boyfriend bought me a used Playstation and that is the only "game" I have.
posted by astruc at 7:29 AM on June 30, 2006

I don't have a helpful suggestion, other than to mention that a good friend of mine did exactly that - danced himself thin. Of course, he also modified his diet to eat healthier meals. His primary excercise, however, was to go out dancing several nights a week. When he started, he was nearly 300 lbs. Two years later, he is under 180. It was a long, gradual process that required patience and dedication. Don't expect a quck fix, just stick with it for the long haul and you will get there.
posted by Lokheed at 7:34 AM on June 30, 2006

You could Learn to Dance with Napolean Dynomite
posted by rinkjustice at 7:35 AM on June 30, 2006

Seriously, this is what I like to do (don't judge me!): Find some of those DVDs of compilations of songs from Bollywood movies. Skip the sappy love songs, and dance along with the faster ones. It's fun and funny. Very high energy. And people really do dance Bollywood to lose weight. It's possible that there are actual "learn bollywood" DVDs that teach you step-by-step, too. Haven't looked into it.

I also like the dance lesson on the Charlie DVD. Fun :)
posted by lampoil at 7:43 AM on June 30, 2006

Oh yes, I'll concur with the people recommending dance games. I bought a second hand PS2 and a dance game and mat. It's fantastic! The game I have also has a specific workout mode, you tell it how long you want to go for, it counts calories and progress.

It's seriously fun, and really gets me sweating.
posted by tomble at 7:52 AM on June 30, 2006

This is just an ordinary DVD - that's what you're looking for, right? It's a Brazilian dance workout, and I love it! It has two 30 minute sections that flow into each other, so I always do the whole thing. It's long enough to really work up a sweat.
posted by peep at 8:22 AM on June 30, 2006

Dance Dance Revolution has a workout mode. My wife uses it all the time. You can get a bundle with the game and two pads for like $60.
posted by jxpx777 at 9:12 AM on June 30, 2006

but i've played a lot of DDR (which i enjoyed) but it's not even remotely like dancing and a lot more like hopping and occasionally running in place.

I'd just like to note that you can do DDR by dancing as opposed to just hopping. In fact, I found it easier to do faster sequences by making them a dance.
posted by dame at 9:41 AM on June 30, 2006

My sister has really loved Carmen Electra's Fit to Strip. It's a fairly good workout (and you don't actually strip).
posted by ryokoblue at 9:48 AM on June 30, 2006

I just ordered an exercise pad to use with StepMania (which is free, by the way). I've never done ddr before, but I'm doing it specifically for the workout potential. I tried a few songs on the keyboard and when you get into a groove, it's a lot of fun. I imagine it's much more so on the pad. I'm very excited about it, even though everyone I tell this to thinks I'm nuts.
posted by condour75 at 10:22 AM on June 30, 2006

I rented Honey Kalaria's Bollywood Workout on Netflix,
and I sweat so much that I bought it (a steal at $6.99).
posted by Lillitatiana at 10:40 AM on June 30, 2006

DDR is a great workout but it's much closer to tap dance than "regular" dance. You do a lot of rapid combinations that fly over the beat, as opposed to steadily taking one step on each beat.
posted by rxrfrx at 11:51 AM on June 30, 2006

I have yet to try it, but a Turbo Jam craze is sweeping our office. I can't go 30 minutes without hearing someone new saying they've tried it and loved it.
posted by TG_Plackenfatz at 4:53 PM on June 30, 2006

I second ryokoblue's suggestion of Carmen Electra's Fit to Strip... I had some fun doing that one for a while - although kinda depressing when I caught sight of how decidedly un-sexy I looked when doing the same moves that looked good when she did them!
posted by jonathanstrange at 12:09 AM on July 1, 2006