By Shelly Webb

The Law of Rhythm states: “When you feel down, be grateful, knowing that (by law) there is an upswing coming. Plan on endless progression upward.”

My personal experience with the Law of Rhythm has everything to do with rhythm—literally. I’ve always loved to dance. I’ve never been especially skilled, but that never stopped me from enjoying it. I danced with my friends, my sisters, and later with my daughters. I didn’t have formal training, so when Beachbody released a dance-based workout program that taught fun hip hop routines step by step, I was first in line to get it.

I was thrilled to start learning. The program included six complete dances, with a schedule designed to teach one dance per week. The idea was that you’d master a dance in a week, then move on to the next, slightly more challenging one. The first dance was simple—not particularly fun—but I was excited to keep going. And sure enough, they got harder. I remember trying one of the later routines and feeling completely discouraged. It was so difficult, and I couldn’t imagine ever getting it—especially not in a week.

But I kept going. I didn’t quit. And little by little, the steps started to click. I mastered that dance, then moved on. When I started one of the final routines, it was unbelievably hard. But this time, I wasn’t discouraged—I knew it would get better. I’d be clumsy for a few days, but by the fourth attempt, it would start coming together. By the end of the week, I’d actually be having fun.

The program originally came out around 2015. At the time, I was in pretty good shape—pregnant, but still active. Then in 2017, I stopped working out. For a number of reasons—my inactivity being a major one—I gained almost 70 pounds. I found myself in the worst shape of my life, and the most heartbreaking part was that I felt like I couldn’t dance anymore. I was deeply depressed.

In 2019, I started exercising consistently again. But I told myself I had to lose weight before I could dance. Then in 2020, I made a different decision: I wasn’t going to wait. I was going to dance as I was. I went back through the six original dances. I remembered them fairly quickly, and even though I felt big and awkward, I loved every minute of it.

Then I moved on to the next program in the series: “The Next Level.” And it really was just that. The dances were harder, the pace was faster, and the expectations were higher—but they were also more exciting. Just like before, I started off struggling, but each time, I improved. That rhythm of failure and growth continued: every low followed by a higher high.

Eventually, I was dancing better than I ever had. Each new high came with more skill, more confidence, and more joy than the one before. I was, quite literally, progressing upward—just as the Law of Rhythm promises.