Can You Lose Weight by Dancing in Your Room?


Can You Lose Weight by Dancing in Your Room?

Who doesn’t love a good dance sesh in their room? I know that I certainly do! Can dancing in your room be more than just a fun way to pass time in between meetings or at the end of the day? Dancing in your room may actually be able to help you lose weight.

Dancing in your room can help you lose 5 pounds within 1-2 months if you dance for 15 minutes between 4-5 times per week. You can lose as much as 10 pounds within the same time period if you dance for 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week. Weight loss will also depend on style of music and dancing intensity.

Intrigued yet? Stick with us for a bit to learn about the calories you could burn, the length of time you should try to dance for, and other ways to incorporated dancing into your daily routine!

How Many Calories Do You Burn Dancing in Your Room?

On average, you can expect to burn about 200 calories in a 30-minute dancing session, as long as you are dancing at a medium pace.

The number of calories you may lose by dancing in your room will depend on the intensity of the type of dancing you are doing. Faster, more intense dancing will burn more calories than slow dancing.

Say that, for example, you like classical music and are twirling around ballet-style for a bit. You will burn less calories than if you put on some reggaeton or hip-hop.

How Long Do You Have to Dance to Lose Weight?

So, that all being said, how long do you have to dance to lose weight?

Let’s be honest, any amount of doing cardio is going to help you stay fit in one way or another.

If dancing in your room is something you enjoy, but you don’t want to be super strict about, that’s alright! You should find ways to be active that you enjoy.

If you do want to keep track of your potential (or current) progress, follow this guideline. 

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Keep in mind that these calorie and weight loss estimates can shift based on how intensely you are dancing, your current weight, and frequency. That is, whether or not you are dancing 4-5 times a week or just doing it once in a while when you feel inclined.

Does Dancing at Home Count as Exercise?

Absolutely! Dancing at home counts as exercise.

You can do at-home yoga, or run on a treadmill, or do some crunches in your bedroom. You can even lift weights at a home gym if you’ve got it, so why not incorporate dancing at home, too?

If you can go to any gym and attend a Zumba or other styles of dance class, you can certainly count your at-home dancing as a ‘real’ workout!

As long as your heart is pumping, you’re using your body, and you feel good, it’s a REAL workout.

Does Dancing at Home Burn Belly Fat?

Belly fat is best burned by a mixture of an active lifestyle, cardio, and some core work. If you are dancing and being active at home, you will surely burn some belly fat.

Dancing is a cardio workout, and you tend to use those core and stomach muscles to move your body. You can rest assured that you will be toning your belly by dancing in front of your living room mirror.

On top of that, we often talk about an active lifestyle. If you are incorporating this sort of movement into your routine at home, you are certainly maintaining the right sort of activity.

Dancing Exercise to Lose Weight for Beginners

The best thing about dancing at home in this day and age is that almost everyone has access to the internet in one way or another.

There are so many great (and free!) videos online that you can use to help you find the best beginner dance-based exercise routines to lose weight.

Simply go to YouTube and type in something along the lines of ‘Zumba routine for beginners’ or ‘at home weight loss dance workout.’

You can use any keywords you might want to include like reggaeton, Zumba, hip-hop, or any style of dance that is a bit faster paced.

Your main goal is to get some good music cranking and your body moving to the beat! The rest will follow.

Best Types of Music to Dance to at Home

On that note, let’s talk a little bit more about the best types of music to dance to at home.

As we’ve discussed a bit, anything fast paced is going to be your best bet when it comes to burning calories, losing some weight, but also having fun!

  • Hip hop is a genre of dance that can range from American hip hop to Latin reggaeton 
  • If you’re into different styles of music, turn on some Latin music and learn to dance salsa
  • Go for Indian artists and try out some Bollywood style dancing
  • Talking about your core and burning belly fat, belly dancing could also be a wonderful place to start. You’ll be targeting your core, learning a new style of dancing, and hopefully enjoying yourself along the way!

Can You Lose Weight by Dancing K-Pop?

Speaking of different styles of music, you can certainly lose weight by dancing to K-Pop.

Most of this music is faster paced and you are sure to exert yourself physically because you’ll be dancing quickly along with the music. You can expect to burn some fat this way.

Benefits of Dancing at Home to Lose Weight

Dancing at home sure is convenient and fun (no judgment, right?), but who can benefit from dancing at home?

  1. If you are someone that considers yourself shy
  2. If you just want to better your skills before moving to an in-person class setting
  3. If you have a busy schedule or kids at home
  4. Maybe you are required to stay at home to wait for maintenance during your typical class time
  5. Perhaps you just feel the urge to dance more when you are by yourself!

Best Equipment for Dancing at Home

So, you want to dance at home but really feel like you need to include some equipment or up your game.

Some great activewear for dancing are these biker shorts because they won’t potentially get in your way like longer pants, but they also aren’t as short as some athletic shorts that might ride up or just feel a bit less comfortable.

Image Credit: Amazon

You also might want a yoga mat if you plan to start following along with Zumba classes online, because sometimes those types of classes will have you including some floorwork, too.

Image Credit: Amazon

So long as you feel prepared and are happy with your routine, you can successfully lose weight by dancing in your room!

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Choosing Nutrition Team

Here at Choosing Nutrition, our goal is to help people with making smarter food choices. Whether you're wondering about vegan, keto, paleo, or other diets, we'll help you determine which options fit your nutritional lifestyle. Our staff is composed of registered dieticians, nutritionists, and health-conscious individuals.

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