Responsible for sculpting the bodies of Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Jennifer Garner, and Chrissy Teigen, Aussie trainer and creator of Body by Simone, Simone de la Rue knows a thing or two about getting results. The highly-sought after fitness guru is most well known for her fast-paced dance cardio workouts that get your heart-rate up while also engaging your muscles to increase strength and tone.
Like all things, fitness goes through phases during which certain components are trendier than others. One could argue that currently, it seems like we’ve moved away from running and aerobic exercises in favor of slower exercises more focused on strength training—from yoga to squat challenges.
Favoring one type of workout over another can get in the way of our fitness goals, however. According to de la Rue, both strength training and cardio are essential, especially for those looking to shed pounds. “So many women do barre or yoga,” de la Rue explained to InStyle, “which means their heart rates don’t get to a calorie-burning state. When you dance, your heart rate gets there without your realizing it, and you see results.” Meanwhile, building muscle helps increase metabolism (albeit the gain isn’t as much as is often promoted according to researchers).
Of course, the importance of cardio goes beyond the visible results it may lend. It can serve as a much-needed vehicle for catharsis, especially if you’ve taken a break from cardio-intensive exercise. I’m currently a few months postpartum, and I’ve been focusing on walking daily and doing core exercise to target my diastasis recti (grrr). As soon as I felt strong enough, however, I went for a run and raised my heart rate for the first time in a while—and it felt magical. Even without the advice of trainers, I’m certain that cardio is as essential to my overall recovery as healing my core is. I’m definitely going to give Simone de la Rue’s dance cardio routine a try!
In the meantime, here are a few cardio workouts to try!
8 Minute Fat-Burning Cardio Workout
4 Fun Cardio Dance Moves: Jive
Heart-Pumping HIIT Workout (20 mins)
Calorie Torching Cardio: Rowing Machine Workouts
What’s your favorite heart-pumping exercise? Have you tried Body by Simone?
Related: Does Yoga Give You Enough Cardio?
How I Got Over My Fear of Long Distance Running
Get A Dancer’s Body With These Moves From Julianne Hough’s Favorite Workout
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Photo: Simone de la Rue via Facebook, Crystal Chin, 123rf
