Acute Physiological Effects of Greek Traditional Dancing

This study aims at determining the acute effect of Greek traditional dancing on health- and physical performance-related parameters by considering the impact of dancing tempo. Ten pre- and ten postmenopausal women meeting the inclusion criteria will be assigned to a crossover trial. Initially, participants will undergo baseline testing including (i) anthropometrics, (ii) body composition, (iii) physical performance, (iv) physical activity level and (v) dietary intake. After baseline measurements, a 7-day familiarization period will take place, during which participants will practice daily on the three experimental dances. Each dance will be characterized by a different tempo (beats per minute) so that there will be one dance from each tempo category (i.e. slow, moderate and fast). After familiarization, participants will execute in a random order the three dancing sessions, on separate days. Each dancing session will consist of one dance (of either slow or moderate or fast tempo) lasting \~ 3- 4 minutes. During each dance heart rate, oxygen consumption and activity intensity will be continuously monitored. Before and immediately after the dance systolic and diastolic blood pressure, perceived exertion and blood lactate will be measure. In addition, before each dance and at 24 and 48 hours post-dance muscle soreness, muscle strength and resting metabolic rate will be measured and a resting blood sample will be drawn for the assessment of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers.