I am writing on behalf of my 14 year old daughter. She is an actor/singer, and in the past year has started to dance again in order to develop her "triple threat" skills. It has become increasingly obvious that her shoulders slump forward and her dance instructor also is constantly telling her to put her shoulders down and not shrug. I assume the slumping forward of the shoulders and the shrugged shoulder problem are related. I am desperate to help her correct this, as she is bothered by how it affects her stage presence in musical theatre. Right now, my daughter is at an intensive musical theatre camp. This involves dancing and conditioning. I am just concerned that in her conditioning she may not be targeting the upper back that I think may help solve this shrugging slumping issue. I wanted to find a knowledgeable dancer person to help my daughter work her way out of this dilemma. Not only is she in camp from 9 to 5 every day, but from 7-10 she is then rehearsing as ensemble for A Chorus Line. Just last night the choreographer (who happens to be her dance teacher) in exasperation said "you have such a perfect ballet body, but you just won't stop shrugging your shoulders!". I understand her frustration. We need some help to resolve this. Help!!

First, thank you, Shakira, for thinking of me as a “knowledgeable dancer-person”, and reaching out for help. I take that as a huge compliment, and it totally makes my day when I get emails like this!

Second, you’re right, the upper-back is an area that needs more attention than is commonly given in a typical dance-conditioning type of class.

And third, I can say that I totally understand because I used to have this very same problem, and it wasn’t because of a lack of corrections. I knew exactly what the problem was- People had no trouble pointing out my rolled-forward, droopy shoulders, and that I held a lot of upper body, neck and facial tension.

But nobody suggested any kind of solution. So I kept focusing on the problem, and of course, my problems didn’t improve any.

Two issues that were holding me back were 1) that I had no neural connection whatsoever to my upper back and shoulder muscles (which is necessary to strengthen said muscles to improve posture) and 2) that I wasn’t very confident in myself (demonstrated by my crappy posture). Those two factors feed off of each other, in a stupid, cyclical nature, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t get my alignment together.

Add the fact that I was constantly being told that my upper body, neck and face looked weird and tense, just made me more self-conscious, and even more tense. A vicious cycle indeed.

For many performers, fine-tuning upper body posture is the first step to controlling excess tension, and is super important not only for aesthetics, but for performance and injury prevention. Actually, some of the most common corrections dancers tell me they hear from their teachers relate to excessive upper body tension.

Learning to dance without upper body tension is important because the repetitive strain from dancing with this prolonged poor positioning can result in neck spasms, nerve compression due to chronically shortened muscles, shoulder injuries like rotator cuff tears and shoulder impingements, and can make you prone to shoulder dislocations.

What causes upper body tension?

First, you need to understand what a compensation strategy is. In a nut-shell, your body is smart, and it will find a way to keep things moving even when a part of it isn’t working optimally, usually due to an injury, or a chronic postural habit. Your body will adapt to the stresses placed upon it. This is can also be called “plasticity” or “supercompensation”.

For example, perhaps you’re carrying a heavy dance bag over one shoulder everyday, causing your body to create a compensation strategy to overcome that stress. The result is that on one side of your body, the muscles of the shoulder will shorten and tighten in an attempt to stabilize and hold the bag on your shoulder. On the other side, they will probably become weak and lengthened. Neither side is stronger than the other, one is just tight, and one is just long (remember tight doesn’t mean stronger, it just means tighter).

When these compensation strategies go on for too long, they become your “strong-place”, which means your body feels safest during any given movement when you perform these compensatory movements (like shrugging to keep the bag on your shoulder).

Dance isn’t about staying safely in your comfort-zone with your compensatory friends, though, is it…

For example, many of my clients can balance perfectly on one leg, until I ask them to drop their shoulders and stand on the 3 points of their feet. Things become more difficult when you leave your so-called “strong”, safe, place.

Just because it’s tight, doesn’t mean it’s strong.

That’s what I had to explain to a young dancer client of mine with short, tight pecs (who finds a way to somehow use his pecs to do things like lat-pulldowns, and rows). After struggling with push-ups, he says, “Why are push-ups so hard? If my pecs are tight, shouldn’t they be strong?” Nope…

Your “strong-place”, is really your tense place, and tension does not mean strength. It just means tension. A muscle holding tension, that is either locked chronically long, or short, is not in a position to optimally generate force.

Where do dancers generally hold upper body tension? Neck, face, hands, shoulders, to name a few.

What does it look like? Scared or startled look on face. Stiff, claw-like hands. Forward-head posture and stiff neck, with difficulty spotting turns. Shoulders rolled-forward, slightly up and “shrugged”. Any of those sound familiar? Sounds exactly like me in first year university.

So:

Problem: You have the wrong kind of tension. Your “strong-place”, where you are currently dancing from, is really a tense-place, where you feel safe.

Solution: Find a new strong(er)-place which doesn’t involve using superfluous muscles like your face and hands. Your face muscles really have relatively little to do with your balance, so I think it’s ok to let them relax, or, dare I say, express your feelings even?

How to find your new stronger place

But just a warning, to get to  your new, stronger-place, you will have to first go to a place that feels weaker. Take 3 steps back to take 10 forward, if you will. It unfair, I know. Know what else is unfair? Life.

So anyway, your first step to dancing from your stronger place is to acknowledge your weaknesses, and assess where you’re holding tension. Understand that tension, in this case, is making you weaker, not stronger.

Your stronger-place is where your body can perform technical skills without unnecessary tension.

I am assuming that Shakira’s daughter is experiencing shoulder and neck tension (though you should never assume anything), along with her shruggy shoulders that roll inwards. This leads me to believe that her strong place is when her upper traps and pecs are over-active. In other words, she is stabilizing everything with her upper traps and pecs (which is demonstrated by that forward shoulder, shrugging pattern).

This is super common, and it has a name: Upper-crossed syndrome (as first referred to by Dr. Vladimir Janda, who was way ahead of his time).

When those two areas are over-active, muscles that will test as weak include the lower trapezius, and other muscles of the upper back, like the rhomboids, and lats, as well as the muscles of the posterior shoulder and stabilizers of the scapulae.

Computers, cell phones, sitting, heavy backpacks, and gravity don’t help this situation.

So, once you’ve identified your “strong” place, the next step is to go to your weak place and make it stronger.

Your ego will resist. No one likes to willingly go to a place of weakness. But just know that it will make you stronger in the end.

Also, you must understand that, unfortunately, fixing years of compensation strategies is not as simple as merely performing strengthening exercises. I wish it was. Consider these following factors:

1) Emotional reasons for holding onto muscle compensations. Often postural issues are rooted in psychological trauma. And often, we aren’t aware of this trauma until we begin to consciously attempt change our posture, or the way we move, and the feelings come to the surface.

Have you ever had an emotional response to movement? I’ve had many, many emotional yoga classes, where certain postures have made me laugh, or cry in response to how they made my body feel.

Yes, I am that weirdo who cries and laughs out loud in yoga class. At least I’m not the fat guy who farts. Not that there’s anything wrong with being that guy, I’m just saying…

When I first began to change my own posture, my confidence was brought into question. I felt extremely self-conscious standing with my shoulders back, and it made me realize how much I was trying to hide myself from the world through my posture. As I am continuously quoting Thomas Myers- you really can change your body about your mind. 

2) Possible need for soft tissue/passive therapies. If a particular muscle has become overactive, and is inhibiting one or more others (as in the potential pec/upper trap inhibiting the lower trap/rhomboids situation), to change this pattern, often a soft tissue intervention is necessary. These things include massage, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustment, etc.  That being said…

3) 300 bad reps take 30 000 good reps to correct. This is part of motor control theory. It takes 10x more perfect repetitions of an exercise to replace the number of reps that created the dysfunctional pattern in the first place. Yes. Hard work and focus are necessary for change. Passive tissue therapy is great and often necessary, but unless you do some of your own work to replace bad habits with new better ones, the benefits of the passive changes will be quickly lost.

4) Moment to moment postural awareness is most important for change. You will need to begin a daily practice of being aware of your alignment. Postural awareness. It’s kind of a big deal. If your shoulders roll forward, try to walk around all day with them wide, open, and rolled back instead. If you find you have a nervous tick that causes you to shrug your shoulders, try to notice when you do it, and try not to do it. Awareness is KEY.

Treat your posture like an addiction: Admit you are powerless to it, get a sponsor to keep you on track, and make the choice to stand better.

Alright. Now that THAT’S out of the way, here are a few exercises you can use to strengthen some of the aforementioned commonly weak muscles, improve your shoulder function and posture, and begin to let go of excess upper body tension:

Fore-arm wall slide. I don’t have my own demo video of this exercise yet, so here’s Tony Gentilcore doing it. Practice this one first to develop good shoulder movement patterns, aka not shrugging.

Foam roller “Y”- To work further on depressing the shoulder blades (anti-shrug), and then strengthening the lower trapezius.

Lower trap dumbbell raise (try without dumbbell first, perfecting the movement is more important than lifting weight). Another good one to strengthen the lower traps.

1 arm split kneeling row- to strengthen the lats and rhomboids, primarily. I like this row variation because you can work on one arm at a time, and get some solid glute and  core activation, too. Win win!

Face-pull. To strengthen the posterior shoulder.

I don’t know what to call this one… But it’s another favourite of mine for the rotator cuff with simultaneous T spine extension. An important cue is to breath IN while performing the lifting phase, and EXHALE while lowering.

