Dance fitness uses dance and aerobic movements performed to high-energy music to burn calories, build muscle, and lose weight. Popular dance fitness programs include Zumba, Werq Fitness, and BollyX. Dance fitness choreography can draw upon a multitude of dance styles and forms such as hip-hop, Latin dance, Bollywood dance, and much more. Dance fitness has lauded for a variety of physical and mental health and fitness benefits, including burning calories, relieving stress, increasing strength, and preserving motor abilities. Dance fitness has been popular since the 1960’s, in which Dr. Kenneth Cooper coined the term “aerobics” to describe stretching and strength training workouts that improve flexibility, muscular strength, and cardiovascular fitness. Many traditional dance fitness and aerobics classes consistent of a warm up, cardiovascular conditioning workout, muscular strength workout, cool-down, and stretching and flexibility. However, an increasing number of dance fitness programs incorporate high-intensity interval training, alternating between intense bursts of activity and less-intense activity. High-intensity interval workouts have been shown to burn calories more effectively, improve heart health, and increase metabolism.

Dance workouts are accessible to both men and women, the young and the elderly, dance experts and fitness amateurs. Dance fitness offers a fun workout that is also effective and cardio-intensive, pushing people from a variety of backgrounds in fitness and dance to try a new approach to getting fit. Unsurprisingly, many gym chains have caught onto the dance fitness trend, with dance workouts now available in gyms such as the YMCA and 24 Hour fitness.

BollyX is a popular dance fitness group exercise class that combines the upbeat music of India’s biggest film industry, Bollywood, with a high intensity, interval training format, that burns calories, guarantees a good time, and is fun for all ages and fitness levels.