Tag: Exercise

Ballet Beautiful

Ballet BeautifulMary Helen Bowers is the ballerina behind Ballet Beautiful, a dance-inspired workout that she teaches to Victoria’s Secret supermodels helping them attain those trademark tight abdominals and lean legs through the carefully crafted dance-inspired workout moves. Bowers is a former dancer who joined the New York City Ballet in her teens and became a prima ballerina, passing this knowledge onto the models with a ballet-inspired workout that sculpts swan-like arms and tones abdominals for the revealing lingerie.

Bowers often trains with the models backstage at runway shows, as well as on-site: for the most of the year she trains the models three or four days a week, depending on what is going on their schedule and if there’s a big photo shoot. Most of the sessions are a one-hour workout, but the schedule increases to longer sessions before a big event, such as the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

The movements in Ballet Beautiful combine modified fitness positions and resistance work with classical ballet moves that target the muscles dancers use, for example Bowers swaps thigh-building gym squats in favour of thigh-slimming ballet basics like the Grand Plié. Another move that targets “ballet muscles” – inner thighs and the buttocks – can be achieved by placing both shins on a mat with one hand on a chair and drawing the opposite knee out to the side in a modified arabesque.

Bowers’ client list isn’t just limited to Victoria’s Secret models; she also instructed actress Natalie Portman for her Oscar-winning role in “Black Swan”. Bowers had to turn to online sessions and bring in extra backup to free up her time to coach Portman for the grueling role in 2010. Following the release of “Black Swan,” Bowers hired professional dancers to teach Ballet Beautiful private lessons to handle the demand.

The Dreaded DOMS

Delayed Onset Muscle SorenessDOMS: a common ailment for dancers, athletes and sports players. As much as it is common, the meaning of the each letter and its cause is not often known, especially by those who are younger and just beginning to train harder in their chosen area.

For dancers, the beginning of the attempt to pursue a performance career can start very young, throughout teens or perhaps post-20 years old. However, in deciding in this goal, dancers are inspired to push their bodies harder, take more class and learn new things. DOMS then come into play. Also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, DOMS occur when muscles have been used to a greater extent than they are day to day. For example, DOMS are most likely to occur in the new academic year when the body has not been used as much throughout the summer.

Dancers are likely to feel varying degrees of stiffness in their muscles during DOMS, usually in their quads and hamstrings which are worked hard in all dance techniques. The following morning it may be a struggle to get out of bed and even walk down stairs, depending on the extent of the DOMS. Some dancers may not even feel their DOMS the next day – being delayed the soreness may come into play 24-72 hours later and may be a complete surprise with the stiffness of the muscles seemingly coming from nowhere.

For many dance students in higher or vocational education, DOMS are a regular part of life. Long days mean that the students must get up and train again the next day, working through the stiffness and discomfort knowing they will usually wake up with DOMS again the next day. However a high protein diet rich with nutrients can help to work against DOMS, repairing the muscles tears and making them stronger.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Body Conditioning: A Lifetime Of Habit

Body Conditioning for DancersMany dance students who are getting ready to commence their vocational training at performing arts institutes will also be introduced to the term ‘body conditioning’. It is something that all dancers are aware of as a means to improve their technique and overall presence in the performance space, and many continue working on their body conditioning for years on end.

In general terms body conditioning will see dancers work to tone and sculpt their muscles aside from their technique classes, in areas such as Pilates, yoga and classes which purely focus on stretching. Other ways of carrying out body conditioning may include muscle toning or building exercises with weights or in a gym, such as for their abdominals, glutes or hamstrings.

Lots of preparation of body conditioning is done throughout rehearsals too, making sure the body is ready for what the choreography and performances require from the dancer. Body conditioning ensures dancers have enough strength and stamina to complete the task ahead to best of their technical and performance ability, such as staying ‘on your leg’ in turns and balances, making sure the performance is as successful as the rehearsal period.

In this sense, body and core conditioning is a hugely important part of the rehearsals and off-stage preparations. If the body’s strong and able, executing the choreography is wholly easier. Many dancers undertake conditioning exercises in order to define their muscles further however the most important part of body conditioning is ensuring the body is healthy, strong and ready for the demands made on it. This then gives way to the creation and sustaining of an illusion on stage in which the body performs something so far removed – in terms of ability and physicality – from the audience. The body and muscles are used efficiently as a strong base to perform the movement from.

Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.

