Making Workouts Fun: My 30-Day Deep Dive with DanceBody
/
Hi! First off, if you are here reading this, welcome and thank you for following my journey! I only hope to help inspire and motivate you to try something new and go outside of your comfort zone. This was a personal goal of mine and one I honestly didn’t think I could achieve. I am here to say that sticking with it and hard work DO pay off. Now, here is it folks!! Enjoy… and don’t forget “do you, boo.”
Code DBMary for 50% off a class or DBLIVEMary for $5 a month
Over the summer I made a commitment to push myself with my fitness routine and add more purpose into the workouts that I was doing. I wanted to have more fun too! I was eager to try something new and when I met Katia, one of the founders of DanceBody, at an event in the Hamptons, I knew I had to try a class. I was actually sold just by looking Katia’s toned arms and abs; Trust me you’d be sold too!
I normally would have been too embarrassed to try a “dance class” because I am NOT a dancer and absolutely struggle with learning any type of choreography. If you show something 10 times, I still won’t get it! So Katia and I chatted for a while and she told me that it’s not created for dancers. It’s a fitness studio that uses cardio dance as the method or tool to exercise. So I grabbed my friend and tried it out! I thought, why not… It will be fun, maybe a little awkward but who cares!
DanceBody is a workout that fuses together dance cardio and sculpt for functional, full-body conditioning that’s both fun and effective. The instructors empower you while leading high energy classes. It’s a no judgement zone and everyone at the studio is so kind and supportive. I think I remember someone saying that is because they have a no ass-hole policy!! LOL Sign me right up, I thought.
Each instructor has formal dance training but the best part is that like I mentioned, you don’t have to “be a dancer” to thrive here. The focus is building strong healthy bodies. Each dance class or what they call Signature or Hip Hop Hits (Full-Out for the actual dancers!) starts with a warm up, high level cardio dancing and follows up with mat, stretching, strengthening and toning. Some days we do abs, some days it inner thigh and somedays is booty! We use small weights to keep the muscles lean and defined.
There are also classes that don’t focus as much on high cardio dance, called Dance & Sculpt which is 30 mins follow along dance cardio and 30 mins full body sculpting for a heart pounding workout. And a new favorite class called Strength and Stability which is similar to physical therapy sessions. It is all about finding your core and helps with muscle strengthening and flexibility.
Instructors move you in new ways to strengthen your body, mind and spirit. It’s always a good time at DanceBody and is really like having a talented, humble and supportive family. The DanceBody team then set up a diverse schedule for me. Mixing high cardio with the Sculpt and Stability.
So, when we all got back to the NYC after being out East all summer, Katia asked me to try the 30 Day Challenge! And if you know me, I LOVE a challenge. Especially a fitness related one. I was very, very, very skeptical that I’d actually be able to learn the dances. All the instructors were adamant that I would. I came in with the mindset that I’m not a dancer and have never done dance training, so I wasn’t sure if I would be good. There is a learning curve, but I slowly but surely improved my dancing and having so much fun while doing it. Especially, in the empowering environment surrounded by strong and passionate ladies. It is so fun and easy to follow along and you don’t have to consider yourself a dancer to love it! My cheeks actully hurt at the end of every class because I smile the entire time. I walk out of DanceBody feeling extremely motivated and it is truly the best way to kick-off a productive day feeling confident and having a great routine.
The 30 days has flown by and I’m totally loving the results. Most days I go the studio and attend class in-person, however, one of the many conveniences with DanceBody is they offer in-studio workouts AND the flexibility to do DanceBody live online on busy mornings for us busy moms and women. DanceBody has studios conveniently located around New York City in NoMad and TriBeCa, in addition to the Hamptons, Miami and Los Angeles.
Many people have asked if I plan on continuing this after the 30 Days, and the answer for you is HELL YES!! I have never felt better. I feel like my arms and legs are getting more toned. I can see more muscle definition that I have never seen before. Plus, I would just have total FOMO that I for sure wouldn’t want to miss out on!