I’m holding a contest to name that exercise. So far, the winners are “the batman”, and “open the closet”. I like em’ both. Let me know if you’ve got one better.

Ok that’s it for now! I hope that was helpful, and that you can start right now using these strategies to reduce your upper body tension and start dancing stronger, not tenser.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

It’s time to get acquainted with neutral foot. How often do you check in with your foot posture?

Yes. Foot posture is important. Especially if you need to balance, turn, propel yourself, change directions quickly, jump, accelerate, decelerate, dance... And make it look pretty. And not be in pain while you’re at it.

The most common foot alignment issue I see in dancers is rolling in on the foot(everting), thus supporting our entire body weight with only the medial longitudinal arch, the big toe, the first metatarsal, and the medial aspect of the heel. Essentially, smushing the entire medial portion of the foot into the ground, and using it to produce force and propel ourselves. I used to do this all the time.

This is bad.

Why? For one, it can hurt you. Navicular droppage (looks like a flat foot), as explained HERE:

The medial longitudinal arch is the primary shock absorber and load-bearing structure of the foot. Without this arched configuration, large forces at the foot would exceed the physiologic weight bearing capabilities of the tarsal bones

Exceeding the weight bearing capacity of the tarsal bones through improper foot alignment can cause that navicular drop, which can lead to unpleasant things like ankle sprains, subluxed cuboids, stress fractures, knee hip and back pain, and crappy dance performance.

Pop quiz: What are the 2 of the most stable natural structures?

….

…

…

Ok. Got an answer?

The arch and the tripod. Just ask any engineer. That’s why bridges and the VW Beatle are designed the way they are. And that’s why we put cameras on tripods, not quadrupods, or hexapods.

Take a look at your feet. Notice how there’s not just one arch, but 3.

And notice how when you connect points A, B and C in the photo above, you get a tripod?

3 arches and a tripod. Your body is smart and it gave you an extremely stable structure to support your itself with, if you’re using it properly.

Unlike a concrete bridge, or steel tripod, your foot has elastic and plastic properties, and requires strength and motor control to work optimally, and not just act as foundation for your body to sit comfortably upon. So yes, you actually need to think about your foot posture a little bit, and maybe even do some extra exercises specifically for your feet.

To get extremely picky, you’ll notice that your big toe is not a part of the foot tripod. I like to think of my big toe as an emergency brake/accelerator- Use it when the tripod fails to keep me on balance, or when I need to propel myself with power. And do fun dancy stuff.

Do you get foot cramps or plantar fasciitis? You might be holding on for dear life by your big toe.

When compensation strategies like excessive big toe usage, or medial arch rollage (rollage is a word, I swear), become postural habits over time, you can stress ligaments and tendons, leading to myofascial restrictions and imbalances.  Ligaments may never return to their original elasticity, depending how far they’ve been stretched (like a crappy hair elastic), so strengthening of the foot and ankle becomes very important.

If your ligaments look like my hair elastic, you're screwed.

The good news is that you can put your droopy arches, and unstable ankles back together again by getting comfy with your foot tripod. I’ll get to that a little bit later on in this article though.

Why dance tends to screw things up from the ankles down

Specifically if you’re a dancer who needs to point your feet and use turnout.

• Rolling in the foot – excessive eversion (to get into more turnout)
•  ”winging” the foot – excessive eversion, again (to make it look pretty)
•  excessive plantar flexion (which contributes to a lack of ROM through dorsiflexion, a factor contributing to ankle instability)
• Pointe work- excessive plantar flexion and eversion
• other muscle imbalances at the hip (yay turnout)

Winging and eversion to the extreme. But it's so pretty...

What other things screw your feet up?

• Bad footwear (Uggs, high heels, flip flops, etc.)
• Lack of awareness
• Surfaces with poor shock absorbancy
• Other muscle compensation patterns

That’s why I like Vibram shoes. I like them so much I have a few pairs, and it’s one of the few products I wish I could be an affiliate for. But they don’t offer that option. Not yet…

Here’s a little check list for you. If you recognize any of the below points in yourself, then chances are you need to direct a bit of time to your feets:

• You appear to have a flat arch
• You actually have flat arches (there’s a difference)
• You’ve ever sprained your ankle(s)
• You get plantar fasciitis/foot cramping
• When you stand with feet parallel, you feel like you’re pigeon-toed
• You notice that you walk fairly turned-out
• When you stand parallel, it’s more comfortable to stand on the outer edge of your feet
• When you balance on one leg you tend to roll over the outside of your foot (invert)
• Lifting your big toe (and ONLY your big toe) off the ground with your feet still in parallel is way harder than it should be (especially on one leg)
• You trip over your feet a lot
• You notice all of the above AND you have other pain at the hip, knee or back

A lot of dancers, when they stand turned-out, tend to roll to the inside of their feet, supporting themselves mostly on the medial aspect of the heel, the big toe, and the first metatarsal.  Then, when standing parallel, they might not have the strength to hold their feet and ankles in line, and will roll to the outside of the foot.

Ohhh turnout. What doesn’t it screw up? Just kidding.

I’m no exception. I’m far from perfect. As I’m standing (yes standing) writing this, I’m rolling onto the outsides of my feet. Let’s fix that…. Ok. Now I’m back to tripod foot. I feel better now. If that’s not OCD I don’t know what is…

So now you’re wondering how you can learn to find a neutral foot position to help restore fallen arches, strengthen your feet and ankles, improve your balance, and dance better, aren’t ya?

How to find and integrate standing on the 3 points of your feet

First, watch this:

That video, from Mike Robertson’s website, should serve as a nice intro to figuring out your three points to stand on. The easiest way to feel those 3 points, is simply lift the big toe.

Here are some exercises I like that can help to reinforce your tripod:

1. Foot doming/arching exerise

The feet in the video belong to a dancer who’s sustained multiple, pretty serious ankle sprains. On both ankles. She was also diagnosed with a subluxed cuboid, and now is dealing with quite a bit of ankle instability as a result. As you can see, she “appears” to have flat feet, but when taught she can pull her foot back into an arch.

Here’s what to do: Lift your big toes to get onto the 3 points of your feet. Pull the metatarsals towards your heels, like you’re trying to pinch the floor with your arch. Hold for a few seconds and then repeat.

Here’s an example of how NOT to do this exercise:

This is what happened the first time she went to do this exercise-Notice the rolling to the outside of the foot.

And here’s MY foot. You can see the difference in the arch I’m able to achieve actively. I’ve never sprained my ankles, mind you (knock on wood), so this is to be expected. I might also naturally have a higher arch. Who knows.

I should emphasize that all this foot-arching practice should be done without the big toe. Imagine how pretty your feet will look when you add the big toe flexion back in to your new, stronger arch… Yeah. It’ll look real good.

2. Romanian deadlift (RDL) to tip toe.

I stole this one from Anthony Mychal. It’s a good one to practice often, not only for foot-tripod-finding, but for glute activation, core motor control, balance and general body awareness.

How to do it: Stand feet hip width apart, lift big toes= you’re on 3 points of your feet now. Hinge hips back into a flat back position (you might feel a bit of a stretch on your hammies if you’re a bit stiff there). NOTE: hinge at the hips to maintain a neutral spine. In one smooth motion, try to go right from your flat back to tip toes. Not as easy as it looks.

3. Single Leg RDL

If you’re ready to take tripod-foot to the next level, try some single leg stuff. Make sure you can balance statically on one leg without your big toe supporting you first before trying anything dynamic like a single leg RDL. I really like single leg RDLs, and I like em’ heavy sometimes. As I’ve mentioned HERE. They put the fun in FUNctional…

There ya go. Try those babies out.

But what I feel counts the most, is a day to day awareness of how you’re standing on your feet. Exercises you do for 30 seconds a day have much less of a magnitude in terms of  chronic changes in alignment, than actually taking the time to focus on your alignment in each and every moment.

Stop walking turned out. Stop wearing crappy shoes. Stand on the three points of your feet when you can, with high arches. Or as I like to call it, make your feet SMILE! Or frown, depending which way your’re looking at them. I like to think positive.

But anyway, I hope this was helpful, and I would love it if you would let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Ask that question to a dancer and the answer will be, without a doubt, becoming injured and not being able to dance anymore. What’s more frustrating, is that many health care providers who work with dancers will advise us to do the exact opposite of what we want to hear: “Stop dancing”.

Not advice we’re liable to follow. Accepting defeat isn’t an appealing option.

Life is tough for those of us who make a living with our bodies. And not just dancers, but other artists like musicians, other athletes, and those wonderful souls who sacrifice their own bodies to help ours get better: body workers like RMTs, chiropractors and such-like people.

Did you know the average length of an RMT’s career is only 4 years? That’s it. As a dancer, you can probably relate. My professional dance career was less than 25% of that. Think about that for a moment- I trained, with a life consuming focus, for more than 12 years, for a professional career lasting months (if you can call the extent of the dancing I was actually paid for a “career”).

Training for dance is training for a career with a time stamp. Dancing and aging are very similar. It’s interesting to note that many exercises I give to my older clients and dancers tend to overlap. As my older clients have realized- Strength training is anti-aging training.

Anti-aging for your dance career, too.

Fortunately for you reading this, you’re about to get some new-age recommendations, that you can start to implement today, and that I believe can add years to your dance career.

