Lose weight by rocking out

The 20-year-old McAllen man's diet of Taco Bell and energy drinks has defied nutritionists and lost him all kinds of weight in the past two months.

William Roper sleeps until noon. He starts his day with a Monster Energy drink. He gets ready, goes to work and finishes his night with Taco Bell. And he continues to lose weight.

What's the secret in this unconventional and, let's face it, mildly disgusting diet?

Rock.

Roper plays bass for local hardcore outfit The Requested. He also attends many shows, owning a reputation among local promoters as one of the hardest dancing and moshing attendees in the Valley. And that exercise at concerts has overcome his horrendous diet to shed the pounds. In fact, health experts say Roper is not alone in his weight loss methods. Exercising at concerts can help shed pounds, fitness gurus say.

And with so many concerts hitting the Valley in the next six weeks - Borderfest, the Never Say Never Festival, the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show - you would do well to study up.

• Want to give the rock diet a whirl? With New Kids on the Block, Trace Adkins and other big names in town for Borderfest, this week might be just the time to try it. Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 8 | Call (956) 843-2202 or (956) 843-2286, or visit myborderfest.com

Zen Gray, a Los Angeles-based personal trainer, has earned a reputation for using humor and non-conventional motivation to shape up her clients. She has appeared on Bravo's Work Out program, and she has worked in health for 17 years.

Gray says she often brings clients to concerts and dance clubs to demonstrate the intensity of music cardio.

"It's a little different from doing a gym work out," she says. "You can jump around, you can sing along to the music and you're not going to stand out. It's like anything, it depends on you. When you go to an aerobics class at a gym, you can stand there and give minimal effort, or you can go nuts."

And it's the going nuts that burns the most calories. Jumping, dancing and moshing do wonders for leg muscles. Throwing your hands in the air and waving them like you just don't care also gives you a mild arms work out, she says.

But concerts provide more than a valuable muscle work out. Gray cites practiced breathing as vital to a well-rounded exercise routine.

"Most people do not breathe deep enough, and deep breathing has shown to be so beneficial on many levels," she says.

Breathing removes stress from the body, aiding in weight loss, Gray says. It speeds the circulatory and lymphatic systems, which cleanse the body of waste.

And what better way to breathe deeply than belting out the lyrics to your favorite song?

But concert work outs also come with a share of hazards. Gray warns music enthusiast about alcohol. She says drinking excessively will undo any fitness progress made.

And Roper, the 20-year-old bass player from McAllen, warns about limb control.

Recently, Roper's band played a show at the Nikki Rowe VFW in McAllen. A different hardcore band, one Roper really likes, was opening for The Requested. So as usual he jumped into the mosh pit to mix it up.

Everything was going fine - tons of jumping, soaked in sweat, hard rock flowing. Then he threw his hand backwards and smashed his thumb on another dancer. That show happened in December. Roper still feels pain in the joint to this day. He swears he fractured it.

"Make sure you take the right safety precautions," he says now.

Roper is wiser for the injury. And also lighter for all the rocking.

Estimated calories burned for a 160-pound person
-450 Clapping and waving hands in the air repeatedly for a two-hour concert
-725 Dancing the entire time during a two-hour concert
-290 Standing a singing along through a two-hour concert
-260 Standing and chatting with your friends through a two-hour concert
SOURCE:  Kary and Uche Odiatu, longtime fitness experts and lecturers from Toronto. www.fitspeakers.com

Zack Quaintance covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447.