Our dance instructors love creating new virtual dance fitness videos on our YouTube channel for every person to enjoy. YouTube is free and accessible, making working out at home easy! If you are new to dance fitness we suggest alternating between 3-5 different online routines to begin with. That way, you can become familiar with the structure of each video and can plan your workouts well in advance. Dance fitness is so fun and our YouTube channel is a great place to start!

Even if you are familiar with our PlyoJam routines, it can be helpful to find new videos to workout to. From heart-pumping warm-ups to strength training, we are sharing 5 of our favorite virtual dance fitness videos for you to exercise with. Even better, all of these can be completed in 30 minutes or less. Ready to dance? Let’s jump in!

3 Minute Warm-Up

Every workout should begin with a quick warm-up! We are all about combining dance into every workout routine. If you are preparing for your daily run or yoga class, kickstart your day by getting your heart rate up with this fun warm-up. You may even choose to complete this video on its own during busier days. Put your headphones in and get lost in the music!

10 Minute Hip-Hop Workout

If you love hip-hop, we have the perfect workout for you! This 10-minute routine follows your favorite music while increasing endorphins. We offer different variations for each fitness level so every person can enjoy this dance workout.

This is a great cardio option that you can complete within your own home. Tip from our fitness instructors: Write down the title of each YouTube video you plan to workout to every week in your fitness journal. Then, you can easily click to your workout and have fun.

20 Minute Strength Workout

While we are fans of cardio here at PlyoJam, focusing on strength training is just as important. You can work your muscles while dancing! If you are looking to switch up your traditional weight training routine, we think you will love this dance option. Grab some weights for this fitness video or you can opt-out of any equipment. From arms to core, we have you covered!

20 Minute Full Body Workout

While every dance workout incorporates the full-body, this is a great beginner video. If you are new to dance fitness, get started with this routine! Don’t put too much pressure on completing the full video from start to finish at first. Work your way up as you move forward with your fitness journey.

30 Minute Dance Workout

If dance fitness is apart of your regular routine or maybe you are even a PlyoJam member, this 30-minute workout is a blast! For days where you want to increase your workout time, check out this video. This is also a wonderful option to exercise with friends. Schedule a time to workout virtually or invite a group over to start dancing. Working out with a group is such a positive experience, so be sure to share this routine with your dance fitness community.

Love this blog and want more dance fitness ideas? Check out these easy tips to enjoy your home workout next!

So, you are excited to begin your new dance fitness routine! If you are a person that loves planning out your weeks and staying organized, why not start a fitness journal? Even if this doesn’t sound like you, it is a great way to express your thoughts and take time for yourself while writing each week.You can make a fitness journal as detailed or general as you like. Anything that makes fitness fun and enjoyable for you, do it! So how exactly do you start a fitness journal? We are sharing our ideas so you can start writing today!

Find a Place to Write

This may sound obvious, but finding the right place to write your fitness thoughts, plans and goals is important. Do you prefer to write in a physical journal or keep things paperless? You can create a document on your phone or laptop if you prefer. If you love the idea of writing in a notebook, find one that matches your personal style! You might choose something that includes a calendar for easily planning your daily routines. No matter what you select, make sure it is easily accessible for you and is something you are excited about!

Plan Out Your Routine

Whether you want to go through and choose specific online workouts from YouTube, or decide on your at-home workout the day of, there is still room to plan out your routine. You can include a list and the name of the routines you will choose to follow each day in your journal. That way there is no stress when it is time to workout! Or you can provide a bit more of a relaxed schedule and simply note the type of dance fitness you would like to focus on that week. Maybe one week you prefer high-intensity cardio and another you would like to strength train more. Even if you are apart of our fitness membership, you can note the online classes available each week to keep track! Knowing your schedule in advance takes the stress off of your daily workout so you can focus and enjoy it!