But first, let’s address some of the challenges of training to be a dancer. Whether you’re a young dancer, or an adult; whether you’re a seasoned pro, a university/college-level dancer, or partaking in the wonderful world of dance recreationally, we will all have our struggles:

What You Should Know About the Nature of Dance:

1) You’ll probably encounter an injury or two (or 17) at some point. Maybe it’ll start as a nagging hip pain when you’re 14, that you kind of ignore, and work through, which then resurrects as a disk herniation in your 20s. When you feel pain, be aware of it! Please don’t ignore it. How your body feels is important. Pain is sometimes not gain.

Just look at this statistic from Science Daily’s article, Ballet Dancer Injuries As Common, Severe, as Athletic Injuries (as if our injuries even needed any justification):

…The injury rate for ballet dancers over an eight-month period was 61 percent. This is comparable to rates found in other studies for athletes in collision sports such as football and wrestling.

The article also cites stress, anxiety, and eating disorders, combined with the necessity to perform at a similar level of precision to that of Olympic gymnasts, as major contributors to the ridiculously high injury rate.

2) You will probably encounter dance teachers/choreographers who do not have a full understanding of the body’s biomechanics. They might ask you to do crazy things you don’t understand, or that you simply are not ready for.

Oftentimes, these teachers are “genetically superior” dancers, meaning, they have a natural body-type that makes dancing easier for them than it is for you. This is especially true if they were once professional classical ballet dancers. They might not know how to help you figure out what specific movements are meant to feel like, and how to perform them correctly. Why? Because for them it was never a struggle. They might not realize when a particular movement is not appropriate for an individual based on their body’s unique structure, or their injury history.

Teachers- Remember to listen to your dancers. Remember that you can’t feel what they feel, so ask them.

3) Dancing is very, very hard on the body. And on the mind too. Becoming over-trained, experiencing chronic stress, and anxiety are a reality which should be taken seriously, and not ignored. I’ll elaborate more on that later in this post.

4) Your dance teachers will probably not be able to offer supplementary  recommendations pertaining to nutrition, cross-training, and strengthening. These things are important when you do intense physical activity for upwards of 3 hours per day (sound like you?). You’ll need to find someone you trust to give you these recommendations, or do some research on your own. You can literally find anything with a Google search (or Yahoo, remember those guys?). Maybe that’s how you found this article…

A great resource for my fellow Canadians reading this is Healthy Dancer Canada- an organization that lists dance educators and health care providers in their directory. Very helpful if you are looking for an expert (chiropractors, psychologists, athletic therapists, dance teachers, etc) who understands the specific struggles you are facing as a dancer. You might recognize my name in the HDC directory.

I’m also pleased to announce that I will be one of 6 dance educators selected to present at the HDC’s 6th annual conference this year in October. Should be fun.

5) You are an athlete, and you should treat yourself like one. This is important not to forget. Respect your body. You only get the one in this lifetime, and in your next life you might be a wombat (which, for all their cuteness, don’t make very good dancers…).

All that being said, the following are guidelines which I think every dancer should follow if they care about having a long, healthy dance career. Many of these I’ve had to learn the hard way, so now you don’t have to. Ready?

10 Tips to Optimize Your Dance Career:

1. Get assessed! Learn about your body’s specific strengths and weaknesses. Learn where you’ve accrued muscle imbalances that could predispose you to certain injuries. Get a postural analysis. The Harkness Center for Dance Injuries in New York offers this service to dancers for free. Their free hour-long injury prevention screen can help you by screening for potential injury before the actual fact.

Imagine a world where you didn’t need to spend money on physio and chiropractic services, because you already saw the injury coming and were able to prevent it.

That. Would. Rock.

Who else offers free assessments? *Insert shameless plug*…. I do! Email me if you want to hook it up.

2. Get enough rest and recovery. Do you take your relaxation seriously? You should. Make sure you’re recovering from intense classes and rehearsals.

Dancers have a high tolerance to physical pain and discomfort, but that doesn’t mean you have to always be in pain (which is actually something a dance teacher once told me I should expect).

Rest when you need it. Get enough sleep. If you’re in college, don’t go partying the night before 8am ballet class.

Eat enough good quality, REAL food (I encourage you to eat meat, and lots of it, if you don’t have ethical reasons not to). Get all the micro and macro nutrients required to aid muscle recovery and replenish glycogen stores. If you’ve decided to be vegan or vegetarian, you might need to supplement with protein, especially if you’re strength training or cross-training. Hydrate!

All these will help with your recovery and avoidance of overtraining. What does over-training feel like?

• Performance decrease for more than 2 weeks
• Mood disturbances/depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Injury
• Chronic fatigue
• Lack of motivation or desire to dance and participate in other acitivites you generally enjoy
• Brain fogginess
• Illness

If you’re experiencing several of these symptoms simultaneously for more than a week, definitely consider taking a break before it gets worse.

Personally, at one point while at university, I experienced ALL of the above symptoms at once. For months. Unfortunately, taking a break wasn’t possible because of a show I was rehearsing for, and I chose to ignore all the signs my body was waving right in front of my face.

Another huge issue was that I didn’t even understand the possibility that I could be experiencing over-training syndrome. I didn’t know over-training existed. Dancers just aren’t educated on these things. Now you have no excuses.  Over-training symptoms can last as long as 6 months, and can even end a dance career.

Teachers- Please educate your dancers on the real possibility of being over-trained.

Dancers- Listen to your body and get your rest when you need it.

3. Do restorative yoga. Or, if you live in the UK, go see my friend Abby Hoffman, of Embodied Dancer Yoga. Abby’s yoga philosophy is special because she’s created a teacher training program specifically for those who want to use yoga to help their dancing/dancers.

While I’m no Dr. Hoffman, yoga has taught me a lot about my body. Doing an intelligently designed yoga class can help to improve muscle imbalances, teach you to breathe, improve flexibility safely, reduce stress and anxiety, and other things that I can’t explain very well.

I keep asking Abby to write something about smart yoga practices for dancers, for the blog, but she’s a busy lady. Maybe one day…

Check out this compilation of her teacher training course:

4. Warm-up before class properly. You’ve probably never had a teacher who emphasized the importance of warm-up. That’s ok, neither did I. Well, beyond ballet barre as the warm-up, but considering how much stress is placed on your joints just doing a simple plie exercise, you need to do a general warm-up prior to the dance specific warm-up included as part of your dance classes.

What is a proper warm-up supposed to do? Other than bore you out of your mind- just kidding… A good warm-up should be fun(ish). But anyway, the general warm-up you should do before class is literally to make you warm, generally. But more specifically:

• Increase core temerature
• Increase heart rate
• Break up connective tissue adhesions
• Make you breathe
• Stimulate secretion of synovial fluid (so many good words in that sentence…)
• Activate the major muscles you’ll be using in class/for performance
• Activate the mind-muscle connection and get you “in the zone” (neuromuscular warm-up)
• Increase joint range of motion dynamically
• Other good stuff that will make you dance better and not be as likely to get hurt

These things should be specific to you, your body and your personal weaknesses/strengths, as well as the type of dancing you’re about to do.

Start with a general cardio warm-up for 5-10 minutes (I like skipping, but you can do whatever you want). Here’s some examples of exercises I would do.

Foam roll (in moderation) or use a lacrosse ball or other self-massage tool to release trigger points where you have them. I also like to get the T-spine all lubed up and ready to rock with these bad boys:

It’s subtle, but you might notice the specific (and important) breathing pattern.

Here’s a core activation exercise: Dead-bug with a diaphragmatic breath. The breathing pattern is, again, an important part of the exercise technique. And yes, that’s my foot in the video. My bad.

If you have lower back/SI joint issues, include birddogs in your warm-up. I like birddogs, because when you do them right, they get all the spinal stabilizers firing good and proper.

I also like foam roller leg lifts for activating the abdominals and stabilizers of the spine
As a general rule- Activate the glutes and core before class/performance.

To activate the muscles in your upper back and shoulders I’d probably do some YWTs.

And then maybe you’d like to do something fun like this to get your body moving:

Just a few ideas.

5. Resistance train. That doesn’t mean do things like bicep curls, and leg extensions. That means learning basic movement patterns and mastering body-weight exercises. It means following an intelligent strength training program- one designed to be specific to your needs as a dancer, and to address muscle imbalances while improving your overall strength, and as a result, your dance performance.

I’ve written extensively about the benefits of strength training for dancers all up in this blog, so I won’t beat this point to death.

6. Do extra core and single leg stability training. Piggy-backing on the above point. Initially, develop a base of core strength with birddogs, deadbugs, and planks, and then move to fun single leg exercises.

My favorites include single leg romanian deadlifts, in their many variations. Not only are you stabilizing your spine, but you’re holding your balance on one leg, so it does both things at once. Here’s the basic bodyweight version:

I like to also do these with really heavy weights. Not everyone may agree with me, but I think heavy as shit single leg RDLs are fun.

If you’re feeling dangerous and want a challenge, try this fun exercise:

8. Do extra glute training. The glutes are an important muscle to be strong and functional (and look nice, am I right?). They are your power for jumps, your stability on one leg, and what allows you to rapidly change direction and speed.