The Benefits Of Dance: Flexibility, Fitness And Posture

Dance PostureAs dancers, we sometimes hit that mid-training rut, where we have had enough of the pliés, the tendus, the jetés, and definitely had enough of the pirouettes. With July turning into a bit of a scorcher, there can also be more appealing things than dressing head-to-toe in Lycra leotards and tights, let alone legwarmers!

However, it is easy to forget the great benefits of all kinds of dance, especially when sweating along to the Waltz of the Flowers or a similarly clichéd tune. Ballet in particular is a fantastic way for dancers of all ages to increase fitness, flexibility and all-round wellbeing whilst relieving stress and taking part in an activity you enjoy rather than pounding the treadmill. In particular, ballet promotes correct stance, deportment and a more streamlined body shape, with the dancer having pulled up the muscles, turned out the legs from the hip joints and lengthened out of the neck to appear more graceful. Even attempting new movements promotes the body’s resilience and supportive strength through dance classes and rehearsals. Dance offers great variety of methods of keeping fit and flexible, working many different types of muscles; Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS*) is a great way of discovering new muscles you didn’t know you had!

Once you have learnt to use the correct postural muscles it is easy to achieve a look of a flat stomach and toned legs whilst working harder towards these dance goals. In this sense, it is particularly useful to combine ballet classes with dance classes of other techniques in order to complement your body’s work and created a fully-rounded dancer that is not pigeon-holed. There are many types of dance classes readily available, such as various forms of street dance, jazz, tap, and even complementary techniques such as Pilates and yoga. Used alone or as a dancing cocktail mix, the techniques all work to challenge the body in different ways and ensure it does not become complacent! Whilst the benefits of ballet are clear ‘across the board’, other dance techniques also aim for the same goal and the joy of dance yet pursue it differently. For example, ballet, jazz and yoga or Pilates are all fantastic ways to increase leg and back flexibility and strengthen the core, yet employ different exercises in order to keep the body from becoming stagnant.

Ballet targets certain muscles through its training techniques, which also means that these areas of the body must be stretched and cared for in order to progress. The hamstrings and quadriceps, and adductors and abductors (inner and outer thigh muscles) – as opposite sides of the leg – are all worked in different ways, therefore the correct stretches must be carried out post-class for each. For ballet in particular, even holding the arms correctly as an extension of the back works the latissimus dorsi extremely hard, which are muscles often overlooked by the eagerly training dancer. As a result, stretching exercises come hand in hand with all disciplines of dance, not just ballet, and are an efficient way to keep the body mobile and maintaining the discipline and hard work of the class. For ballet in particular, muscle tone and suppleness also comes from stretching muscles such as the hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, soleus and the gluteus maximus and medius, for flexibility, jumps and turn out.

Many dance teachers advocate that ballet is the basis of all dance and maintain that it is needed as a solid foundation on which to build the rest of your dance training. Even if you disagree with this, it is clear that ballet and then other kinds of dance forms are needed to complement and balance out your dance work, in order to provide yourself with an all-round training that provides enjoyment and body benefits. Whilst it is not always a cardio workout, ballet works the body hard, keeps joints active and induces great discipline both for the body and the mind by requiring short bursts of intense, anaerobic exercise. By taking regular ballet classes you are constantly increasing the capacity and ability of the body, in particular, strengthening the legs and encouraging flexibility.

Increased muscle tone, flexibility and ability all contribute towards the wide goal of staying fit and healthy as part of having a healthy, dancing lifestyle. Dance can greatly contribute towards weight-loss, particularly by following a rich and varied programme of a combination of dance styles to balance out the training. With jazz dance a great cardio challenge, ballet can complement and tone up these newly found muscles, and other techniques such as Pilates and yoga used to maintain flexibility and peace of mind amongst the madness that is the world of dance!

* DOMS is muscle pain, soreness and stiffness which occur 24-48 hours after a changed or increased workout (dance) or workout intensity.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Uses Of Swiss Balls

Pineapple Fitness BallSwiss balls, known by a number of different names, are large, heavy-duty inflatable balls used for aiding core strength in dance technique. The balls offer a fun, safe and highly effective way to exercise, and are relatively inexpensive compared to other exercise equipment. Stocked by Dance Direct, for example, the Pineapple ball is burst resistant, and works to keep the entire body in shape, targeting all the major muscle groups and supporting dance work.

