This At-Home Dance Cardio Sesh Secretly Strengthens Your Lower Abs and Obliques

You use your core muscles all the time, even when we don’t realize it. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you can work your core without doing traditional mat work. This dance cardio workout by cardio Katia Pryce, former pro dancer and the founder and CEO of New York-based fitness brand, DanceBody, is a great way to sneak in an oblique and lower ab workout—and it’s much more fun than boring old sit-ups.

Through a series of hip twists, leg lifts, and body rolls, this dance routine is an oblique and lower ab workout (which are notoriously hard to train). Dance it out for eight minutes before moving to the floor for more core. Dancing works your whole body, allowing you to engage your obliques and lower abs at the same time.

Having a strong core is about so much more than aesthetics, Pryce explains. “Having a strong core helps you move better in everyday life, improves your posture, and helps protect your back,” says Pryce, who is also the founder and CEO and live-streaming platform DanceBody Live. “The core is the center of your body, so having a strong core is important no matter what exercise you do.”

And don’t let the word “dance” scare you away. You don’t need to have any experience to do this 15-minute workout. “Dance cardio intimidates so many people because they think they need to walk in looking like Beyonce,” says Pryce. “But dancing is an acquired skill just like anything else—you need to learn the basics in order to get better—you don’t always just inherently know how to dance.”

To get started, throw on some sneakers, pull your belly button back to your spine, relax your shoulders, and get ready to dance your way to a stronger core. And if you’re loving it, try out Pryce’s cardio dance party, dancer arms workout, and dancer leg workout.