Weak glutes can also cause a variety of other muscle compensation patterns throughout the body which can affect how you perform, and increase the likelihood of over-use injuries. In fact, weakness in the glutes can account for things like

• IT band syndrome
• Low back pain
• Plantar fasciitis
• SI joint dysfunction
• Knee pain
• Bad dancing (just kidding)

Train those glutes! What’s my favourite glute exercise? Do you even have to ask?

That was a personal best for Morgan, a Ryerson dancer. We’ll see how her summer strength gains (and glutes of steel) come into play during her second year at Ryerson in the fall. I can only predict sheer badassery. Watch out.

7. Develop upper body strength. While often thought of as not being as important for dance as lower body strength, having a strong back and arms is kind of a big deal.

What happens when one day you need to, oh I don’t know, lift another person over your head, and your arms aren’t strong enough? (Rotator cuff tear?)

What happens when one day in class you take a fall and land hard in an awkward position? (Shoulder dislocation?)

What happens to your shoulder when you spend hours a day lifting your arms over-head with poor biomechanics? (Shoulder impingement?)

Having a base of upper body strength can help you to avoid those situations, and will help with things like partnering, lifts and challenging choreography. Because dancers are fairly susceptible to shoulder injuries, a good first step is to develop strength and balance in the posterior shoulder and rotator cuff. Make sure your back muscles are strong. Make sure when you do do upper body exercises, like push-ups, you’re using correct form.

What makes matters worse, is the lack of intelligent information on HOW exactly dancers should strengthen their arms. THIS for example, makes my soul hurt (which I posted on my Facebook page last week for laughs). Here’s a quote from the author, “Tinkerbell”, on the best way to train arms, just so you know what we’re dealing with:

Arms – Grabs some weights and put on some music (3-4 mins long). Dance around with exagerated arm movements for the duration of the song.

And by the way, that article is the MOST POPULAR resource right now on Google when you search “strength training for dancers”. I know this, because I used Market Samurai (SEO software) to look it up.

Want some more laughs? I give you “Prancercise”

Ohhh the camel toe…

9. Be aware of your posture outside of dance class. This has to be one of the single most important things I’ve done to not be in pain on a daily basis.

As you might already know, I have a history of chronic back pain and SI joint dysfunction. It’s not horrible, but it’s been a literal pain in the ass, and has put me out of commission on multiple occasions- once on the opening night of a show featuring my own choreography. It sucked.

Injuries have to be one of the most disappointing, discouraging, and depressing things that you could have happen to you.

When I say be aware of your posture, I don’t just mean to stand up straighter, because sometimes that could even make things worse by causing you to hold more unnecessary tension. To me, posture means the alignment of a particular segment of your body in relation to another. You could also think of posture as aligning your chakras, and feeling the free flowing energy through the lines of your body without resistance, but we’re not going to go there unless you really want me to…

Anyway, for me, figuring out the relative alignment of my pelvis to my spine, and the posture of my ribcage relative to my pelvis, and the posture of my scapulae relative to my ribcage, was a HUGE game changer in terms of how badly my body hurt on a daily basis.

I was able to figure this out thanks to Stuart McGill’s brain. He is smart.

Here’s a trick that worked for me, and might work for you too. Start by leaning forward about 45 degrees and use both your hands to feel for your lower back muscles. They should feel solid and activated. If you don’t have a lot of tone to those muscles already, this is a tricky exercise, so do your best. Slide your shoulder blades together and down your back. From there, begin to slowly stand upright. STOP your ascent when you FIRST feel those solid back muscles relax, and go soft. This is your spine’s happy place- get to know it better, and visit often.

“Foot posture” and “head posture” are things I also need to address with some dancers. It makes a difference down the line in terms of performance and injury prevention. Another benefit of getting postural assessment done- It’s very revealing. Your body tells an intricate story. But you can choose your own adventure.

10. Manage your stress. Dancing is stressful. There’s no way around it. Stress can lead to lack of recovery, over-training, injury, illness etc, which we’ve already discussed.

You probably don’t recognize that you’re stressed because you’re so used to it. Having my hands full makes me stressed. Clutter makes me stressed. I have a literal fight or flight response to those things. I can’t help it, but I can be aware of it and try to talk some sense into myself before my stress hormones become chronically elevated from stupid things.

In terms of physical stress, make sure you have at least one day per week dedicated to rest. If you feel an absolute need to do something, do some restorative yoga or go for an easy walk outside. In fact, walk more in general, it’s great for recovery, clearing your mind, and reducing stress (both mental and physical).

If you are experiencing chronic anxiety, depression, disordered eating, or any other psychic stress, make sure you have a support system in place. Luckily I had a  good friend who really understood, and listened when I needed to vent my rage, but I should have done more for myself by acknowledging my stress, and getting in touch with how I was really feeling, not ignoring or de-valuing the very real things I was experiencing.

The mind and body are intimately connected (I don’t care what any other philosophers say), and when either the mind OR body experience stress, so too does the other. As Thomas Myers has led me to start thinking, we must stop focusing our minds on our bodies, and begin to focus our bodies on our minds. If we just tune in to our bodies, it can tell us a lot about the state of our minds.

Change your body about your mind
~Thomas Myers

I don’t have all the answers, but please don’t ignore stress, anxiety, depression, fear, sadness and other dissonant feelings, that last for weeks, months, or longer.

This was kind of a monster article. I really hope you found it helpful and I’d really love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below and we can continue the discussion. And if you want more free updates like this on how to dance longer and stronger, please sign up with your email address below. You’ll also get a password which gives you access to my free 4 week online strength training program. Check it out.

You can also find me on Facebook. Come hang out with me there too.

But before we get too deep into this topic, I’d like to first say OMG did I ever miss updating the DTP blog on my writing hiatus! Technically, I should be using this time to study for an upcoming exam, but screw it.

So I’m back! For now… Probably the last post until June (after which I’ll have finished studying).

If there was a way to carry both my laptop AND my 600 page textbook to work with me to study during breaks, I would bring both. But unfortunately, I also have to carry a few changes of clothes, client programs, containers of food, and various other things that contribute to the fact that my backpack is now broken and held together by safety pins, and is causing my back and pec minors to hate me. And I’m on a bike.

Perhaps I don’t lead the life of luxury you envision- Me sitting on a throne with my dancer army doing my every bidding. With 4 personal masseurs- One for each appendage. I wish…

Anyway, I could update you on my life for the rest of the post and it would be ridiculously long and tedious, or I could just get to the point.

PLANKS- Do em’, or don’t do em’?

Personally, I say yes. Do planks. Do lots of planks. Don’t stop planking. But be realistic about what to expect from the exercise. Like anything, it’ll only help you if you have a full understanding of WHY you should be planking, with an awareness of HOW your body feels while performing them.

Like anything in life, a plank done mindlessly will never lead to any positive ramifications, and rather, will only leave you frustrated and sore (in quite possibly the wrong places).

Let me first explain, as concisely as I possibly can, why I think planks (in their many variations) are an excellent exercise that all dancers should do. Ready? Here we go! (I’m so excited):

1) To build a base level of abdominal strength endurance. Most people have pretty crappy abdominal endurance, meaning they can hold a plank for about 15 seconds before they lose their form. Dancers are generally stronger than the average Joe who wants to get “fit”, but still. I personally feel that dancers should be able to hold a plank for at least 2 minutes without losing their alignment. Why 2 minutes? Because Dr. Stuart McGill (back health guru) has stated that one should be able to hold a front plank position for about 90-120 seconds, and a side plank for about a minute.

And any longer than 2 minutes is just horrible and boring. For both the trainee, and me to watch.

2) Heightening body awareness. And then there are those that lack the body awareness to even get into what I would consider an acceptable plank. Here’s an example- My client Andrew:

This is the result of me asking him to “Make your body into a straight line”.

Plank attempt 1

And then after a significant amount of poking, I go THIS:

Plank attempt 2- After much prodding

Much, much better. My point being, that many people, and dancers included, have no idea how to actually do a plank, which makes them a good lesson in body awareness. Oh, to feel the essence of a neutral spine position while supporting your fully body weight with your arms. It’s pretty uncomfortable…

3) Easing hip tightness and pain. I think I’ve linked to THIS article by Dean Somerset before, but it bears re-posting. It’s just that good.

For all of you who complain of “tight” hip flexors (um, are you a dancer? Then yeah you do) and are endlessley stretching them out- You might be better off doing planks. Side planks especially.

Because the psoas (a major hip flexor, haha get it?…) is also a spinal stabilizer, it ends up doing a lot of work to help out your lazy-ass obliques (and other abdominals). Aw, how nice…

Nice, that is, until psoas gets tight-feeling from all the extra work it’s doing to keep your spine in precarious balance.

The result- chronically shortened psoas, that are really good at bracing the spine, but really bad at doing they’re actual job- Flexing the hip.

By practicing planks in combination with proper hip flexor lengthening and strengthening techniques (and probably some extensive soft tissue work), you get strong abs, strong hip flexors, and that tightness and pain in your hips is significantly reduced.

4) Ease lower back pain. Similar to the above point- It’s been proven numerous times that there is a correlation between abdominal strength-endurance and lower back health. If you’re a dancer with a history of back pain, then regular planking is a smart pain management strategy.

5) Correction of muscle imbalances. And going even further along with the above two points- Plank variations can help sort out some common dancer muscle imbalances (provided you’re doing them right), which will decrease the likelihood of incurring a repetitive strain injury of some sort.

