Dance is exercise in itself. However, neither dance nor regular aerobics on its own offers the full body workout needed for a fitness regime. A complete body workout can be achieved with dance fitness classes – a great option for both dancers and others aiming to improve their aerobic fitness.
A quality dance fitness program will address:
- Aerobic fitness – allows a person to pursue a moderate level of activity for a lengthened duration of time
- Muscle endurance – enables the muscles to perform continuous repetitive tasks
- Anaerobic fitness/cardio exercise – trains a person to safely complete short term, high intensity exercises and tasks that require maximum effort
- Strength – how much force an individual can exert at one time
- Power – how quickly a person can exert their maximum strength
- Neuromuscular coordination – physical/motion intelligence encompassing a person’s balance, coordination, skill and agility
- Flexibility – allows the joints and muscles to achieve an optimal range of movement
- Body composition – particularly the ratio of fat to muscle in an individual’s body
- Recovery – a time of inactivity allowing a person’s body to heal itself
Muscle and strength training is meant for everyone. Dancers used to shy away from weight training as it was believed that stronger, bigger muscles would impede necessary dance flexibility. However, current thinking is that greater strength is crucial to preventing
dance-related injury.
To help with this, a weight training approach that successfully circumvents the undesired development of muscle bulk has been developed through well-designed dance fitness classes.
Exercise experts believe that to get the most out of your fitness program, fitness classes should be taken at least three times a week, if possible, for a length of time suitable to an individual’s fitness level. Well-organised classes usually last between 45 and 60 minutes.
Look for dance fitness training that incorporates both a warmup before workout routines and a cooldown at the end. Warmups such as light stretching, jogging and jumping jacks prepare the body for the heavier part of the workout and help prevent injury. Cooldowns which incorporate additional stretching work to speed up recovery.
A dance class that combines strength training and an aerobic workout can be adapted to suit all levels of fitness and experience. Most importantly, choose a dance fitness class that is conducted by a professionally qualified instructor in a friendly and welcoming environment.