What Muscles Do You Work When Dancing? Which Body Parts Get the Most Benefit?

Dancing for fitness and strength building

What muscles are we training when dancing?

Depending on the sport you practice, certain areas of the body will be called upon more than others, but what about when you dance? Will you tone and refine your figure by dancing? Below is a list of the muscles and muscle groups strengthened and sculpted by dance!

Upper limbs (shoulders, arms and forearms)

Generally speaking, dance does very little to strengthen the upper body.

Trunk and pelvis (Chest, stomach and back)

• Abdominals: These are made up of several layers of muscle (rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse) whose function is to flex and rotate the trunk.

Lower limbs (glutes, thighs and calves)

• Glutes: Located at the intersection of the lower limbs and the trunk, the gluteal muscles (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus) are among the largest and most powerful muscles in the body. In particular, they provide mobility for the thigh and support for the pelvis.
• Quadriceps: Located at the front of the thigh, the quadriceps is made up of 4 muscles (vastus femoris or rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius). These muscles facilitate flexion of the thigh over the hip, as well as extension of the leg over the thigh.
• Hamstring muscles: Located on the back of the thigh, there are four hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semitendinosus). They ensure leg flexion and thigh extension.
• Calf muscles: also known as the sural triceps, the calf muscles comprise 3 muscle fascicles, including the soleus and gastrocnemius. These muscles help extend the foot down the leg

Dance encompasses a number of different disciplines, each of which involves several muscles or muscle groups. But they all have one thing in common: they simultaneously train the body and the mind. Flexions, extensions, steps, movements – dance essentially strengthens the lower limbs (buttocks, thighs, calves). Postural maintenance, pelvic stabilization and rotation tone the abdominal muscles.