Do you have a tight TFL and weak glute med? Theres a plank for that. Do you suffer from crazy overactive lower back muscles and weak obliques? There’s DEFINITELY a plank for that. Piriformis a pain in your butt? Release that guy, and then plank.

6) Some choreographer will probably ask you to do some kind of plank in a piece someday. And you damn well better be ready to hold it! Do you pole dance? Then you already know how important planks are to do cool stuff like this:

Photo from http://frujonespd.wordpress.com/

And now to play the devil’s advocate. I don’t have my head so far up my own ass that I can’t admit that planks, and ONLY planks, are the best exercise for dancers to develop core strength. They are one tool of many, and an excellent starting point for sure.

The main issue is the lack of specificity to dance technique. That is to say- Will developing a badass plank actually transfer over to the dance class and improve your technique? Is a good strong plank an indicator that your dance technique is also excelling?

Dancing requires much bending and contortion of the spine. Planks teach you to do the opposite. For this reason, I would say that planks are an exercise that are most efficacious for those dancers that really need them. The dancers who have very little control over their bodies and no concept of “neutral”. Dancers who are repeatedly injuring their spines (like I was).

In my latest skype chat with Donna Krasnow (dance prof at York U), we talked about whether or not timing a plank was a good assessment tool, and we decided that yes, it was a good tool for measuring core strength, but not necessarily a good tool for assessing dance skill.

So. Conclusion…

I always include planks in my training programs. Especially in the early stages. But there is so much more to core training than planks. Neuromusuclar control is so important, and it is rare to find a coach or dance instructor who is patient enough to devote time to getting you to experience what activating your abdominals feels like.

My second faviourite exercise to get your abdominals firing- Squats. Hands down. I always feel my abs aching after squat day. But that’s a topic for another post…

To wrap up, it is my opinion that the real benefit of planks are not the strengthening of the abdominals, or the potential improvements in balance and turns and other things that come with improved motor unit activation of the abdominals. But rather, the magic of planks is in the changes in resting posture and alignment over time.

The continuous practice of the perfect plank is excellent for those of us with swayed backs. As the body learns it’s “happy place”, it will probably hang out there more, extending the life of the spine, and essentially, allowing you to dance longer (and stronger!) before it eventually gives out.

What do you think?

Those of you who know me in the “real world”, know that I am a little strange. Case in point- I just discovered what hydration feels like.

I drop the ball on some things- Laundry day, pop culture references, and until recently, hydration was a big one. To me, drinking water was one of those things that is so undeniably beneficial that it’s stupidly easy to take it for granted.

Much like these obvious lessons- stretching will make you more flexible; sugar is fattening; made FROM 100% beef does not mean the same thing as made OF 100% beef.

 Drinking more water will indeed improve your mental and physical performance, and improve your quality of life overall. Indeed.

That this is common knowledge was apparently not enough for young (aka 2 months ago) Monika. 2 cups a day felt like enough. Until I multiplied that by 8. And now I feel freakin’ awesome!

Inspired by a client of mine, I decided to drink more water, and I can honestly say my life has improved 64%  just because I’m now slightly (or significantly?) more hydrated.

“Drink 8 cups of water a day”, “your body is made mostly of water”, “if you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated”, “your urine should be clear, not bright yellow”- You’ve heard those things before, but do you take them seriously? By the way, this might be an overshare but my pee was actually clear the other day. For like, the first time. Ever…

Former Monika’s hydration protocol, aka what NOT to do:

1) have one cup of water in the morning.
2) Drink 6 cups of coffee
3) Proceed with day- Do active things, dance, lift weights, etc.
4) Feel tired and shitty all day and don’t know why.
5) Drink one more cup of water before bed (and sleep like crap, by the way)
Repeat…

Lot’s of room for improvement… And this explains many of my struggles as a dancer and as a person who values using my body and brain for a living.

My problem, and remember I already put it out there that I am strange, is that I really don’t enjoy drinking water, or any fluids for that matter. Water is boring. Tasteless. It makes my stomach feel sloshy and gross. And I never feel thirsty, or rather I’ve trained myself to ignore the signs of thirst.  I just don’t get stoked about drinking water.

So here’s how I got myself to start drinking more water (after realizing how great it made me feel).  I have to pretend that I’m addicted to it. I have to put it in my mind that if I don’t try to constantly drink water I’ll get withdrawls. And I can officially say I’ve trained myself to sense thirst again. And it feels great.

Yesterday I forgot my water bottle at work and I actually freaked out. It was weird. And magical.

So anyway, this prompted me to explain why dancers, and everyone, but especially high level dancers should make an effort to drink more water, even if you already drink the recommended 8 cups. Because this might not be enough.

How much is more water?

“Common knowledge” states that 8 cups (2L) per day is good. But I don’t think that’s enough. They say your body outputs about 2L of water daily just to function. So the 8 cups you’re recommended to drink are just barely replenishing you.

Another rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces everyday. So if you weigh 130 pounds, you drink  65 ounces. Which ends up being only a little over 8 cups, and so I think you’d probably need more than that even.

Dean Somerset often recommends to drink about 3 to 4 liters daily, as he states HERE. It’s a good article, and Dean is funny (and Canadian!) so I recommend you check it out. But when in doubt, just try to drink enough to make your pee clear, however much that is for you. Consider it a fun experiment in hydration.

What other factors make it especially important for dancers to keep hydrated?

• Most dancers are constantly recovering from injuries, or have some variety of musculoskeletal pain. It’s just the name of the game. Proper hydration is necessary for optimal recovery from physical stress, and physical stress can lead to further dehydration.
• Your fascia (remember fascia?) needs a lot of water to function optimally.
• Your intervertebral disks, which are under a lot of stress as a dancer, have a high water content, and need to stay hydrated to function optimally.
• Your brain needs to function optimally, therefore, hydration good. Dry brain bad.
• Emotional distress causes further dehydration.

Let’s talk more about fascia though, because as a dancer, you need it to be in good shape to allow you to do the bendy, athletic things you do

What are some risks associated with a dehydrated fascial system?

Some closing tips for optimal hydration to keep you performing better:

Drink water 15 minutes before a massage/fascial release treatment/performing self-myofascial release.

Drink half your body weight of water in ounces daily. And then drink more because you probably need it.

Drink the majority of your water in the first half of the day.

Manage your mental, physical, and emotional stress. Stress dehydrates. Be very serious about your relaxation.

Perform a proper warm up before exercise/dance/strength training sessions to get the water squishing around and lubing up your tissues nicely. Slow and controlled dynamic stretching and SMR should be two of the components of this warm-up.

Pretend you’re addicted to water, and I promise you, you will be.

Oh and hey on a side note, come join me on  Facebook to get all the updates and trivial status updates. Because social media is fun, and I sometimes say interesting things…

LIKE the DTP on Facebook

Add me as a friend

And now excuse me I have to pee.

This depiction of the abdominals is outdated. Wait, let me clarify- Outdated for people who need their bodies to cooperate with them in more than just an aesthetic sense. Arnie’s ab training misses the bigger, functional, picture, and is completely unhelpful for dancers, or anyone else who places high value on movement quality.

And while some consider “functional” to be a loaded word (because all training that serves a specific function is, by definition, functional) I have a problem with the term “core training”. The way I see it is that “core training”, and “core strength”  have vague meanings, and most of us don’t have a particular definition for them. How do you go about training an ambiguous set of muscles? 

What does “core” refer to? Your ABZ right? Well, sort of…

In broad terms, you can use the term core in almost any context to describe the most integrated unit of a complex system, on which all other units depend for their optimal function. Likewise, if another unit is malfunctioning, the core will eventually overload. For some reason, I can’t get the mental image of Homer Simpson causing multiple nuclear meltdowns out of my head. The effect having 3 older brothers…

Let’s use a car as an analogy. You could say the engine is the core of your car (but I don’t know much about cars so I could be saying a lot of made up things). When the engine fails, It doesn’t really matter that your windshield washer fluid sprays perfectly, and the wipers don’t cause streaky marks. You’re screwed. And by the same token, if the brakes stop working, it will undoubtedly place additional stress on other systems of the car, and will eventually start to affect everything, even the engine’s function.

But correct me if I’m wrong, because I don’t know anything about cars. I don’t even have a driver’s license, and I don’t plan on driving for a very, very long time. And trust me when I say, that’s a good thing. For all of us.

So anyway, in terms of movement, think of your own body’s “core”, in this same way- All other units, ie the limbs and extremities, depend on it’s proper, efficient function; and likewise, if the limbs are dysfunctional, the core will have to do more work to hold ship, and the stress will wear it out much more quickly.

A dude who’s work I’m really into right now is David Weinstock, creator of a muscle testing and motor-neural reprogramming-type system thingy, and author of the book and blog by the same name- Neurokinetic Therapy. I like his definition of “core” the best yet:

Core refers to the bracing of spinal muscles when extremities are weak

So that’s how I’m going to choose to think of “the core” from now on. Simplified- It’s your spine. To be more precise, its referring to the specific section of your spine around which there is extra bracing of the muscles attaching to it to add stability.

Your core for any given movement can be cervical, thoracic or lumbar (refering to the portion of the spine it’s most related to). So if we are thinking of the dancer’s core, we focus primarily on the lumbar, as that is where most  dysfunction and injury is found.

