Fun, engaging, and calorie burning, dancing may be of the greatest exercises for just about anyone.

Dancing isn’t just an enjoyable way to spend an evening or a beautiful bonding activity with a partner. It’s also an excellent form of exercise with various mental, physical, and even emotional perks. Whether you can tear up a dance floor or have two left feet, there are many reasons you should add dance to your regular exercise routine.

Dancing for the body

According to the NIH, dancing offers a vast range of physical benefits, including improved heart health, greater muscle development, and stronger bones. One hour of ballroom dancing can burn about 260 calories—and more-intense dance styles up to 500 calories. Further, increasing your heart rate as you move can trigger your body’s fat-burning response, leading to the many benefits related to weight loss. In fact, dance’s combination of aerobic and resistance-based exercise makes it an all-around excellent workout for the whole body.

“I’m forty-four years old, and I feel younger now than when I first started dancing,” says Johnny Gonzales, co-owner of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Temple, Texas. Once an avid athlete, Gonzales took up dance training at age twenty-eight. “I used to suffer from aches and pains, symptoms of old injuries, and other issues with my knees, ankles, and hips,” he shares. “Learning how to move correctly and use my body more fluidly has helped take so much pressure off those joints, I don’t have nearly as much pain.”

Studio owner MJ Kirchhoff, meanwhile, began with ballet and tap as a child and has been dancing professionally ever since. But even with such advanced dance experience, Kirchhoff has never taken the benefits of dance for granted. “Dance challenges your balance, flexibility, range of motion, mind-body connection, spatial awareness, strength, and endurance all at once,” she says.

Starting your routine

The best way to start dancing is to simply get moving. Just turn on your favorite music, and embrace the rhythm. As with any other form of exercise, you’ll notice your skills and health improve the more you practice. You can certainly do so on your own, but you may prefer attending a studio class for formal training, especially if you are inexperienced, less rhythmically inclined, or need guidance to prevent injuries. Gonzales states that the hardest step for beginners is getting into a studio. But once you’re there, just follow the teacher’s instructions to get the best workout and most fun out of each class.

Gonzales recommends that beginners start their dance training by learning what he refers to as the “core six” ballroom dances: the waltz, tango, foxtrot, cha-cha, rumba, and swing. “Learning basic skills in those six dance styles will help you with the principles of the frame, moving with your partner, understanding movement to a rhythm, and building the mind-body connection,” he explains. In addition, Kirchhoff recommends barre training, a guided technique that uses a ballet barre to develop fundamental dance skills. Besides improving these skills, it can build flexibility, stability, balance, and stamina.After some experience, you can work your way up to physically demanding dances that offer a more challenging exercise, such as samba or jive. At advanced levels, these high-energy dances involve twirls, lifts, fast steps, and more intense partner work.

Protecting the body

There is a slight risk of injury from dance, although Gonzales states the worst injury he has experienced in over fifteen years of dance training is an occasional pulled muscle. To prevent injuries, devote ample time to warming up your body. “Dancing is exercise,” Kirchhoff confirms. “You’re pushing your body to its limits, so it’s crucial to warm up. The purpose of a warm-up is to elevate your body temperature to the point that your muscles can move safely.” She recommends spending at least five minutes warming up by doing simple movements or calisthenics to lubricate your joints and loosen your muscles. She also stresses that a good warm-up routine should make you perspire.

A midroutine stretch is also vital to help prevent pulled muscles or strain. Contrary to popular belief, however, you shouldn’t stretch at either the beginning or the end of a dance session because your body is in a cool state. Kirchhoff states that the best time to stretch is actually in the middle of your dance workout, when your joints and muscles are warm and active.

When you establish a safe and mindful dance routine that includes a warm-up, a midroutine stretch, and the proper mind-body connection, you may notice the benefits quickly. “I have students talk about how they’re using muscles they’ve never used before,” says Gonzales. “They’re sore the next day, and it’s a good soreness—they enjoy it. All my students see dance as a great form of exercise as well as entertainment.”

Consult with a doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.