Being a Personal Trainer in the fitness industry for 7+ years and lots of experience in professional sport, I’ve gained a tonne of knowledge on everything to do with fitness and physical health. After a while, going to the gym every day gets boring and tedious and your body adapts and gets used to what you’re doing, and its usually the same thing again and again. You end up getting sick of being in the gym, the same 4 walls, the same machines, the same routine, you don’t look forward to it, your confidence isn’t getting any better, if anything it’s probably getting worse, because you feel out of your depth and intimidated by those around you… thats what got ME here. No matter how much you ‘know & understand’ about training and working-out it still is absolutely not the most exciting thing in the world! And yes… it’s HARD work hence why some find it hard to stick to… That’s just one part of the exercise side from an adults point of view. Our busy lives just lead us to wanting to treat ourselves, “relax” they said, “you deserve it” they said..
Hmmmm.
Now on the flip side, here’s a short story of one of our kids..
One of our HIP HOP KIDZ parents (aged 8) said:
“Apprehensive at first. My son joined and in just a couple of weeks he grew in confidence and now loves it. Quite the social event and the kids leave buzzing. Seems like when they are having fun they forget they are getting fit. Far away from the iPad the better as far as I’m concerned”, leaving a 5 star review.
This is ALL I could ask! From as young as age 6 to age 60, dance can get you to your goals without the element of realising that it’s ‘HARD WORK’. Everything in that statement relays exactly what dance is to ME is all about and so yes, dance is a form of exercise. But not the boring kind.. (dare I say it!).
Don’t get me wrong, it’s bloomin’ hard work, but the music, the vibe, the positivity and the amazing friendships get you through. You’re exercising without realising because you’re having such a blast!! Can it really get much better than that?!
You’re growing in self esteem, your body is starting to tone more, your appetite isn’t crazy large because youre not ‘bored’ thinking about food 24/7 (like I used to..), you’re happy, excited.. Your endorphins run, your muscles start working, your heart rate goes up, you’re active, you’re constantly trying to perform better in the mirror and so guess what – you’re working harder without realising, gaining more muscle (toning), your burning more calories (fat torching!) and the more you dance, the better and better your fitness gets.
Is dance a sport? 100%. Theres’s no two ways about it.
Oh and not to mention, your mood. The mood that dance puts people in (myself included) is unexplainable. Dance get’s me through EVERYTHING and if it wasn’t for dance elevating my mood from 0-100 every second of the day, I would be binge eating, bored, not knowing what to do with myself, demotivated, sluggish, in denial about my body as it wouldn’t need to move. But nope, I’m the opposite and I couldn’t be more grateful for dance.
The challenge and the encouragement makes all the difference. Dance = strengthening the body whilst strengthening the mind.
What on earth would I do without it…
Dance As a Form of Exercise
