Dancing for Fitness

ajewel217
ajewel217 Posts: 3 Member
edited December 19 in Fitness and Exercise
I've gotten my fitness mojo back! One of my main problems is that exercise... just isn't fun for me. It's uncomfortable, sweaty, makes me short of breath, and I feel very awkward about doing it where others can see me. (I'm a bit of an introvert if you couldn't tell.) What I really wanted was a low-impact workout that was fun enough to keep me interested.

What I found was Belly dancing! I followed some YouTube tutorials to get started and eventually ordered some DVDs. I enjoy the challenge, the workout, and the fact that I can practice on my own whenever I get the chance! It's refreshing to turn on some favorite music and move. I'm still in the beginner/intermediate stage but I'm getting my exercise without hating it and just enjoying the process.

If anyone else has a similar story, please post about what form of dance you enjoy. Feel free to educate us about the pros and cons of your favorite exercise!

Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Hmm, raining today, so I might see if I have some of my old belly dance DVD's to get my movement in.

    My husband and I met dancing and we still enjoy going out on occasion, though nothing like it was ten years ago! He was being meh on Friday, so I soloed to a few songs.

    I also Zumba on days I have to cardio indoors.
  • ajewel217
    ajewel217 Posts: 3 Member
    I've always thought that Zumba sounded fun but I've never tried it. :) I think dancing is a wonderful thing to do with your loved ones.
  • Nayomi_Harrison
    Nayomi_Harrison Posts: 23 Member
    I do clubbercise . It is as hard as you want it to be . I am a sweaty mess by the end of it but I loose myself in the music every class and bloody love it
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    Dancing is cardio which is great, but you should be lifting weights too.
  • ajewel217
    ajewel217 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for the advice. I have a brother who's very knowledgeable about using weights and he's promised to help me get started this summer. Should be interesting. Until then I'm doing basic body-weight exercises to warm up for the cardio. Also squats, lunges, and that sort of thing.
  • SiminaDar
    SiminaDar Posts: 4 Member
    I'm a belly dancer. It's a lot of fun. World Dance New York and Cheek Girls Productions have good instructional DVDs. Pilates and Yoga are good activities to pair with belly dance for strength and flexibility.
  • SiminaDar
    SiminaDar Posts: 4 Member
    I have done Zumba. It is fun, but I find if I do it too often, I get tendinitis in my knees. But I imagine most don't have that issue.
  • carlenebyrd
    carlenebyrd Posts: 23 Member
    I follow fitness Marshall on Youtube he dances to alot of upbeat songs, and keeps it fresh. I also notice dancing everyday my knee was wanting to hurt, and pop so i also follow walk at home fittness for lower impact when i have over danced. It so much fun though! Fittness Marshal is how i lost most of my weight so far! I have had alot of fun with it. Lost 38 pounds so far😁
  • 23MJ88DBFan
    23MJ88DBFan Posts: 51 Member
    To get my daughter involved, but it's fun for me too, we do Just Dance on the Wii when I need an indoor workout. We stretch first but man, when you do songs back to back, it's a pretty good cardio workout and really gets your blood pumping! After, before cool down I'll do some resistance training, squats and ab/oblique work because got to lose the baby belly- she's 10 btw. Lol
  • CAguirre78211
    CAguirre78211 Posts: 4 Member
    edited February 2019
    I do latin dancing and African style dances like Kizomba. Take me to the gym it’s like prison...take me to dance, I can dance for hours on hours! Great for working all muscles.
  • nisie3
    nisie3 Posts: 99 Member
    carlenebyrd wrote: »
    I follow fitness Marshall on Youtube he dances to alot of upbeat songs, and keeps it fresh. I also notice dancing everyday my knee was wanting to hurt, and pop so i also follow walk at home fittness for lower impact when i have over danced. It so much fun though! Fittness Marshal is how i lost most of my weight so far! I have had alot of fun with it. Lost 38 pounds so far😁

    The fitness Marshall has really fun workouts and he’s always super entertaining to me!
  • corriepelc
    corriepelc Posts: 2,088 Member
    I've been dancing since I was 5 -- it was my first major in college and I did competitive Latin ballroom dancing for a few years -- so I always love incorporating some type of dance workouts into my fitness calendar. I also find they make great cross-training for my running (I'm a half marathoner working up towards full marathons).

    I love Zumba classes as you sweat a ton. And I use Barre workouts for strength training and flexibility. There's a lot of great Barre workouts for free on YouTube. I personally love the Barre series from Jacquelyn Umof on Alo Moves (she's also Action Jacquelyn on YouTube).

    I'm also debating taking an adult ballet class. It's been years, and I thought that might be fun. There's a studio near my house that offers an adult ballet series.

    The Fitness Marshall is awesome! I totally forgot about him -- I need to start using some of his workouts.
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