Starting the Day With an 11-Minute Dance Break Workout

I decided to get some exercise in early today for Day 2 of my personal fitness project, instead of waiting till almost bedtime like I did yesterday, and that decision evolved into an 11-minute dance break fitness burst and a great mood.

11-Minute Dance Break Workout image courtesy of Pixabay

An 11-minute Dance Break Workout?

Do I think an 11-minute workout is going to get me to where I want to be as far as my fitness goals? No - not by itself. I do, however, think it was a great choice for a Day 2 workout, and an excellent addition to any total fitness plan.

Here's why:

• It was completely positive.
• It was fun - I picked a couple of my favorite upbeat songs.
• It was freestyle, and therefore, completely adaptable to my current physical condition.
• My blood was pumping, so to speak, and I started my day in a great mood.
• I can always throw in another fitness burst anytime during the day, so it may or may not be my only workout today.
• I started me day feeling like I accomplished my most important goal, doing something for my health.

The Details of This 11-Minute Dance Break Workout

You can do your workout in whatever way your body tells you, because everyone is at a different fitness level and the workout that got my heart thumping and my muscles burning might be child's play for someone more fit, and it might be too hard for someone less fit, but I want to share the basics of my dance break to give you an idea of how it goes.

• Timer: I set the stopwatch function in my phone so I could be sure I gave enough attention to warming up and cooling down.
• Warm up: I went with three minutes of stretching to warm up, manly upper body but also some waistline and leg muscles, because even a short workout can cause sore muscles or an exercise injury if you don't warm up first.
• Dance time: Uptown Funk was the first song I turned on to start my dance break, because I wanted to get my heart rate up, and, well, I LOVE that song. I added a lot of leg work, where I used my thigh muscles to get my heart rate up faster for the short workout. Then I switched to Waiting for a Girl like you to finish the dance break and ease into the cool down, because, well, I also LOVE that song, and the beat is great for transitioning between an active phase of your workout to a cool down.
• Cool down: I ended this short exercise session the same way I started it, stretching. Though, for cool down, I stretched deeper into my leg muscles, where at the start I focused more on upper body and waist stretches.

Now, I need to get myself a drink of water, and see what else this day brings. 

Thanks for joining me on the second day of this journey, what are you going to do for yourself today? Remember, you're ALWAYS welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.

Laure J