The Swiss ball was used as early as the 1960s, originally used by physical therapists and chiropractors in Switzerland to assist with rehabilitation and became known as the Swiss Ball. Through seminars and classes the Swiss Ball was introduced to the USA in the early 1980s and became known as extremely versatile and valuable in terms of dance. In the late 1980s coaches, athletic trainers and personal trainers also realised the effectiveness of the Swiss Ball in developing balance and core strength, and since then the fitness balls have been reported as the most effective method for core conditioning.

Using a Swiss ball will improve the strength of the abs and the lower back, as well as improving balance, proprioception and flexibility. Alignment is improved by the use of additional muscles to maintain stability and balance, abs are worked simultaneously with the back muscles through abdominal crunches on the fitness ball (which have been scientifically proven to work the abs more than the regular crunch), muscle strength, tone and endurance are improved in all of the major muscle groups, core stability is built up through the use of the major and deep muscles which helps stabilise and support the body’s movements, and stretching exercises using the ball as a tool are all fantastic uses of the Swiss ball to aid dance training and beyond to maintain the dancers’ body.

Sleek Technique

Sleek Technique

Sleek Technique, an online, ballet based, fitness programme, has been designed by two professional dancers as accessible dance-fitness programme for everyone. The live classes can be downloaded “on the go” and include authentic barre techniques and ballet bootcamps, as well as downloadable sculpting workouts delivered direct to computers, tablets and mobiles.

The technique prides itself on fitting in with busy lifestyles in order to create and maintain beautifully shaped bodies whenever and wherever you are. Sleek is an entirely portable fitness methodology, perfected for non-dancers by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s professional ballerina and fitness coach Victoria Marr and West End dancer Flik Swan. It combines elements of classical ballet technique and conditioning exercises used by the professionals to sculpt their lean, dancer bodies. The Body Beautiful workouts are delivered live online or are available to download to start transforming shapes, and with a maximum of 5 people in each live class, the founders are able to monitor technique to make sure participants get the most out of every session.

Sleek Technique combines the dancers’ knowledge on which exercises really give a toned and slender body, and the girls are always ready to help transform and aid progress. Sleek uses multi functional dance based exercises which condition and tone muscles whilst improving co-ordination, posture and stamina. These are combined with isolated isometric exercises which work to sculpt individual muscle groups. Sleek Technique is low impact and easy on joints, but high intensity to strengthen muscular structure. Stretching out each muscle group as it is worked then ensures longer, leaner, dancer like muscles are created with no bulk, to show off beautiful lines with curves in the right places.

Fake It Until You Make It?

Pro-Arch

In the twenty-first century, the world surrounding dancers and non-dancers alike contains the ability to ‘fake it’. Gone are the days of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”, because now it is becoming increasingly easy to modify and improve more and more about us, and the world too – you can flaunt it anyway!

‘Natural’ has become a woolly term, because how can it be proven? The likes of Photoshop and other similar tactics mean that we can appear as our ‘better selves’, and we can even do this physically by the means of plastic and cosmetic surgery. Enhancing appearances does not stop there: the illusion of dance has too been enhanced past its ethereal state and can now be improved or altered by means of faking it.

For example, the mechanics of classical ballet can be aided by the use of commercially available prosthetic arches which can be used to improve the appearance of the foot in a pointe shoe. There are not many methods for modifying or ‘faking’ ballet, simply due to the fact that social historical context dictates that classical ballerinas wear costumes to reveal their strength, artistry and technical talent, and also due to the role of the critic. Despite this, the shape of the foot can be enhanced, having worked the correct muscles in the first place. Some dancers are fortunate, with a high instep and strong, flexible ankles, whereas for others this is something at the forefront of their wish list.

Some may argue that enhancing the line of the foot in this way is on a parallel to that of wearing false eyelashes to improve the look of the face, and give that “showbiz” look. Today there are a number of ways of improving the ballet experience in general, as shown by the product list of Dance Direct, for example. From a variety of shapes and designs of foot thongs, to gel pads to the latest snug over-the-pointe-shoe socks with suede leather toe caps, there is something for everyone to help fake it until you make it!

Dancewear for the Zumba Party

Zumba

The Zumba craze has well and truly taken hold of the fitness and dance world, shaking up a storm and providing fun and fabulous calorie-burning workouts as a mix of dance and aerobic routines. Zumba is a dance fitness program created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez during the 1990s. This music is the key ingredient to Zumba classes, where the score, created with specific beats and tempo changes, transforms the workout from one toning, strengthening or cardio move to another, targeting every major muscle group in the body. With the energy of the Latin beat, and the structured workout Zumba classes give you the ultimate non-workout exercise regime.

