Despite my background as a gymnast [1], I admittedly have no rhythm (though I somehow won a ribbon for best dancer at fourth grade cheer camp). I also had a horrifying Zumba experience one summer in my teens, so I'm not so keen on dance cardio in groups. Want me to join a workout class at your gym? Sure! Oh, it involves twerking? No, thank you! However, I do like to try out new types of sweat sessions, especially when it's in the comfort of my own home [2]. That's my one requirement: it has to be where no one can see me.
I'm a Peloton fan — I pay monthly for the brand's digital app [3] (currently free at the time of this article's publishing [4]) which gives you access to a slew of strength, yoga, treadmill, and bike classes that you can do with equipment you have on hand or at the gym — and I'm always excited when new workouts are added. Peloton recently launched dance cardio on demand, and I decided to give it a try late one night. (Note: I'm a night owl, but it's suggested that you avoid working out right before bed [5].)
I tested out a 20-minute dance cardio session with Jess King [6] and Rebecca Kennedy [7], two amazingly talented and motivational Peloton trainers (pictured above) who happen to have dance backgrounds. The class, found in the "Cardio" section on the app, included a warmup and cooldown, as well as a big chunk of time devoted to learning choreography. The moves themselves were relatively new for a non-dancer like myself — I certainly wouldn't be able to learn them without the step-by-step instructions from King and Kennedy — but they were more or less easy to pick up with the amount of repetition we did.
Each move had a fun name like "Beyoncé," "Let's Get Physical," "Cheerleader," and "Snake." The House music playing also made me feel like I was smack dab in the middle of a dance party, even if it was in my own bedroom. And, I have good news for you: the dance cardio really was a full-body workout. For instance, the "Beyoncé" worked my legs with its booty pops, and the "Let's Get Physical" worked my obliques. It made me sweat in just 20 minutes (granted, I did complete a 10-minute bodyweight strength class on the app right before).
I recommend finding an open space that allows you to move around as much as you would if you were doing a HIIT cardio routine. Other than that, follow along and take water breaks as needed. Can I miraculously dance now? No. Did I mess up? Tons of times! But, this was just another way to change up my home workouts, and it was fun. It let me laugh at myself — and getting to smile through mistakes while feel-good music blasted in the background was just what I needed.