Journal for a Healthy Mindset

We believe being healthy physically and mentally is extremely vital. A fitness journal offers the opportunity to express your thoughts and feelings while following an exercise routine. Note how your mindset changes and be positive with yourself. You might choose to write and read out loud a daily affirmation. Don’t worry about how much or how long you write! There are many online prompts available to keep things interesting.

Write Down Your Goals

Having specific goals to work towards will be a source of motivation to keep journaling. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself with these goals. Remember, fitness should never be a negative experience. Instead of a weight goal or a certain ‘look’ make your goals focused on what is best for you personally. Maybe you want to see your anxiety levels lower with dance fitness or you want to make a goal to start working out 2 times a week. Make your goals attainable and filled with positivity.

Make Journaling Fun!

Fitness journaling is definitely a form of self-care. Designate time in the day to write in your journal. You might order fun pens or cute stickers to personalize the process. Maybe you even start adding photos with your fitness community to add memories. It can even be fun to journal together with a small group virtually or in person! This could be a time to discuss what you have been writing about as well.

Want more dance fitness ideas? Read our 3 tips to create a killer workout playlist next!

If you are searching for a fun and effective new workout to incorporate into your fitness routine, start dancing! Dance fitness is a great option for every person. Plus, this is a trend that is here to stay so it is worth a try. You will be surprised how quickly dance becomes apart of your regular exercise. Whether you are looking to switch up your routine or begin a completely new workout program, utilize this option and transform your home exercises. So why exactly should you work out with dance fitness? Let’s dive in!

1. Inclusivity

Plyometric dance is inclusive for any person. Regardless of age, size, and fitness level, our PlyoJam team wants every person to feel worthy and welcome to the fitness space. Our goal is to empower every body while dancing!  It is a  joy to see a variety of different people enjoying the same workout and having fun. Any person will leave their dance fitness class feeling invigorated and a renewed sense of confidence! Gain access to our weekly classes and find your workout program with us by joining our community. Begin with the free 7-day trial to start dancing!

2. Workout at Home

Dancing workouts are an effective exercise to complete from the comfort of your own home. Often, at-home workouts can leave individuals feeling bored and alone due to the lack of versatility. Whether you want to workout with a live virtual class or follow a Youtube video, dance fitness offers a major variety of options. The fitness space has experienced a major shift to home workouts and dance is an option that will continue to motivate you! From new moves and online content to trending music, dancing while working out will transform your at-home experience.

3. Increase Fitness

While dance is certainly a fun workout, it also increases your fitness. The easy-to-follow routines are surprisingly intense! Your heart rate will go up and you will end every workout feeling challenged. With consistency, dance fitness can improve your stamina and strength. Every workout focuses on the full-body, elevating your workout routine. Each dance routine is created so working out never feels like a chore. You will actually want to complete these sweaty exercises because they are so fun!

Photography by Bree McCool Photography

4. Improve Mental Health

Mental and physical health go hand in hand. Dance fitness can lower stress and relieve daily anxiety. Take time for yourself with dance workouts by listening to your favorite music. Retreat to a calming space to complete each routine. The boost of endorphins and encouragement from your dance fitness instructors are a great way to rejuvenate your spirit. Sometimes, it can be easy to become discouraged with workouts due to a lack of positivity. Our dance workouts are high energy and created to be a safe space to get fit.

5. Motivation

When the pressure of traditional workouts is removed, you will find that your motivation increases. With new friends in the dance fitness community you are more likely to stay accountable and workout. Our new PlyoJam app offers 24/7 online videos to easily start exercising. With virtual accessibility, you can open the app and start dancing anytime. Knowing that you are dancing to stay healthy and positive is a major source of motivation.

Searching for more fitness advice? Check out these easy tips to enjoy your home workout (and have fun) next!

Working out at home is a popular trend that is here to stay. Many people are motivated by the convenience and accessibility of working out at home. However, without the traditional gym setting or in-person fitness class, it can become easy to get bored and discouraged. Working out at home should be fun! There are so many ways to refresh your at-home fitness routine to stay motivated. Today we are sharing our top easy tips to enjoy your home workout.

