5 Reasons Why Dancing Your Butt Off Is the Best Thing for Your Overall Health

Why resist shaking your booty? Dancing has some serious perks! 

All that shimmying and shaking burns more energy than you may think! According to research, you can burn up to 534 calories in a 30-minute dance class. That’s more than you would burn during a light jog or easy swim. 

Have you been dabbling with the idea of dance? Here are 5 reasons why dancing your butt off is the best thing for your overall health. 

Dancing Challenges Your Cardiovascular Health in New Ways 

While running, swimming and cycling use momentum to keep you moving forward, dancing demands energy output in all directions. With dance, there’s a lot of accelerating and decelerating, which taxes your energy system in new ways. 

Think of it like this: if running is like driving on the highway in the middle of nowhere, dancing is more like maneuvering your way through a busy city. All the starting, stopping and changing directions burn a ton of calories even if you’re not covering a lot of ground. 

Friendly reminder: the amount of calories you burn totally depends on how hard you’re pushing yourself. 

Dancing Boosts Your Endorphins

There’s just something about jamming out to your favorite tunes. It’s that extra rush of feel-good hormones that boosts your mood as you bounce to the beat. Plus, music is scientifically proven to release serotonin and dopamine in the brain, leaving you on cloud nine, if only for a little while. 

But that’s not all. Dancing not only boosts your endorphins, but it also increases your self-esteem—especially if you’re shy. Can you think of a better way to come out of your shell than to cut a rug?

There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it—dancing goes a long way in lifting your spirits. 

Dancing Doesn’t Feel Like a Work Out

Not a huge fan of working out? If you dread exercise, cutting a rug is a great way to sneak in a workout without even realizing it. 

And if you’re notorious for counting down the minutes every time you hit the gym, it’s probably time to try something new. After all, time flies when you’re having fun! 

For many, dancing feels more like a party than a workout. Why not start one in your living room with Gymondo’s two new dance programs—Hip-Hop Cardio and Salsa Fusion? 

Research indicates that fast beats make you push harder during a workout. Since cutting a rug doesn’t feel like work, you’ll want to keep coming back for more.

Dance Anywhere, Anytime

Whether you’re bopping around your living room or grooving to the beat in the kitchen, dancing is one of the most accessible forms of exercise around, hands down. 

You can dance whenever the mood strikes you—all you need is you (and some music) to get it done. And by all means, there’s no reason to haul yourself all the way to the gym to get in a great workout when you can do it right from home. 

At 25 or 85, you can still groove to the beat. The beauty of dance is that it can be modified to suit all ages and fitness levels. This way, you can shake your way into your later years without the risk of injury. 

Dancing Keeps Your Brain Sharp

A recent study found that dancing improves cognitive function and flexibility—the brain’s ability to adjust to unexpected situations. 

Dancing not only keeps your heart healthy and your limbs loose, it also keeps your mind sharp. If you’ve ever taken a dance class, you’ve probably learned choreography that flexes your brainpower. That’s because it takes a lot of mental muscle to master the steps and remember the choreography. 

Takeaway

Dance is an incredible workout that’s easily adaptable to suit your fitness level, age and mood. 

It doesn’t matter what you look like or how skilled you are. In fact, none of the benefits above require you to have a dance background. What matters is how you feel doing it! So, go blast your favorite tunes, get sweaty and bask in the rush of feel-good hormones! 

Feel inspired to start dancing right now? Dance like nobody’s watching with Gymondo! Our new dance-inspired workouts will get you grooving in no time! 

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