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Everybody's Gotta Dance!

The Only Current 1-hour Playlist You'll Need to be Inspired, Keep Moving, Push Through The Extra Mile and Dance Like No One Is Watching!

By Cameron DeWitt RuizPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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Everybody's Gotta Dance!
Photo by Aditya Ali on Unsplash

I know it may be cliche to say, but that is one of my favorite sayings. Dance Like No One Is Watching! And you really have to be able to do that. It helps you be confident in yourself and your body. At least it does for me.

With a personally curated workout playlist like this one, you’ll have no reason to not let loose and dance your butt off. Go ahead and listen to “15minsX4sets” below. If you have the gusto and don’t need any motivation, feel free to jump right in and create your own workout. But if you need some inspiration, motivation, the what’s and the why’s of these songs and/or an actual workout routine, then keep on reading my friend!

I’ve liked to dance my whole life. I was that little chubby 10 year old boy - the ONE boy - enrolled in dance classes at Everybody’s Gotta Dance (with Jen) in a small, countryside, southern California town of a few thousand people. Needless to say, this particular extracurricular activity made me stand out a bit from the other boys - who were simply simple, normal, regular boys - who would be…boys.

Although I didn’t stay in dance classes for more than a few years, in high school, I was one of the go-to dance partners for my female classmates to rely on when their end of semester dance showcases happened. I was in the musicals and I was one of the show choir choreographers my senior year. It was a lot of box stepping, hand clapping and partner spins, but I still enjoyed being a part of inspiring others to get out of their mental box and enjoy dancing.

In college, when the performing bug hit me again, I enrolled in some dance classes during my sophomore year - before injuring my ankle during an audition that resulted in me WATCHING everyone else dance for the rest of the year.

By Ali Yahya on Unsplash

That was one of the first times I remember really feeling depressed. But it wouldn’t be the last. I was 20 at the time. I’m 35 now. Depression comes and goes. It’s how you deal with it that makes all the difference.

Recently, in a phone conversation with my mom, we were talking about how I had been feeling the evil, dark, stormy cloud of depression looming in the distance. Could feel it beginning to latch on and pull me into its eye. To drag me into its pit of darkness.

It was not good.

I also knew that EVERYONE was/is having a difficult time. We are in the midst of the worst pandemic of our lifetimes and everyone is needing to readjust to new realities. People aren’t seeing friends or family. They aren’t working. Or they are working, but from home. From inside the confines of what, for some, has become more of a prison than a home. People everywhere are depressed. I don’t think I’m unique in wrestling with depression. Especially right now.

Then my mom asked me if I had been exercising.

I had to pause to think about it for a minute before realizing the answer was a simple one: No.

I really hadn’t exercised for months. I would usually go for the occasional swim at a nearby gyms pool, but they closed in the beginning of the pandemic. Like everything else.

By Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash

Over the summer, while unemployed, I had been getting a few swims in at the nearby lake. But, since summer weather had been long gone in the Pacific Northwest, I had not actually worked out my body at all.

I knew that had to change. Exercise is essential for your body. It’s always hard at first to get up, get motivated and make your body work, but once you get through those first few days - it’s glorious! You can feel the energy in your body. The air in your lungs. You sleep better. You wake up with more energy. Your body simply feels better after sweating out toxins and producing endorphins. But I get it! It’s hard to get moving.

So, let me help you!

I’ve created a 1 hour playlist of motivational, upbeat, workout power anthems that is designed to be played in order. For the beginner, it can be broken up into four 15-minute segments or sets. For the more fluent exerciser, you can play it straight through for an uninterrupted 60-minute work out that will leave you inspired, sweating, laughing and feeling great.

By Andre Hunter on Unsplash

Why is this the best workout playlist?

It’s an entire workout centered around dancing. It allows you to express your own body’s movement and push through at your own pace. The goal is simply to be moving your body as much as possible, so technical dance skills are not required - or a necessity. Literally anyone and everyone can do this. Plus right now, you have the time.

It’s not 100% dance (more like 35%), but every part of the workout can be done at home, alone, and you don’t need any equipment. Your body and mind is all it takes. So get up!