In this article, outlining 10 common dance injuries, 2 upper body injuries are mentioned, and the rest are in the lower body. I hope you can now see how it would be a mistake, in core training (ugh), to ignore the typically misinterpreted “non core” muscles, like the adductors and abductors, hip rotators, and even the lower leg. When they are weak, the muscles of the lumbar spine must brace to compensate.

As the bracing spinal muscles become more “bracy” (or facilitated, to use smart-person talk), the weak muscles also become weaker (or inhibited), and this cycle can lead to things like eventual lower back or pelvic dysfunction and then to injury.

So any muscle that attaches directly to the spine can be considered part of this “core” thing. Not a “core muscle” as we know it. But a muscle who’s tonicity directly affects the function of our spine- the REAL core.

So with dancers, we should not only be looking at popularly recognized abdominal muscles, like the obliques, and rectus, because although their function IS very important,  potential weakness in  other “non core” musculature could cause muscles of the lumbar spine to brace excessively to point of injury. Ever had a QL spasm? Ouch.

Also note that by weakness I don’t necessarily mean in strict terms of force production, but of balance, in that some muscles might be lazy, and others are working too hard and multitasking (and so not doing a really great job at anything). In dancers specifically, I notice some common trends. For example, I often find that the glutes and obliques are lazy, and the lower back muscles are compensating, with the iliopsoas doing a lot of multitasking, too. The adductors tend to be weak and lazy while the hip external rotators like piriformis tend to be wayy overactive.

Multitasking is just asking for trouble. Too bad your boss won’t ever understand, especially if you work in customer service. Good times.

Funny memes aside, these imbalances (synergistics dominances, force couples, compensation patterns, energy leaks, whatever you feel like calling them), and their discrepancies will affect how much and how hard your spine needs to brace to hold it’s self together.

Core training’s goal should be to make this repetitive cycle of bracey, injurious, hypertonicity cease.

I know I said earlier that, in dancers, it’s the “lumbar core” we focus on, but with time you can start getting other aches and pains affecting areas of the body farther away from the initial site. Think about how many dancers have extreme tension in their necks to the point of spasm (I DID!). Weinstock says this:

It is not unusual for the scalenes to be facilitated for an inhibited ipsilateral psoas and adductors. They may also be facilitated for an inhibited contralateral TFL and adductors. Even dysfunction of the extensor hallucis longus can be compensated for by the ipsilateral scalenes.

For those of you who aren’t nerds with your functional anatomy, he is saying that certain muscles of the neck can become tense and pick up slack for lower body muscles like the hip flexors, adductors, and even your big toe muscles.

So I guess to conclude, your abdominals are important, yes. They need to be strong, and not be lazy, and work together, happily and productively. But they are not ALL important- Full body balance and integration is where it’s at, yo. All the cool kids are doing birddogs.

Speaking of tangents, just a quick announcement for you dancers in the Toronto area- Early registration for the DTP summer training program ends April 15th, after which you’ll have to pay full-price. So even if you don’t want to start your training until July, please register early to save yoself some kash moneyz. Just so y’all know…

Ok. So now I’m going to rant just a little bit. No, not rant- discuss a topic, from both sides, but ultimately conclude that my side is way better and you should listen to only what I say… Just kidding.

I’m doing that tangent thing again. Crap.

If you remember way back (like a year ago), oh, wait a minute…

***HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY DANCE TRAINING PROJECT BLOG!***

Ahem…I wrote THIS. I’m actually afraid to go back and read it because it probably sucks. I’d like to think I’ve developed a little bit as  a writer since April 2012.

But regardless of writing skills, I don’t regret the meaning behind a single word I’ve written, and that article about “dance fitness” still encompasses everything I believe in. Dance fitness is not the same as “fitness for dancers”. If you didn’t go back and read the article, the quote below gives you the jist of it:

“Studies have shown that performing dance in itself elicits only limited stimuli for positive fitness adaptations; professional dancers often demonstrate fitness values similar to those obtained from healthy sedentary individuals of comparable age.” (Rafferty, 2010)

So, what’s the difference between “dance fitness”, and “getting dancers more fit”?

Dance fitness is an exercise form, for the general public, who want to “get fit”, and want to dance, but don’t know how to do either, so they blend the two together and this makes them feel like they’re doing something productive, because it makes them sweat (because that’s the measure of a good workout, right?). But really you’re just butchering two things at once.

Ok that might have been a little harsh. Things like Zumba, Barre Fitness, and Jazzercise, are great for people who, if they weren’t at the class, would be sitting on the couch, watching one of those new zombie shows, eating cookies. Or as MY weapon of choice, those buns from Asian bakeries that are filled with various things like curry beef, custard, and other delightful evils.

All thoughts of custard aside, if something gets you moving, and you get results from it, and you love it, then who am I to tell you to do otherwise? But keep your goals in mind. You’re failing if your goal is to learn to dance, and you’re failing again, if your goal was to find an exercise routine that will help you not only to get results, but create lasting lifestyle changes, develop lean muscle, get stronger, and look better in minimal clothing.

Bu then again, some people don’t necessarily WANT to learn to dance, they just want that “dancer’s body”. Barre classes, for example, are based on ballet barre exercises. You don’t learn how to do ballet, but you try to replicate the moves that will develop “long muscles”. Lifting anything that will take you to failure will obviously give you bulky, rather than long muscles.

Unfortunately, that “long muscle” look doesn’t really exist- Muscles don’t get “longer”. They can get more flexible, stronger, bigger, develop more tone, but they can’t physically change length. That relates to your genetics, and your height. Oh, and muscles also can’t physically turn into fat, just FYI, because I’ve been asked that before too. And if you think that lifting weights, will make you less flexible, just fast forward to 3:30:

A good example of what you’d call “bulk”, right?. But wait! He can do the splits even though he doesn’t have “long muscles”? Ha. Long muscles. Actually, Renaldo’s a tall dude, so his muscles ARE pretty long. But do you see what I’m saying? He’s actually a pretty good dancer too…

This leads me to my actual point: As a dancer, you should be very careful about what you are doing to cross train. If you are a dancer who is classically trained, then you don’t need to do extra Barre classes to “stay in shape”.

Fitness for dancers should include things that are chosen specifically to make them dance better. It is my opinion that an intelligent combination of yoga and strength training, as well as some form of cardio program (if the dancer needs it), is ideal.

If the dancer needs it is what it really comes down to. And every individual dancer needs something different. Every dance style needs something different.

That’s all for today. I just had to get that off my chest, because everyday someone asks me about what I do, and they misconstrue fitness for dancers, as dance fitness, and the two are in totally different ball-parks.

Are you a dancer? Want to get stronger, excel technically, and prevent injuries? Then you don’t need to do Barre classes, or Zumba to stay in shape. You need to do some intelligent strengthening and cross-training.

Are you a regular person, who just wants to move around a bit and work up a sweat? Don’t have any real goals? Don’t care about getting stronger, developing lean muscle, and deadlifting mad weight? Then dance fitness yourself silly, by all means. Better yet, train with Tracy Anderson- The master of the starvation diet and ridiculous workouts.

Let’s end this post with a Tracy Anderson video, because nothing beats those…

Welcome back to the discussion! Let’s jump right in (haha, get it? Jump? Cause it’s a plyo article??)…

In PART 1, which you should read now if you haven’t already, Joel did a great job of detailing exactly what plyometric training is, and how it could potentially help dancers  develop jump height, and just plain dance better in general.

I agree with the things Joel was saying, but I was a little disappointed that his article didn’t answer all my questions. A foolish notion, I know, to expect to ask one question and get all the answers.

My main concern was, yes, in theory, it sounds like plyometric training, which is great for athletes who want to improve their power and jump height is a good idea. But dancers are a little different than other athletes.

And yes, dancers are indeed athletes. The definition below could be used for “dancer” to a TEE, if you added in something about artistic expression at the end.

Athlete- “Someone who engages in social comparison (competition) involving psycho-motor skill or physical prowess (or both) in an institutionalized setting, typically under public scrutiny/evaluation.” (Baechle & Earle, 2008)

So anyway, should dancers even perform plyometric training? Is it good for them? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Here are the major concerns I have:

1) Do dancers need a particular level of relative strength before beginning plyo training? For example, the NSCA  recommends (and this is probably for men, mind you) that before beginning a plyometric training program, athletes should have at least a 1.5x bodyweight squat. Considering that barely any dancers even resistance train, I don’t know of a single dancer that meets that qualification.

And also, based on that, a lot of people would be shot for the things they do in the gym.

Then I stumbled across this (go read it), from Vertical Jumping (.com) and it seems they’re of the opinion that “strength first” is a myth. Hmmm.

It is silly to think that beginner athletes without a large strength base can’t handle plyometric training. You just need to use exercises that don’t have the same degree of landing forces, or if you want to use the shock methods, you simply use a lower box height that allows the athlete to still be challenged, but also to safely perform the exercise.

And Joel said this:

I agree with you [Monika]. This recommendation [strength first] may be more applicable to athletes who don’t have experience with power training. Dancers incorporate plyometrics into their training already. I don’t think there are big injury concerns if they get started immediately (even without the strength base).

Moving along to my second concern about dancers doing extra plyo:

2) Many dancers are constantly performing through their injuries, which are rarely ever diagnosed. Most often, these injuries are only addressed when they get to the point that they can’t even dance anymore. I remember needing to take pre-show painkillers to perform. Not a fun time.

