The Secret to Staying Sexy and Fit at Sixty

Not a golfer? Does trudging mindlessly on a treadmill or pedaling a bike to nowhere leave you cold? Is mall walking making you dizzy? Can you name a full body contact sport enjoyed by tots as enthusiastically as seniors? "Dancing With The Stars" brought ballroom dancing back from oblivion and into millions of living rooms. Cloris Leachman, Florence Henderson and Buzz Aldrin proved that anyone of any age can dance.

Physical exercise is vital to maintaining good health, but not everyone enjoys rolling around on an exercise ball. Ballroom dancing exercises your mind and body together. You won't even notice that the pounds are melting away, your muscles are growing stronger, and your dead brain cells are coming back to life. You will meet new friends of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and you might even lose yourself so completely that the cares of the world slip away for a time.

At sixty-three I've been dancing for almost ten years. In my first year I lost twenty-five pounds, which alone was worth the price of the lessons. I have osteo-arthritis in my knees and dancing has strengthened the supporting muscles in my legs, allowing me to be more active. It improved my balance and even my flexibility. (No, I still can't do the splits.) I made new forever friends, emerged from my anti-social shell, and survived a tragedy in my life.

Private dance lessons can be expensive, but many dance studios offer group lessons for as little as $5.00 an hour. You usually don't need to bring a partner since most instructors rotate partners throughout their classes. Community colleges offer group dance lessons at affordable rates. Dance clubs also offer reasonably-priced (and sometimes free) lessons. If you love country-western music there's another whole world of dance possibilities to explore. Country-western dance clubs often offer free group lessons for partner dancing and line dancing early in the evening. Beware of dance studios that try to sign you up for a set number of pre-paid lessons. It's usually a bad deal and a bad idea for you.

Dance your way back to fitness, energy, flexibility, balance and yes,even sex appeal.