Find the Right Workout Program

If you are feeling unmotivated by your current workout program, it might be time to find a new option that is the best for you! Research our dance fitness videos on Youtube for free workouts for every person and fitness level. A dynamic workout program that isn’t too repetitive will keep your home fitness interesting. Consult with a fitness professional to create your personalized goals and plan. Our home workout program includes a complimentary consultation with a PlyoJam team member to ensure you enjoy your fitness routine!

Join a Fitness Community

There are many live virtual fitness classes to create the same feeling as an in-person class. This is a great way to gain support as you workout. Sign up for an online dance fitness class or workout virtually with a friend. Growing a positive community can rejuvenate your mindset!  Joining a weekly class can also create a routine and sense of motivation. Meet fellow fitness enthusiasts from your phone with our online app. Not only can you enjoy your at-home workout alongside an inclusive group, but this provides access to our dance fitness Facebook communities. Facebook groups offer the chance for daily conversation and workout advice!

Create a Home Workout Space

A relaxing and inviting home workout space is imperative to enjoying your fitness routine! Designate a distraction-free area of your home to complete your home workouts. Get organized and keep all workout equipment in specific storage spaces. For those that adore interior design, repaint and add calming decor to your new fitness space. Why not treat yourself to a fun yoga mat during the process? With the right space, you will be more likely to have fun and want to workout.

Listen to Music

As dance fitness instructors, we understand the importance of good music. Put on your headphones and listen to your favorite new song while working out. The positivity from music combined with a dance workout can make cardio so fun! If you find yourself counting down the minutes until your workout is over, get creative and make your ultimate workout playlist. The time will seem to pass by much more quickly with the extra motivation.

Relax

Working out should NEVER feel like a punishment or chore. Be kind to yourself and listen to your body. If you need to take a rest day from your workout program, enjoy the day to relax. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Yoga and meditation are great additions to each at-home fitness routine for days where you prefer a calmer workout.

Want more at-home fitness ideas? Check out these online dance workouts to keep you motivated!

When I first started my journey taking dance fitness classes, I was about to turn 36.  I was overweight, unhealthy and unhappy. Having recently gone through a few bad breakups, stuck in a career I didn’t love and miles away from any kind of fitness regimen, I was just kind of lost.  

THE FIRST STEPS

I remember attending my very first PlyoJam class in the summer of 2014. You know what the biggest struggle was?  Figuring out what the hell to wear! I hadn’t worked out in ages, I was adamantly against showing my arms, nothing felt good, the struggle was so real! I would look in my closet and try convince myself not to go to class because I had nothing that fit right. I had done this countless times in the past, so the internal conversation of “I should just skip it” was alarmingly familiar. After trying on countless baggy t-shirts and leggings, I finally settled on something and headed out the door.

WALKING INTO THE STUDIO

Next hurdle…getting out of the car and walking into the dance fitness class.  I remember driving to the class, blasting Eminem, trying to pump up my confidence and quiet my fear. “You’re a great dancer,” I told myself.  “You will just stand in the back and do what you can!” So I got my butt out of the car. My memory is as clear as day of walking into the studio. Everyone seemed to know each other.  Everyone looked adorable in their tanks and Lulu leggings. It was intimidating AF!

GETTING LOST IN THE MUSIC

I stood in the back, eyes flitting around the studio, waiting to get started. I was so anxious, but once the music began, I felt a little more at ease. The music filled the room and I felt like I could almost hide in the folds of its rhythm and tempo.  As Jason began to teach, the moves felt super fast and hard to follow (funny to me now!) but OH MY GOSH it felt so good to move my body, to feel the sweat running down my temple! Four songs in I was addicted and I had this burning excitement in my tummy because I sensed something big could and would come from this class I had found!

