'I tried Libby Babet's 15-minute dance workouts. And my goodness that was harder than expected.'

I've been in a fitness rut for the past four months. 

The Christmas and New Year's break was a good excuse not to work out; so was my recent engagement party. Then there was Easter. Excuses kept coming up, and I didn't mind. 

"I'm enjoying myself!" I would say. 

But after a while, my body started to ache. I would feel sluggish, have little to no energy and my mental health suffered without those routine endorphins.

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Before this recent break, fitness for me would generally involve lots of walking – usually home from work – and the occasional session at the gym.

But without daylight savings, those walks are less enticing. And as anyone who has taken a break from working out knows, it's really hard to get back into a gym routine after having so much time off.

During COVID lockdown, when we didn't have access to the gym and only so much time or so many places to go for a walk, a friend told me about dance workouts. 

She raved about them, saying how they made her sweat, released those endorphins and were actually fun.

What sold me was the not-having-to-leave-your-house or put-proper-clothes-on part.

Libby Babet is a celebrity personal trainer and former trainer on The Biggest Loser. She's also the founder of the Bondi dance workout studio, The Upbeat.

"We workout to the beat because life’s too short for boring workouts," she says.

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The personal trainer recently created four free dance cardio workouts with Optus Fitness. None of them go for more than 15 minutes.

I tried all of them to see whether a) they would get me sweaty and moving as much as the gym would, and b) if I'd actually enjoy it.

Going into my first dance workout, I wasn't expecting much. 

I thought it would be good to wake me up and move my body ahead of my workday, but how hard could 15 minutes really be? 

Ha. How I was wrong.

I followed along with 'Popstar' first.

Libby and her team take you through the different movements, before putting them all together. There's a lower-intensity option too. 

But don't let their smiles and the short timeframe fool you: these workouts are exhausting.

During my first session, I had to pause the video three times I was so puffed out. I'm also not very coordinated so learning the steps took a few goes.

I kept wondering whether my neighbour in the building across from me was laughing (I would be if I was them).

By the end, I was SWEATING.

Was. Not. Expecting. That. Image: Supplied.

I spent the next few days trying more of the workouts, and after a while, I got the hang of it. (The movements are similar throughout.)

At one point, I had to go on a work trip and packed my activewear to do one in my hotel room. 

It was pretty convenient. 

I didn't have to worry whether there was a gym at the hotel or make the excuse that my routine was out of whack and so I just wouldn't do anything at all.

I had my laptop and 15 minutes to spare, so it was time to sweat!

That's not highlighter. Image: Supplied.

It's funny how they talk about the importance of moving your body for both your mind and body, but it's not until you introduce it back into your routine that you're really reminded of that.

These dance workouts have honestly really tested my fitness.

But they have also been fun and made me consider adding those walks back in even though it's dark outside, and maybe (just maybe) going back to the gym.

If all else fails, I can just do one of these again.

So thanks, friend-who-told-me-about-dance-workouts. I'm no longer in my fitness rut.

(I'm just sweaty.)

Feature image: Supplied.