Encounters, choreographed by Arsenio Andrade- This was a performance I distinctly remember needing copious doses of ibuprofen to get on stage for...

These injuries, especially to their backs, knees, hips and ankles, could potentially be aggravated by additional plyometric training. And the fact that dancers will need to often perform through these injuries might in itself be a contraindication for doing plyo training.

If you are a dancer, and you love your art, you will do what you need to do, which probably means performing through an injury. We’ve all done it. I’m not saying this is good, but I’m saying it might be necessary at some point, and so you may not want to put any extra stress on your vulnerable joints.

For example, I am working with a couple of dancers right now who are recovering from pretty awful ankle sprains, and one who has some nasty hip and back dysfunction, which causes her pain. Would I make these guys jump up and down any more than they need to? No, probably not.

Joel sez:

Yes, these injuries are a major concern. Dancers train through them anyway, so perhaps plyometric training won’t be any more damaging than what they’re doing already. On the other hand, plyometric programs are usually (relatively) high volume, so the repetition might be really dangerous. This is why I think supervision is important.

3) Many dancers have muscles imbalances due to the nature of their art. Some can be corrected to an extent to help them perform better, and some are a necessary evil.

For example, many dancers are hamstring or lower back dominant, and don’t use their glutes. Glutes can be trained, and this training will help you  perform better and not get hurt. Dancers also tend to have incredibly tight ilipsoas and quads, which can pull on the spine, in a bad way, and cause back and hip injuries if they are not first taught how to work with these issues.

But, due to the nature of dance you WILL need to have some weird imbalances, especially if you need turnout. That’s ok. But you have to realize that because you are functionally asymetrical for your art, you are at risk of getting hurt.

Lol...

Joel sez:

 Agreed, and that’s exactly why I don’t want to be more specific about recommendations

Is it smart to do power training with your hamstrings and lower back as the prime movers? Have you had a lower back or hamstring injury? You tell me…

4) The non-specific joint angle when performing plyo exercises might not be beneficial for dancers, could cause injury, and not improve performance. This concern is especially for dance styles that require the use of turnout.

Donna Krasnow (dance professor at York University, Ph. D in dance science, all around smart lady) told me some interesting things when I asked her about plyometrics last summer in THIS INTERVIEW. Here’s a quick recap of what Donna told me when I asked her if dancers should do plyometrics and Olympic lifting:

“Yes. If the dancer has a need for it.”

She explained to me that many dancers are naturally good jumpers and it would not be a productive use of their time to work on something they are already good at. Hip drive power does help with vertical jump height, which is of importance to dancers, but if they don’t need much extra help in that regard, it is not necessary.

She states that the training must be specific to dancing. For this very reason, she is not in favour of ballet dancers doing much plyometric training. Her experience is that it will not transfer over to a dance setting as one would like it to, for the feet are in a parallel position which is not very helpful for dancers who work in turn-out.

I asked about doing plyometric work in a turned out position, and we both agreed that it would probably not be safe for the knees.

Olympic lifting could however be quite beneficial for dancers needing help with their jumps.

And here’s what Joel said:

In my opinion, plyometric exercises that don’t involve turnout are preferred because with greater technique demands comes the problem of poor exercise performance due to physical limitations. If plyometrics are performed for general power, I don’t think it’s necessary to incorporate dance technique into the program as well. From my perspective, dancers (and other athletes) should emphasize technique during dance- or sport-specific training and use more basic movements during strength and conditioning. Squats, for example, might be used to develop lower body strength, but the actual movement is quite different from anything dancers actually do in class or performance.

Very interesting indeed. But again, this is more of a concern for dance styles that use turnout- like ballet, but often in modern, jazz and contemporary as well.

Ok, let’s wrap this up, because concision was never my strong suit. Yes, concision IS a word.

It is my view that plyometric training for dancers COULD be a good idea, but rather than ask how, I think we need to ask if and when to do it, and more research clearly needs to be done.

Joel’s final thoughts:

I think the individual abilities, physical limitations, fitness, and current training practices of dancers make it somewhat dangerous to try to give more detailed guidance about things like plyometrics in an overview article. I mentioned in the article that it’s important to be evaluated by someone who understands the nature of plyometric training and how to program effectively for people with different backgrounds. I really believe that, for the most part, people should avoid this type of training unless they are supervised.

My short answer to all of this is, yeah, I think dancers can benefit from plyometrics if they do basic movements with the goal of developing power. If they have physical limitations, it’s particularly important to do plyometric movements that require very little technique. Off season is probably the best time, but for dancers who perform year round, there are just too many variables involved in developing a program to make more detailed recommendations.

Ok. So. Conclusions?

I guess we can both agree that the answer will probably always be, “it depends”. Which is extremely dissatisfying. Such is life…

Personally, I always err on the side of caution (having been overtrained and injured before), and I would be very reluctant to get a dancer to do things like box/depth jumps, unless I had a really good feeling about it. I often act based on feeling. It’s usually a good system.

It is unfortunate that there’s just not a whole lot of research done on training dancers. When they first come to me, the state of most of my dancers are bordering on post-rehab, not high performance, and I don’t usually even consider plyometrics for them.

So. What do YOU think? I know Joel and I would love to hear your thoughts. With our eyes… So leave a comment below!

And I also apologize to those of you who didn’t get that Simpsons reference… Go watch more TV.

The reason I’ve been slacking on the blog postage is that I have some things going on that are occupying a lot of my mental energy (studying for exams and courses and things of that nature). It’s no excuse, I know. Maybe I’m just lazy. I can admit to that…

But in any case, today I have an awesome guest post from Joel Minden (www.joelminden.com), who is a strength and conditioning specialist, who also happens to be a ballroom dancer, and has a Ph.D in psychology. So, yeah. He’s pretty smart.

Joel and I have been talking about dance training things lately, and I asked him if he’d be so kind as to write something about plyometric training for dancers. My main question being: Should dancers even do plyometric training? I have my own opinions, and as it turned out, Joel and I ended up getting into a pretty good discussion about it.

And for those of you who don’t know what plyometric training is, don’t worry, Joel does a really awesome job of explaining it. In a nutshell, it’s form of training to get more power for things like jumps, etc. but it can also be pretty taxing on the body.

Plyometric training can help athletes get to the next level, especially if they participate in a sport that has a need for high jumps, or explosiveness (like dancing sometimes does). But is it an appropriate method of training for dancers? If so, what are some things to consider? How can it benefit dancers?

Here’s Joel’s take on plyometric training for dancers.

Plyometrics for Dancers

Dancing at the highest level requires excellence in numerous domains, including posture, alignment, balance, extension, agility, strength, and power. Some of these abilities are developed almost exclusively through dance-specific training; others can improve through a combination of technical training and an adjunct conditioning program.

Power is one ability that may be improved through systematic training outside the dance studio. Power can loosely be defined as a combination of strength and speed. When conditioning programs are used by dancers and other athletes, strength is typically developed through resistance training and speed is typically developed through sprinting. The limitation of both approaches for dancers is that isolated strength and speed are generally much less relevant than power to dance performance. For dancers, the development of power is particularly important for dynamic jumping both vertically and horizontally.

How is Power Developed?

Improvements in athletic power can be achieved through plyometric exercises. Example exercises include jumping drills for the lower body and explosive (e.g., clapping) push-ups for the upper body. For dancers looking to improve the height and distance of jumps or control the rate of acceleration and deceleration in jumps, the addition of plyometrics to a training program appears to be ideal.

Natalia Ospiova in Laurenica photographed exclusively for Ballet News by Helen Maybanks

Three Phases of Plyometric Exercises

Plyometric exercises have three phases. The first phase is eccentric. Eccentric refers to the contraction of a lengthened or stretched muscle. For example, when a dancer lands after jumping, the knees and ankles bend and the muscles of the calves and quadriceps contract while lengthening to absorb the impact of the landing and prepare for the next explosive jump.

If you didn’t rely on this eccentric muscular contraction, the joints would collapse rapidly upon landing and the subsequent jump would be much less dynamic. The eccentric contraction in this case is similar to the effect of pulling on a resistance band; the resistance felt as the band is lengthened is similar to the resistance created by the contracting muscle as it lengthens.

After the muscle and tendon stretch at the end of the eccentric phase (e.g., the end of the lowering phase of plié), the second phase of plyometrics occurs. This phase is amortization, or the transition from the eccentric phase to the next jump. The amortization phase is quite brief. If the amortization period is extended, the subsequent jump becomes less powerful. Imagine pausing for several seconds in plié before jumping; the jump that follows will not travel as much as it would if the jump occurs immediately after the muscle and tendon stretch to capacity.

The final phase of a plyometric exercise is concentric. This is where the muscle contracts as it shortens. In the explosive phase of jumping, the calf muscles and quadriceps shorten and contract as the dancer leaves the ground and travels rapidly through the air.

How Does Plyometric Training Work?

It’s believed that the greatest improvements in power from plyometric training occur when the amortization phase is emphasized. This means that the period between the eccentric and concentric

Phases should be as brief as possible. Using the depth jump as an example, after jumping from the box platform to the ground, explode up immediately after the descent (bend in knees and ankles) has been completed.

Do Dancers Benefit From Plyometrics?

Plyometrics may be avoided by some because of a belief that dance ability improves primarily as a result of dance training, and that other activities merely take time away from working toward improvements in technique.

