4 Reasons to Make Dancing Your Go-To Workout
By Kate Gardner
I love dancing. I'm not claiming to be any good at it, but when I turn up the music and let loose, I have a really good time. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that I enjoy dancing more than most forms of cardiovascular exercise. In fact, I've been adding crazy dance parties to my exercise routines a lot lately and my fitness tracker shows me these workouts can burn as many calories as my usual jogs. Here are four reasons you should make dancing your go-to workout, too!
Burns Calories
Dancing is a full-body exercise that can burn a lot of calories. Just how many calories you burn depends on what kind of dancing you do. Fast-paced dancing like hip-hop burns more than waltzing. The database Calorie Lab says dancing generally burns around 238 calories per hour (for a person who weighs 150 pounds).
Makes You Happy
Research shows that dancing makes you happy. According to lovetoknow.com, dancing releases more endorphins than many other exercises. This means that after a dance workout you may experience greater feelings of well-being and satisfaction. Dance workouts (especially those we do at home) have the added bonus of being tied closely to music we love. Listening to music has also been shown to boost your mood.
Requires No Training or Equipment
If you want to make dancing a part of your fitness routine, you can take dance classes at your local gym or dance studio. But one of the benefits of dance as exercise is that you don't need to take a class for it to work. You can get your heart rate up and your blood pumping simply by turning on some music and dancing around your living room. It's also easy to fit a dance workout into your day since you don't need to get in your car to drive to the gym or even don your workout clothes!
Can Be Done With Others
Dancing doesn't have to be a solitary workout. Breaking it down with your roommates, friends, or family can be a good way to work out together, stay motivated, and have a good time. I love using dance parties as a way to get my three kids moving. We take turns picking songs to dance to and show off our best (and worse) dance moves. We've been known to dance an entire afternoon away!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Tempe, Ariz.