The next step on the Zumba ladder is working out what is best to wear for a class. Zumba is a high performance activity and it demands high performance clothing, and the dancewear industry has done a huge amount of researching and developing fabrics that stretch and breathe. Suitable for both men and women partakers in Zumba are jazz pants or leggings and close fitting dance tops which accentuate movement and allow teachers to see the dancers’ movements clearly, available in a huge array of colours and styles. Capezio dance tops in particular provide a clean cut look, and their jazz pants are also available in a drawstring design.

Bloch dance trainers and sneakers are also great options for Zumba classes, light, breathable, and designed for high impact dance. The trainers come in a great range of colours, and leather and canvas designs with features that make them ideal for the activity. They provide excellent grip, a ‘spin-spot’, split soles, are shock absorbing and lightweight, with many designs suitable for the whole class. Get your own and join the party!

Body Conditioning

Body Conditioning for Dancers

For dancers, being fit to dance is natural, inevitable, and above all stating the obvious. Hours taking class, rehearsing and performing are all perfect ways to hone your dancing body and become the greatest athlete you can. In terms of dance, that is: many dancers are only fit to dance rather than being fit in a number of different disciplines. Forget pointe shoes, leotards and ballet barres, dancers also need to cross-train in order to excel. Being physically fit means that injury is less likely, but if it does occur, it also means you have various other methods to aid the healing process.

A famous study at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York (1975) compared forms of sport in a study, including dance, in terms of the athletes’ fitness capabilities. Ballet was ranked as one of the top disciplines, requiring high levels of strength, endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular ability. However, in order to maintain this wellbeing and fitness as a dancer, other forms of exercise must be carried out in order to complement your dance life.

For example, swimming is a fantastic form of cardiovascular exercise that will set dancers on their way to becoming fitter in a more general sense, enabling their bodies to withstand more than the (sometimes gruelling) demands of dance. In fact, any other cardiovascular activity has great results affecting dancers’ longevity for strength and power, co-ordination, flexibility and aerobic endurance (as dance is a predominantly anaerobic activity in which the dancer performs short bursts of high-energy activity rather than aerobic where the energy demands are more even)… you will not find ballet tights or Therabands in the pool or on the running track!

Other complementary activities include Pilates, the Franklin Method, Alexander technique and the Feldenkrais Method, enabling the body to adapt, as well as improving the alignment of the skeleton, for example. As soon as dancers stop working or conditioning their bodies, they start to ‘de-condition’’ and reverse, which can happens quickly, so it is important to keep using your physical capabilities outside the studio.

Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.

Dance Accessories For Injury Prevention

Injury Prevention For Dancers

To enhance your lines, for a stronger body and an improved performance we have a range of essential dance accessories for the dancer eager to excel. However, it is vitally important to warm up properly to look after your body correctly, as it is the instrument with which to fulfil your dance desires… and if it is not cared for, it can be easily damaged.

Kitting yourself out in the latest dancewear, such as redesigned foot thongs and innovative leotards will not protect your body from the rigours of dance. Dancers wearing the newest jazz trainers and cover-ups must work hard to prolong their dance training and career using the right techniques and methods for their own body.

For example, the Original Deuserband is a classic, physio-therapeutical training band which is incredibly strong, working to flex muscles and increase fitness, strength and flexibility. Specifically for increased leg flexibility, the Deuserband is used worldwide by professional dancers as an aid to their training.

Latex resistance bands, such as those designed by Bunheads, are also used by dancers of all levels to target specific areas of the body that require strengthening. They are particularly useful for young dancers who are preparing for pointe work, and for exercise aiding injury recovery, displaying their ultimate versatility and usefulness.

An additional product which aids strength, and is also extremely useful for dancers preparing to wear pointe shoes is the Wobbleboard. It is also recommended by physiotherapists, working to strengthen the ankles to prevent injury.

Another versatile product is the Theraball, which targets all the major muscle groups for a full body workout, whilst aiding stretching and strengthening. Exercise balls of all sizes are renowned for their revolutionary design and purpose, often used for strengthening the core and upper body. In this essence, the Theraball is vital to maintain and dancing body’s dynamics and prolong dance lives.

Image courtesy of adria.richards at Flickr.