Weight management may conjure up that dreaded “exercise” word. And exercise to some means pushing body beyond limits, experiencing painful in joints, muscles, bones – everywhere.

No pain no gain, right? Wrong.

Instead, replace word “exercise” with “activity” and incorporate this in your daily routine. And a general rule of thumb for guidelines about “activity” would be to strive for a minimum of 30 minutes for adults or 60 minutes for children of moderate physical activity daily.

Individual activity goals depend upon each person’s health and weight goals and issues. Begin by checking with your medical advisor or healthcare physician to get a green light on which activities would be suitable for you, what your target weight range should be and a strategic plan to improve your health.

If you know you should be exercising more and just can’t drag yourself out of bed an hour earlier in morning to go jogging in freezing cold, or can’t find tennis and racquetball partners, dancing’s an option you need to consider. It requires no partner, no special equipment, costs little, happens after work hours, and you probably have something appropriate to wear already in your closet.

Many dance halls now offer free or nearly-free group dance lessons and there are dancing studios cropping up all over country where you can get individual and group lessons.

Typically dance teacher in private school tries to balance ratio of men to women (arguably hardest part of job), and encourages changing partners, partly to increase your leading and following skills, and partly so you can develop social skills of dancing – where to look, what to say, how to invite someone to dance with you, and how to decline politely.

They also may fill in with dance assistants who are learning how to teach and want practice. “You don’t need to have a partner,” they advertise. Singles are welcome, often outnumbering partnered, and there’s likely to be a wide age range, skewed slightly on older side. How sweet it that?

The private dance studio may also offer social outings and field trips to other dance halls which will extend your knowledge of what’s available and also bring you new acquaintances and dance partners.

And a nod to future? Many schools offer training for your first wedding dance. It’s a big moment when bride and groom take floor, and they will teach you how to make it look and feel good.

If you’re a man, you can also use this training to allow you to become a Gentleman Dance Host on cruise ships, including coveted Cunard line. These gentleman, who are older and have good social and dance skills, are on duty every night in various lounges of ship dancing with women in need of dancing partners, as part of their working vacation. For more information on this, see my ebook, “Presenting on a Cruise.”

Country and Western dance halls, Salsa Clubs and Big Band Ballrooms are filling empty nights (weeknights and Sundays) by offering group lessons you can take advantage of. They usually have a male and a female teacher, so you can see what it looks like when you actually dance with someone.

You can learn Triple Two Step, Salsa, Merengue, West Coast Swing and new line dances, as well as traditional ballroom dances like waltz and polka. My dance school is having a Polka Party this Sunday afternoon. 2 hours of instruction followed by open dancing. Can you imagine exercise?