Fitness

Today hip-hop dance is recognized by dancers and trainers alike as an alternate form of exercise. Hip Hop International, the organization that runs the USA and the World Hip Hop Dance Championships, was founded as a subsidiary of Sports Fitness International.In 2007 Beachbody, the makers of the P90X workout, produced Hip Hop Abs—a home fitness program created by dancer and personal trainer Shaun that uses hip-hop dance, rather than crunches or sit-ups, to tone and sculpt abs. According to Lance Armstrong's health and fitness website LiveStrong.com, hip-hop dancing is particularly helpful in building abdominal muscle:


    “     Many of the hip-hop movements isolate the abs, so this area really gets a good muscle-sculpting workout. There is a great deal of hip rolling, waist and pelvic rolling and popping in hip hop and all of these work the abs. The hip-hop "popping" is a technique that is a quick punch on the emphasis of a beat, many times danced in a combination with arm movements and the abdominal area being "popped" in the same count sequence. Doing these popping movements in repetition is an excellent abdominal workout.     ”


In the mid '90s MTV's The Grind premiered. It was a television program that showcased social hip-hop dancing to rap, R&B, and house music. Due to the show's popularity MTV released two The Grind Workout videos hosted by Eric Neis with assistance from choreographer Tina Landon.In the early 2000s Nike launched an international campaign promoting dance as sport and enlisted the help of choreographer and creative director Jamie King to develop the Nike Rockstar Workout for use in gyms worldwide.He later released a companion workout book and DVD titled Rock Your Body.Other choreographers/dancers have used fitness as a platform to promote hip-hop dance as a way to stay in shape. Titles include Darrin's Dance Grooves Vol. 1 – 2, Diversity: Dance Fitness Fusion, and Breakin' It Down with Laurie Ann Gibson.