FINDING THE COURAGE

I’ll never really know where I found the gumption to try that very first dance fitness class.  I’m not sure what finally quieted the internal “what’s the point, I’m not going” dialogue. I think it may have been the little voice in the back of my head that kept saying, “something has to change.”

Maybe I was tired of my own excuses.  

Maybe I was tired of feeling down.

Maybe it was some kind of muscle memory from years past when I used to be an athlete and I knew how good endorphins made me feel.  

Maybe my poor little soul was tired of my brain being so mean to me.

Whatever it was, I’m so thankful for that initial spark. 

But maybe I need to give myself more credit.  Yes I was fearful and unsure and embarrassed. But I have also had a really deep internal strength.  I’ve accomplished a lot and I’ve overcome a lot, so would I really let the fear of a dance fitness class get me?  Hell no!

WINDS OF CHANGE

And thank God I didn’t. I walked into that class and it changed my life forever. That day was the beginning of an 8 week mission.  It was summer break and at the time I was a teacher off for the summer. I ended up taking forty PlyoJam classes in eight weeks. I lost 26 pounds.  What I lost in pounds, I gained ten times over in confidence, health, inspiration, happiness and a newly found zest for life!

I’ll save the rest of my story (how I went on to become the co-founder of PlyoJam, teach privates to James Corden and Adelle, be featured on the news, and teach PlyoJam to hundreds of my own students) for another blog.

But for today I want you to think about what’s stopping you.  What roadblocks and hurdles are in your way. How can I help you find that SPARK to shove those roadblocks aside and take a chance on something scary and new?  Because trust me, it could change your life.

PlyoJam Co-Founder and COO Stacey Beaman gets real about taking risks, getting over fear and self doubt, and getting out there and doing things that might feel scary.  In this interview she talks about her own struggle to find a form of fitness that worked for her and how she was afraid to get out on the dance floor for fear of not looking a certain way.  Stacey is a huge advocate of body positivity and self love and wants every woman and man to toss their fears and insecurities away and do what makes them happy.  Stacey feels that far too many people let life pass them by without doing the things they want to do because they are too afraid, or they don’t feel like they meet the “criteria.”  When Stacey first stepped onto the dance floor she was extremely overweight and out of shape.  She had body image issues and felt terrible about herself.  In fact, it took her months to work up the courage to finally step on the dance floor.  However, she fought through those fears and realized it wasn’t worth it to continue punishing herself.  She decided to rise up against her insecurities and fears and her journey has been one of strength, growth and empowerment.  Stacey’s goal is to pass that strength on to others who have been holding themselves back.  No one should feel they don’t deserve happiness.  No one should miss out on the things they want to do because they don’t look a certain way.  No more waiting. The time is NOW. Love your body, be healthy, be strong, be brave.

Watch Stacey talk about her journey HERE!  Watch Stacey teach a meaningful PlyoJam routine HERE!

A note from PlyoJam co-founder Stacey Beaman. I want to take a minute and share my story of how dance fitness, and PlyoJam in particular, revived my level of fitness and helped me stick to a cardio workout that I actually enjoy. But first, let’s go back to a younger Stacey. In my teenage years I was highly involved in sports and never had to think about how I would fit in my exercise. Drills, running and swimming, were just naturally built into my rigorous practice and game schedule and I was fit as a fiddle. I never even thought about “working out.”

In my twenties I became a bit more aware of weight gain and the need to exercise to stay in shape. However, it was pretty easy for me to maintain my fitness level by playing recreational volleyball, and on off days going to the gym and spending hours on elliptical machines and treadmills. At that time I knew nothing about dance fitness. The volleyball was fun, but those cardio machines were a major snooze fest! It was so boring, which of course lead to the frequency of my trips to the gym becoming less and less.

As I made my way into my thirties, I had given up rec volleyball and I could not stomach the thought of going to the gym. It was at that time I took my first cardio dance fitness class and realized that dance fitness might just be the thing that could help me attain a desired level of fitness once again. I needed to get back into shape! But as it does for so many people, life got in the way. Several challenging life events led to forty pounds gained, dance fitness was forgotten, and I was left out of shape and miserable.