Literally.

Get up and let’s get our bodies moving! Do a single 15 minute set or the full hour. Do Set One today and Set Two tomorrow. Do whatever you need to until you build up the stamina to go the full 60 minutes. Your mind, body and depression will thank us both within a week.

After all…Everybody’s Gotta Dance!

This is the full playlist. Workouts are below.

SET ONE - WARM UP - 5 SONGS, 15 MINUTES - "LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!"

Before you workout, you want to be stretched out. Get nice and limber so you can really push your body. THE BUSINESS by Tiesto is to get you in the mood while you stretch. Feel the beat and start to get down to business for 2 minutes 44 seconds.

Keep stretching it all out to I MISS YOU by Jax Jones & Au/Ra for 2 minutes 52 seconds.

We're going to pick up the pace and jog or jump rope in place (your choice) for the full 3 minutes, 13 seconds of WATCH ME by Zookeper. Start to get that heart rate up!

It's plank time! Get down on the ground and do periodic planks while Eli Brown's KILLER plays. Inbetween planks, do some light stretching to keep that body limber and avoid cramps.

We're going to step it up a notch for 2 minutes 55 seconds and continuously do jumping jacks. Feel free to toss in some moving punches if you're up for it.

SET TWO - DANCE - 5 SONGS, 15 MINUTES - "FEEL LIKE GOLD!"

Picking it up for Set Two. This is where it gets fun! For the next 2 minutes 56 seconds all you are going to do is DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING!

Use this 2 minutes 53 seconds to take a quick break and chill out a bit. Don't stop moving, but it's okay to tretch for the first minute. After that, start doing those squats for the remainder of the song.

A Latin beat always makes you shake. DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING. 2 minutes 54 seconds.

It's time to run, run, run in place. As fast and hard as you can. Use the beat of NO NAME by NF, remixed especially for a power workout. 3 minutes 33 seconds.

You just ran like crazy! Let youirself relax and cool off a bit by using this more mellow song to focus on stretching and breathing for 3 minutes 25 seconds. Let your inner naysayer GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD!

SET THREE - AB TIME - 4 SONGS, 15 MINUTES - "CAN'T BE TAMED!"

4 minutes exactly. It's sit up and crunch time!

You need to run like a wild horse in the wind! GO! It's only 2 minutes 54 seconds. You can do it.

DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING for 3 minutes 19 seconds.

Back on the ground and its time for some international music vibes to get you going into leg lifts. Hold those legs up for intervals of as long as you can. Let those abs feel it for 3 minutes 41 seconds.

SET FOUR - COOL DOWN - 4 SONGS, 15 MINUTES - "BORN TO WIN!"

Nothing like 4 minutes 6 seconds of Christina Aguilera reminding you that you are a fighter and you can push through this workout. Her power vocals will help you as you jump rope and/or run in place to the varying speed of FIGHTER.

We're cooling down, but that doesn't mean working less hard. This 4 minutes 12 seconds is here for you to feel your arms. It's pushup and plank time. Do as many as you can. Hold for as long as you can.

What betetr way to end a workout than by DANCING LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING for 4 minutes 6 seconds to a Dave Aude remix of Celine Dion's FLYING ON MY OWN. Might as well fly if you're already dancing, right?

Lastly, we have the power anthem reminder that you were BORN TO WIN by Ryan Innes. Really take in these lyrics and listen to them hard as you cool down, stretch and breathe for these final 3 minutes 6 seconds.

CONGRATS!! YOU DID IT!! YOU ARE AMAZING!! DON'T YOU FEEL GREAT?!

And there you have it folks! The perfect 1-hour workout playlist that will inspire you to keep moving, help you push past that extra mile, and leave you feeling like you can do anything!

Because you can!

If you enjoyed this article or the playlist feel free to find me on Venmo @LordGlyter! As a full time creator, tips are always appreciated and welcomed.

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About the Creator

Cameron DeWitt Ruiz

I am just 1

Of more than 7 billion perspectives,

Living in a world

Of Social Constructs

🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

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