exercises for dancers
in general:
before we get started, lets agree on something: exercising for the purpose of dancing is different than exercising to solely build or manipulate a particular muscle or muscle group for health and fitness - it is for the purpose of performing body movements and positions. as in any other sport, dancers use (and abuse) their bodies in ways that are not always healthful. we will have to bend our knees below 90 degrees while on the ball of the foot, have our legs hyper extended, our back arched and do trunk movements which cause our spinal erector to go into overdrive. just to mention a few. no wonder that, over time, knees and/or lower backs can give out.
our purpose here is to prepare our bodies physically as best as possible, so we can keep injuries low, and the joy of movement high.
please make sure that, if you have any physical issues, you ask your physician first, before you start any exercise program or parts of it. and remember: if you feel any pain (other than the feeling of the muscles working), stop!!!
"the strength of a dancer is in his legs and spine"
exercises for the legs:
# 1 - calf raises
stand on the balls of your feet, balls and ankles together (keep this position throughout the whole exercise). hold on to the wall for balance and alignment. make sure your body is upright and there is no arch in your waist area. head up.
raise yourself up onto the balls or your feet so far, that you truly cannot go any higher. hold the position for a few seconds. then lower back down to the floor.
do at least 10 to 15 reps.
# 2 - full knee bends
stand with your feet and ankles together, body vertical, arms to the sides. at the beginning you might want to touch a wall for balance. later on you can do it with out holding on.
slowly lower yourself by bending your knees, letting the heels come off the floor naturally, keeping your ankles together at all times. do it as slowly as possible, ultimately getting to the point that you hardly see yourself move. lower as far as you can, always remembering that you have to come back up again, using the same speed.....
during all times the body has to remain vertical (no leaning forward!).
your goal is to get to the point that you can almost sit on your heels
do three to five repetitions.
note: start by bending your knees only a little. then, gradually lower yourself more and more. you will find that this exercise is not easy to do. but be patient, you will progress faster than you think.
stretching:
not many people stretch, even though most know they should. there are numerous reason why, but one of them always seems to come up when i mention stretching: "i don't know how."...
to understand how to stretch effectively, you have to understand what's going on between muscle and brain during that action.
when you stretch a muscle, you are pulling the fibers apart. that's not really a big deal till you get to the spot where you would start tearing it. at this point the muscle sends a signal to the brain to tell it: "hey, he's stretching me, and i'm afraid he will tear me apart!". the brain responds by telling the muscle: "contract!". now you have a problem: you are trying to pull the muscle apart to make it longer, while the muscles is trying to pull together to make it shorter. you feel that point by sensing 'tension', the 'onset of pain' (whatever you want to call it).
what to do....
don't do anything! just hold it precisely in that position and breath. if you keep stretching farther, you will tear microscopic fibers... after a while (usually anywhere between 10 and 20 seconds), the muscle will get tired of this game and call on the brain again: "hey, he's not doing anything and i'm working hard here". the brain then will respond by saying: "well then, relax". at this moment you will feel a 'release', and you will find yourself stretching just a little farther (or adjusting your position, or breathing easier, etc)... of course, when this happens, the muscle immediately will call the brain again: "hey, he's doing it again!" to which the brain responds again: "contract!"...
by the way: the neurological component in the muscle that causes this oversimplified dialog is called 'the muscle spindle', and the action is called 'reflexive muscle contraction'.
the rules of effective stretching:
1 - go into AND out of each stretch SLOWLY! make sure you feel the tension point and stop there, so you don't overstretch.
2 - stay in the stretch, breath and try to relax until you feel at least two 'releases'. you should feel that the longer you stay in it, the better it feels. if u can't get out of it soon enough, you've gone too far.
3 - do each stretch twice (you'll feel it is easier the second time)
4 - stretch each major muscle group (if possible) 5 or 6 times per week.