Waltzing To Fitness

It is hard, Geezer admits, to imagine Lawrence Welk as a fitness guru, but as this L.A. Times piece on the health benefits of waltzing points out, Welk's  famous "and a one, and a two, and a three" may have improved the cadio health of many millions of people. The Times directs our attention to a study, presented at a recent meeting of the American Heart Association, that indicates that dancing the waltz three times a week for eight weeks was just as effective in improving cardiopulmonary function as exercising on a treadmill or bicycle for the same period. The piece quotes Jeff Allen, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ballroom Dancing," who explains that in the American-style waltz, there are 30 to 36 bars per minute, so you're doing 90 weight changes per minute or more.
Read more from CBS News about the health benefits of waltzing.