Going dancing will help you hit your January fitness goals

It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions but it’s hard to keep them. If the thought of the gym is already making you grit your teeth in dread, then this study will be music to your ears.

DICE used fitbits to carry out research tracking the average heart rate and number of steps taken by crowd members at five different types of gig to see how dancing compares to a workout.

The findings revealed grime fans are the most active, averaging 7,635 steps (5.8 kilometres) - the equivalent a 42 minute jog or 17 laps around Wembley’s football pitch.

Electronic fans averaged the highest heart rate at 121 bpm, and clocked the second highest average steps at 6,565 (5 kilometres). One raver powered through 13,091 steps in one night, hitting the 10 kilometre mark.

Pop fans trailed just behind with an average of 5,588 steps (4.3 kilometres), however one dancer hit 18,106 steps, equivalent to two thirds of a half marathon.

R’n’b fans stepped the second lowest amount with an average of 3,914 (3 kilometres), while indie fans sat at the bottom of the table, averaging 2,347 steps (1.8 kilometres).

DICE’s Head of Music Russ Tannen said: “This is fantastic news for gig-goers everywhere. Little did we know that while we were spending night after night in sticky floored basements, freezing cold warehouses and over-crowded venues, we were accidently hitting our fitness goals. Keep it up.”

While it’s not advisable to ditch focused workouts completely, it’s a comfort to know that skipping the occasional gym session for an evening out isn’t a complete write off for your workout plan - as long as you go easy on the drinks.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter