If there is ever a good reason to dance the night away, this is it! Join The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers for Dance Aid for Haiti – an evening of dance choreographed and performed by local member & non-member dance groups, benefiting the American Red Cross. Think hip-hop, contemporary ballet, tap, jazz, salsa, chair dancing and more!

All Dance Aid attendees will receive a free week pass to the Sports Center health club, which can be redeemed before April 23. With this week pass, you will enjoy a week’s worth of unlimited dance classes at the Sports Center. Dance Week also provides you full access to the entire facility including rock climbing, swimming, cardio, beach volleyball and much more.

All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), an organization that is fully dedicated to getting aid into the hands of the people who need it most.

When:  Friday, March 26, 2010 from 7:00pm - 8:15pm

Where: Studio A, at Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, Pier 60, West 20th Street & Hudson River Park

Cost: Minimum Donation of $15. Contributions accepted at the door. Click here TO PURCHASE TICKETS!

Contact: John Boyd, Sports Center Group Fitness Director 212.336.6052 or boydjo@chelseapiers.com

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of gliding over the ice on skates. While you may not be able to go head-to-head with 2010 Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek, every Olympian starts somewhere.

While it may seem like a fun pastime, figure skating also burns calories. If you weigh 150 pounds, you’ll burn about 640 calories by doing an hour of vigorous ice skating. To calculate your hourly burn rate, multiply 4.25 by your weight in pounds.* The more you add to your continuous loops around the rink, the more calories you burn – throw in a few turns and feet changes, and you’re up to 800 or so calories an hour.

Whether you’re in it to compete or just take on a new challenge, figure skating is a phenomenal workout. “Skating movements come mainly from your legs, butt and back, which will all tone up through skating. You will certainly improve your flexibility through long strides and tighten your core through the balancing act that is figure skating,” Kenny Moir, Director of Figure Skating at Sky Rink, explained to me.

So, put a little chill in your fitness regime and keep yourself active during these exciting Vancouver games. 

*Excerpted from The Chelsea Piers Fitness Solution. To learn more or to purchase, click here.

Eating properly isn't always easy, but, whatever you do, don't cave to my Top 5 Worst Fad Diets:

5) The Atkins Diet - The Atkins Diet may be the culprit that started the celebrity fad diet craze some years back.  It believes in cutting out carbohydrates entirely.  In doing so, your body will lose water weight, thus creating the illusion that you are losing weight.  You will burn some fat because your caloric intake is restricted, but in the meantime you will have no energy (due to lack of glucose in your bloodstream).  Your exercise regimen will suffer and your muscles will not have carbs which are essential to recovery.  Then, when you begin eating carbs again (which you have to do because carbs are essential to being healthy), all of the weight will be put back on and your body will be in worse shape.  This diet is unsustainable and downright unhealthy.

4) "Detox" Cleanses - Various types of "detox diets" have hit the market with the promise that they will flush out toxins and force the body into a hyper-metabolic state that will quickly burn fat.  In reality, these diets slow down the metabolism and deprive the body of the essential fuel it has needed to survive since Day One... Food!

3) The Cookie Diet - Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet is centered around the one thing that truly matters when it comes to weight loss... calorie-restriction.  People lose weight on the cookie diet not because they eat Dr. Siegal's magical amino-acid (protein) rich cookies all day, but instead because they are restricting their caloric intake.

2) The Beef Jerky Diet - Once again, people do not lose weight by eating beef jerky all day.  If this diet has worked for anyone, it has worked because of calorie restriction.

1) Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet - When I caught a commercial advertising the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet for the first time, I almost fell off of my couch I was laughing so hard.  You will not lose weight by eating Taco Bell all day.  If, somehow, this diet aids you in restricting calories, then you will lose weight.

In reality, weight loss is simple... when calories consumed=calories expended weight is maintained, when calories consumed>calories expended weight is gained, and when calories consumed<calories expended weight is lost.  About 70% of total caloric expenditure is due to Basal Metabolic Rate (life processes within the organs of the body), and each person's metabolism is different so we all burn calories at a different rate.  Some people can eat a ton and burn it all off; others need to be more careful in the amount they consume so that the excess food is not stored as fat.

A diet focused on moderation and variation that is rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, good carbs and plenty of water is the healthiest way to eat.  When you're hungry... eat.  As soon as you are full... stop eating.  Most overweight individuals do not understand the difference between being full and over-eating.

Also, people commonly justify over-eating with, "It's OK... I went to the gym today."  This is the worst thing someone trying to lose weight can do.  Yes, working out is a vital part of losing weight.  It revs up your metabolism and adds calorie-burning muscle to your body.  It does not, though, burn off the thousands of extra calories you can consume by over eating. So, be careful out there - there are a lot of diets that claim they will shed the pounds, but in reality, all you really need is a healthy diet (mentioned above) and a bit of moderation.

Dance Strong Master Class will be held Sunday, February 28. Instructors Joe Buffa & Winter Gabriel will teach you the key components of what it means, physically and mentally, to be a strong and healthy dancer. All you need is a little bit of rhythm and you’re on your way!

The class will be held in Studio A. Cost: $15/members and $25/non-Sports Center members. Members who refer a non-member guest to register in a class series will enjoy the class free of charge. Hope to see you there!

Zumba is all the rage and it's this month's Featured Class!

Click here to read what members are saying about Zumba and be sure to join certified Zumba instructor Sam Salazar on Saturdays at 11am in Studio B. Skip the treadmill session and join the party!