Pole dancing/fitness calorie count???

I have been an instructor for pole fitness for about 2 years and have lost 40 pounds.  The type of dance/fitness I instruct is more along the lines of gymnastic dance.  I can obviously tell that I am losing weight and gaining muscle but how do I find out how many calories I'm burning?  I've seen a few (unverified) reports that say it burns up to 650 cal/hr.  I noticed that there are several fields in the exercise category that fit the description of what I do (dance, yoga, gymnastics, abdominal etc.).  Which do you feel would be the best category to enter this type of fitness under?   www.youtube.com/punkyjessie

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, the estimated calorie count is usually a rough calculation for different workouts. For workouts that involve complex movements or different workout styles, the calorie estimation would need to be calculated after breaking it into the different types involved and the time for which each was done.
Hope this helps.

Take care!