Little did I know what was right around the corner. Jason Layden, creator of the PlyoJam format, was a friendly acquaintance of mine. When I attended his birthday party in June 2014 he asked me what I was doing for the summer. I was a school teacher at the time, and I had just been released for summer break. Even more exciting was the fact that I had a sabbatical planned and in the Fall I was going to Europe for five months. I had the whole summer to plan for my trip and work on my fitness. Jason invited me to his dance fitness class and it sparked my memory of the one dance fitness class I had taken years earlier and how much I loved the idea of dancing to stay in shape.

I decided to attend Jason’s dance fitness class, something called PlyoJam, and even though I was terribly out of shape and feeling a bit chagrined over my poor condition, I was hooked! I had no idea how fun a dance fitness class like PlyoJam could be. And PlyoJam was so much more special and amazing than that other dance fitness class I had taken years earlier. I felt like a kid in a candy store and was soon obsessed. I quickly saw that dance fitness could truly be the answer to my cardio needs and weight loss prayers!

I adopted the PlyoJam lifestyle and have never, ever looked back. I knocked off fifty pounds, became highly involved with the brand and the format, and am now COO and co-founder of this dance fitness brand that I adore so much. And I can say from personal experience that dance fitness is truly a way to get in fantastic shape while actually having fun! I have lived and breathed it, and I am thrilled to see dance fitness, and PlyoJam, changing lives as it has changed mine.

I think we can all agree that dancing is a true source of joy. It is a stress reliever, a soul lifter, a time to let go and lose yourself in rhythm and tempo. Attending a PlyoJam class can almost be a spiritual experience, where we can work out our bodies and minds and be ready to face a new day. Dancing does so many wonderful things for the mind and the spirit, which we could talk about forever! But, today we want to focus on one of the significant physical health benefits that dancing lends our bodies. That benefit is the increase in bone mass, and the prevention and reduction of bone loss.

Did you know that peak bone mass, when bones reach their maximum strength and density, occurs by about age thirty in women? Thirty seems young! We were shocked, too! What this means is prior to age thirty, women should be doing everything possible to achieve a higher peak bone density. After age thirty, women don’t usually see a significant change in their bone density for a while, but it’s extremely important to maintain their peak bone density. And of course, as women reach their fifties, it’s crucial to reduce the chance of bone loss. According to Dorothy Klock, MD, Board Certified Family Physician AND one of our very own PlyoJam students, “After menopause, women begin to experience bone loss, which continues throughout the postmenopausal years and can lead to osteoporosis.” Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become weak and brittle, often leading to fractures and breaks. And, since we love our PlyoJammers and don’t want to see any broken hips or fractured ankles on the dance floor, we are here to stress the importance of keeping your bones healthy and strong. While there are numerous factors that affect peak bone mass including gender, race, hormonal factors, and nutrition, experts agree that exercising is crucial to bone health. Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger.

Specifically, weight-bearing exercises will help to maintain bone strength and prevent loss. What is a weight-bearing exercise? According to Dr. Klock, “A weight-bearing exercise is one in which you must exercise against gravity, such as walking, hiking, tennis, jogging, and DANCING!” An example of a non weight-bearing exercise would be swimming. While swimming is still an excellent form of cardio exercise, it does not include the weight-bearing benefits that other exercises provide. Along with a nutrient rich diet, particularly rich in nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D, we want you to keep those dancing shoes polished and continue to dance, dance, dance! We want our PlyoJam family to be of healthy mind, heart and body, which most definitely includes healthy, strong bones!  Whether you are working to achieve a higher bone mass, maintain that mass, or working to prevent the loss of bone mass in your postmenopausal years, dancing benefits women of all ages. Just another bonus in the wonderful world of dance! See you on the dance floor!

 
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