From the bizarre ‘barefoot everywhere challenge’ to the rise of so–called ‘Sephora Kids’, TikTok has given rise to many baffling trends.
But the latest sensation to sweep social media might be one of the strangest yet.
A children’s dance routine has racked up millions of views and has been reposted dozens of times.
Now, the viral dance has been hailed as the ultimate workout – with fitness fanatics flocking to try the impressive ‘turtle rabbit’ choreography.
Originating from a dance competition in Beijing, this performance showcases dancers in rabbit costumes, energetically jumping across the stage.
Meanwhile, the ‘turtles’ drag themselves back and forth with a series of strenuous moves.
While the young performers make these moves seem effortless, TikTok users have discovered just how exhausting they really are.
One TikToker even went so far as to call the dance ‘one of the best ab conditioning routines I’ve ever seen.’
A viral dance, originally performed by children in a Beijing dance contest, has taken the internet by storm as TikTok users call it the ultimate workout
Although a children’s dance competition might seem like an unlikely source of viral clips, the unique dance has spread rapidly through TikTok, with users complaining that it has ‘taken over’ their feeds.
One of the first videos showing the dance has now been viewed over 12 million times and has received over 1.2 million likes.
The video has also been reposted by other accounts dozens of times, with other versions of the video attracting over a million views.
There are now more than 5,000 unique videos using the sound clip from the original dance routine.
TikTok users have even begun to post behind–the–scenes clips of the performers’ training and rehearsals as fans clamour for more.
However, the strangest trend to emerge around the viral dance is that users have started to use the choreography as a workout.
In one video, a TikTok user showed herself replicating the dance sequence in the gym, saying: ‘I can confidently confirm that the Rabbit & Turtle is a full intense workout.’
A commenter responded: ‘That’s exactly what I thought when I saw it at first!! The core, arm, and leg strength required is insane.’
The viral dance begins with the ‘rabbits’ leaping across the stage on all fours, in a move which TikTok users have described as an intense cardio workout
A viral trend sees TikTok users attempting to recreate the dance moves executed so effortlessly by the young performers, as many complain that it is an ‘intense workout’
‘I’ve done it for three days now, it’s so HARD,’ another chimed in.
In another viral video with over 3.3 million views, one TikTok user showed how the dance could be converted into a ‘fitness challenge’ with sets of each dance move.
One commenter replied: ‘I did five rabbit hops. I’m good till next year now.’
‘They had to be SO FIT to do that dance omg,’ one social media user added.
Another wrote: ‘I love that a bunch of kids did something so amazing it’s now become a whole workout for the rest of the world.’
While one commenter joked: ‘Imaging seeing someone at the gym doing this.’
However, social media has been bitterly divided over one important question: whose job was harder, the turtle’s or the rabbit’s?
In one video, a user attempting to try the viral dance wrote: ‘Massive respect to the turtles.’
The turtles part of the dance involves swinging from a high plank into a bridge and moving back and forth between the positions
In one of the most challenging moves, the turtles must swing themselves back and forth between a crunch and L-sit, a move that most adults would find extremely challenging
As users share their attempts to recreate the dance, one user said that the moves was ‘one of the best ab condition routines I’ve ever seen’
While another wrote: ‘I can confirm, the turtles deserve more respect.’
On the other hand, many other social media users complained about the intense cardio required for the rabbit’s leaping moves.
Continuing to brand the dance as a workout routine, some commenters even suggested that different animals’ dances could target different muscles.
In one video, a TikTok user wrote: ‘Someone said the rabbit dance is cardio focused and the turtle dance is core focused and I’m not gonna lie this dance routine is about to be my new workout routine.’
While others added that they would be ‘replacing their core workout’ with the turtle’s dance moves.
