By Faith Peppers
University of
Georgia

If you just can’t turn your back on Irish-American St.
Patrick’s Day traditions like corned beef and green beer,
counteract it with some Irish exercise.

Many cities have St. Patrick’s Day parades, join in the fun.

“If you walk one hour at a brisk pace of one mile every 15
minutes, you will burn 280 calories if you weigh about 150
pounds,” said Connie Crawley, a Cooperative Extension health
and nutrition expert with the University of Georgia College of
Family and Consumer Sciences. “Naturally, you’ll burn more or
less if you weigh more or less.”

Multiply the number of calories you burn per mile by the number
of miles in the parade route. Then see how much fun you can
have waving at the crowds and waiving goodbye to excess
calories.

If you must hit the Irish pubs after the parade, take the
opportunity to get jiggy with it.

Many pubs and parties bring in live music and Irish dancers for
the day. Join in the fun, learn a new skill and work off a
whopping 420 calories an hour. Not that you could actually do
it for an hour on the first go. But divide the hourly burn
number by the number of minutes you can keep it up, and it’s
still a great calorie-burner.

“Both are excellent aerobic exercises,” Crawley said.

Most Irish dances you can just jump right into are called
ceili, or ceilidh (pronounced “kaylee” either way), or figure
dances. They’re similar to American square dances or line
dances.

At a St. Patrick’s Day ceili, someone will usually give basic
instruction and turn you loose to have fun doing traditional
Irish dances.

“These dances were brought to America by Irish immigrants,”
said Karl Drake, dance master of the Drake School of Irish
Dance. “They’ve been passed down through the generations. Some
have mutated into American-style dances like clogging and
square dancing. The traditional style is still performed by
Irish dancers around the globe. Almost every weekend, somewhere
in America, you can find an Irish dance competition.”

Figure dances follow a set of steps in a pattern. Ceili or
progressive dances have a few set steps in a pattern. Then you
move on to a different set of partners, as in American line
dances or reels, until you’ve danced with everyone in the
room.

“It will definitely make you work up a sweat to burn off the
extra calories you take in on St. Patrick’s Day,” said Jan
Best, an instructor for the Drake School. “It’s great fun and
exercise for all ages.”