Unconventional Wisdom for Adults 

      This section is called unconventional because it’s written by someone who started tap dancing at 58 years old, normally tap dances about eight hours a week, and has done routines in front of fifty to five hundred people that include single wings, single pullbacks, toe stands, and over-the-tops.

1.  Most people do not stop exercising because they get old:  they get old because they stop exercising.  Many of the decreases in strength, flexibility, and coordination that were once attributed to aging are now thought to be caused by inactivity and poor diet—and these two factors can be changed.

2.  Besides being an art form, tap dancing is an excellent way to lose weight.  Four years ago I lost more than ten pounds within months after I started tap dancing and I have never gained it back.  Besides the aerobic benefits, tap dancing is a good way to strengthen muscles and improve your balance.

3.  Most adults do not learn tap dancing the same way children do, but they can learn how to tap dance.  Adults need descriptions, explanations, and feedback more than children do, and they need to be treated like adults.

4.  If you are tap dancing for exercise, use your entire body, not just your feet, and tap dance long enough and hard enough to get your muscles heated up and your heart pumping.  Tap dancing is the perfect exercise for people who hate to exercise but would like to be healthy.

5.  Tappercise, which is tap dancing done for exercise, combines dancing with tapping.  To make sure you are using your entire body, you should be able to see the beat and hear the beat when you watch yourself in a mirror. 

6.  When learning how to tap dance, most adults are more limited by mental blocks than by physical limitations, and the things they are not willing to try will limit their progress more than things they cannot physically do.

7.  Even though there is no way to guarantee that regular exercise and a healthy diet will increase your longevity, the evidence is overwhelming that exercise, such as tappercise, and a good diet can greatly improve the quality of your life.  Unlike most other forms of exercise, tappercise is something you can enjoy doing at almost any age.

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