How many times have you canceled your plans to go to the gym, take a run or otherwise workout?
Why do you think that happens? Is the exercise tedious? An obligation? Something you feel obligated to do but don’t quite enjoy?
With dance, it’s easy to have fun and you don’t realize how much exercise you’re actually doing. The only way to stick with exercise is to find something you find fun. Then it won’t matter how tired you are, what a long day it’s been, how far you have to drive – you’ll do it because you have so much fun once you get there.
So how can you make exercise fun? Join a group that’s doing the same exercise – like dance.
A study published by the American College of Sports Medicine revealed that group exercise keep people exercising longer because of the fun camaraderie they find. “A common reason given for quitting an exercise program is boredom,” the study revealed. When others are there – your dance instructor, your friends in a group class, your dance partner – you hold each other accountable while also motivating one another to keep going and keep showing up.
When people come in to our studio, they don’t always realize at first how much fun they’ll have dancing. But once they realize it, and also realize that dancing is far more exercise than they expected, they are more likely to stick with it than to a treadmill, a track or another form of solitary exercise.
Additionally, setting goals for your dancing can keep you dancing longer – and exercising longer, too. The same study revealed that exercise “with a purpose” – like the goals our instructors set with our students – can keep you exercising longer and more attentive to the effort.
We set goals with our students because without a goal, you’ll eventually get bored with the effort. If you know you’re working toward something, you will push yourself harder and stick with it. And be happier in the end.