Hitting Home Series: Four Reasons Why Dancing is A Great Way to Workout

In this Hitting Home Series post, I will share some tips for why dancing is a very effective workout. This holiday season, you may find yourself at a few parties and the fact is that your body will thank you later for working up a sweat on the dance floor! Please remember to do some quick stretches before dancing, to prevent major soreness afterwards.

Here are four reasons why dancing is a great way to workout:

Inexpensive: All you need is music and an open space. Both of which are cheap to get. Your open space can be in the free outdoors, in your living room, your bedroom and the list goes on. The affordable nature of dance makes it easy to commit to, as a form of exercise.

Works different body parts at once: When I was teaching West African dance, I noticed the toning effects that the dancing had on my legs, thighs and arms. It also had a slimming effect on my tummy. These abilities separate dance from some other types of exercise that may be used to tone just one or two main parts of the body. Dance has a wide reach on the body.

Accessibility: This ties into the first point that was made. The gym happens to be closed? Its raining or snowing outside? You are just not in the mood to go out? Yet, you still want to workout! So, just put on some music within your comfort zone and work to it.

Dancing is so much fun: Right?! Music has a soothing effect on our ears, our moods and stimulates our driving force. No wonder many people do other types of workouts, while listening to music through their earphones. Combining dance with the music is guaranteed to lift your mood, work out your body, keep you motivated through the workout, as well as give you a feeling of blissful satisfaction afterwards.

On that note, Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

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About the Author

Chiamaka Mogo is the Hitting Home Series Manager at Engage Africa Foundation. She is a public policy scholar and President/Founder of the Initiative for Inclusive Dialogue in Nigeria: http://www.iidnigeria.org