Not everyone enjoys lifting weights, or yoga. Maybe you’re not crazy for doing a CrossFit workout at home, or big on barre. Perhaps the thought of running makes you tired. There’s got to be a solution for you, right? Maybe what you need to do… is dance! Dancing not only burns calories, but it works every muscle group. It’s also a lot of fun.
“It’s really amazing because you can see the improvement, right from the first class,” says Maria Valencia Alvarez, a teacher at Pique Dance Studio.
“You don’t even realize that your body is working so hard. You have to listen to the placement of your body, and focus on what your body is telling you to do. You’re pulling yourself up, squishing those ribs, squeezing the booty all of the time, pushing those knees up, it’s amazing.”
Not only is dancing a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of work. Pole requires tremendous core strength to pull your body upwards into the spins. It requires leg strength to balance. Ballet strengthens all of the muscle groups, as well as improves hand-eye coordination.
“That’s why you see so many soccer and football teams encouraging players to take ballet. It helps them get stronger and more coordinated,” Valencia Alvarez says.
If you are looking to start out with dance, the best place to start would be an introductory class, which teaches dance movements, as well as stretching, to help prepare muscles for your dance classes. It is still an intense workout, and it’s important to find a coach with tons of enthusiasm, shouting out encouragements while correcting form.
You will always feel like you learn something, even after the first class. Coaches try to help you so you feel like you accomplished something by the end of the class. You will never leave thinking ‘oh, I can’t do it.’ You will always learn something and hopefully think ‘I will do it better next time.
It doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, in great shape, just starting your fitness journey, or never danced a day in your life, dancing for fitness is for everyone.
By Mary-Helen Clark