In most sports, athletic performance is directly related to markers of fitness, such as strength, power, or endurance. In contrast, dancers’ goals are typically related to achieving aesthetic competence, and activities that appear to be unrelated may be avoided. If one accepts that aesthetic competence should be the ultimate goal for dancers, the next step is to determine the method for achieving this. It is reasonable to assume that aesthetic competence depends on fitness to some extent, but which aspects of fitness are important and how much do they contribute to dance ability?

In a study of university and professional contemporary dancers, Angioi et al. (2009) examined the relation of various dimensions of fitness to aesthetic competence. Fitness parameters included body fat %, muscular power and endurance, aerobic capacity, and joint mobility. The aesthetic competence measure was developed by directors of dance companies and the elements included controlled landing from jumps and turns, controlled lifting and lowering of limbs, controlled shifting of body weight, core strength, alignment, posture, extension of limbs, elevation and turning technique, timing and rhythm, and performance expressiveness.

Participants were 17 dancers who completed a series of physical fitness tests. None had any involvement in supplementary fitness activities for at least 3 months prior. The physical fitness indicators were body composition (body fat %), lower body muscular power (jump height), upper body muscular endurance (push-ups), central body muscular endurance (planks), joint mobility and muscular flexibility (active and passive ROM in the hip) and aerobic capacity.

Three hours later, dancers performed a 60-second sequence designed for this study. Dancers’ aesthetic competence was evaluated by directors of professional dance companies. The two significant predictors of aesthetic competence were push-ups and jumping ability (on the right and left legs). The data indicated that about 30% of the variance in aesthetic competence could be accounted for by jumping ability.

These data indicate that fitness is particularly important to movement quality in dancers. Lower body muscular power was one of two strong predictors of aesthetic competence. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that plyometrics training can benefit dancers looking to improve performance quality.

Programming Examples

Plyometric training can be quite demanding. It is not recommended to perform these exercises unless certain strength and mobility conditions can be met. An assessment by a qualified strength and conditioning professional is strongly encouraged before programming begins.

Note from Monika: Joel and I would like to emphasize that randomly adding a DIY plyometric training program to your dance training is probably not a great idea. We are just throwing hypothetical ideas around, is all.

As with resistance training, adequate rest between bouts of plyometrics training is important. To improve jumping ability, targeted plyometric exercises should be performed approximately one or two days a week. The recommended frequency of plyometric training will depend on a number of variables: performance season vs. off-season; age, fitness, and ability of the dancer; and intensity and duration of current dance training. The amount of rest between repetitions and sets will depend on the intensity of training. The total number of repetitions in each workout will typically be between 40 and 120. Plyometric workouts are typically performed for 30 minutes or less.

Both single and double leg exercises are recommended. Jumping in place, multiple jumps, bounds (e.g., explosive skipping), and box jumps are examples of exercises that can benefit dancers.

And in case any of you are wondering why the title of this article has “part 1″ in it, it’s because IT’S NOT DONE YET! I had a little bit more to add to this discussion. Part 2 coming… Soon.

What do you think about dancers doing plyometric training? Add your 2 cents in the comments below. Oh wait- We don’t have pennies in Canada anymore. So I guess thoughts are free now. And that’s probably a good thing for all of us.

Joel Minden, Ph.D., CSCS, is a clinical psychologist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and sports nutrition coach. In addition to teaching psychology and kinesiology at California State University, Chico, Joel provides consulting services to athletes and he is a competitive ballroom dancer. His website is www.joelminden.com. 

Sources:

Angioi, M., Metsios, G. S., Twitchett, E., Koutedakis, Y., & Wyon, M. (2009). Association between selected physical fitness parameters and aesthetic competence in contemporary dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 13(4), 115-123.

Baechle, T., & Earle, R. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Third Edition. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Human Kinetics.

Aaannnd now that we’re all sufficiently aroused, the German in me likes efficiency. My definition of efficiency borders on synonymous to sheer laziness- Doing as little as absolutely necessary to get the best possible result.

I think when it comes to breathing, efficiency means breathing as much as you possibly can. Oxygen is the ultimate performance enhancing, mood enhancing drug. Take in as much as you can, baby. It’s legal! And free (for now…).

Deep, mindful breathing is scientifically proven (yay science!) to have so many health benefits and practical uses. If keeping your body alive isn’t a good enough incentive for you, here’s some more reasons to breathe better:

• Dampens the body’s production of stress hormones (2)
• Improved posture (the diaphragm is an important postural stabilizer, but more on that later) (1)
• Eases various musculoskeletal aches and pains (more on that later, too) (3)
• You get stronger (through activation of the deep trunk muscles, and use of the Valsalva maneuvre- which dancers don’t really need to do that often).
• Individuals who suffer from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart issues can see benefits from breathing exercises (2)
• Changes in gene expression (through the alteration of the body’s stress response) (2)

Is it any wonder that according to traditional yogic philosophy, proper breathing (pranayama) is one of the 5 important points (along with proper exercise, diet, relaxation and positive thinking).

Dance and yoga seem like similar activities, but they are really the polar opposite. Especially as it relates to breathing. Chief reason being that while yoga is alllll about breathing, dancers don’t breathe at all, and aren’t really taught how.

I remember being in The Nutcracker back in the day, and performing The Waltz of the Flowers. It was a long piece with multiple exits and entrances, and each time I would exit the stage I’d have to gasp for breath and cough up a lung because I had essentially performed high intensity exercise for 2+ minutes straight without breathing.

As a quick side note, I think it’s worth noting that high level dance perfomance is NOT aerobic activity. Telling a dancer to jog or bike at a steady state is not sufficient cross-training to prepare them for the rigours of a performance. Go read this, by Joel Minden (dancer, CSCS, Ph. D). He says smart things.

But anyway, the reasons dancers don’t breathe efficiently are numerous:

• High anxiety levels (being a dancer is stressful, and performing is acutely so)
•  Being told to “hold in your stomach!“, and “shoulders back!“, “kind of makes breathing… challenging.
•  The high technical complexity of the art makes it easy to forget to breathe
• Not being taught/lack of awareness. And no, “remember to breathe!” is not a sufficient cue for a teacher to give.
• Tight accessory muscles, like the abdominals, chest, and neck restricting the diaphragm from doing it’s work (what’s a diaphragm?)
• High stability demand (aka being on one leg and spinning) compromises diaphragmatic breathing (more on that in a bit).

In dance you actually need to  breathe a lot. It affects every aspect of your performance. In most cases you need to be in an extended position through your trunk, while bracing (or hollowing or whatever you wanna call it) the abdominals. Think arabesque. And then you need to breathe. And remember the choreography. And not fall on your face. And not look weird, awkward or scared. What’s a diaphragm??

There's your diaphragm!

Enter, breathing and bracing. A concept that very few dancers (and people in general) understand. I myself haven’t mastered it (yet), but I theorize that learning this technique could improve nearly every element of your dance technique from balance, weight transfers, jumps, leaps, and just looking more aesthetically pleasing in general.

What is breathing and bracing? In a nut-shell, using your diaphragm and abdominals independently. Holding the core strong while still taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths.

As I alluded to, your diaphragm isn’t just for breathing- it plays huge role in postural stability. If you’re not using your diaphragm properly, you’re missing out on a whole world of fun stability challenges and choreographic possibilites! (and it makes sense that dancers who have good balance look more calm- Remember the anti-anxiety benefit associated with breathing?)

Dr. Jeff Cubos (who knows more about this whole “breathing and bracing” thing than I do) says:

It has been shown that in the presence of increased stability demand, the diaphragm contracts concentrically while specific abdominal musculature contract eccentrically during inhalation. During expiration, the roles of these muscles are reversed…As a result, faulty breathing patterns and inefficient core stability may lead to clinical conditions such as low back and pelvic dysfunction”. (3)

Sound familiar? Diaphragm doesn’t work properly, so the diaphragm’s buddies (ze spinal stabilizers) start working harder- the ilioposas, QL, spine erectors, and abdominals. So you get things like hip and low back dysfunction, and you get winded after petit allegro because you can’t get enough oxygen.

Maximal postural and respiratory efficiency is achieved (efficiency = minimal accessory muscle activity, or E = MA squared). (3)

Good ol’ efficiency. That’s a way better definition than mine.

THIS HERE is an excellent article by the Postural Restoration Institute, if you want to learn more about breathing and how, when dysfunctional and non-diaphragmatic, it can literally affect e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. that becomes the bane of your dancer existence. Like,

• increases use of accessory muscles of inspiration
• poor neuromuscular control of core muscles
• increased lumbar lordosis
• low back pain
• increased lumbar-pelvic instability
• thoracic outlet syndrome
• athsma
• MORE (seriously, read the article)

And this here is an exercise from Dr. Cubos that I am currently trying to master. It’s way harder than it looks, but I’ll be breathing like a champ in no time flat.

You’re basically trying not to asphyxiate yourself- Makes the learning curve pretty quick I’d say.

Alright, that’s all I have to say about that for now. More about breathing another time. For now, just try to be aware of it (and whether or not you actually breathe while you dance).

References

(1) http://posturalrestoration.com/media/pdfs/The_Value_of_Blowing_up_a_Balloon_3.pdf

(2) http://www.npr.org/2010/12/06/131734718/just-breathe-body-has-a-built-in-stress-reliever

(3) http://www.jeffcubos.com/2011/03/27/the-balloon-your-new-clinical-tool/