After the dance season practices and conditioning, brake is much needed time of the year for dancers. Finally, the body, muscles and joints can relax and recover during this resting phase. But, returning to a full rehearsal schedule or class load on the first day after a break or vacation is not healthful for a dancer’s body without proper conditioning.
It is understandable to want to get in shape as fast as possible, but a crash course will not speed up conditioning. Oh, and I have tried it, but it was never a good idea. So, during my last brake I decided to schedule my regime more carefully. Thru the research I came across to a Franklin method, discovered a new ways of conditioning and I want to share them with you.
Principle of progressive overload
The principle of progressive overload states that in order to improve growth, strength, and performance, you must gradually increase demands on the body during exercise. Begin conditioning gradually and build slowly, focusing on listening to your body. Easing into a conditioning routine smartly saves you time and aggravation, because you avoid injuries that occur from jumping into conditioning programs that your body is not prepared for. Listen to your body; if an exercise feels wrong or painful, don’t do it.
You need to increase the resistance over time to match the strength and conditioning gains of the muscle. Without progressive overload, you have no training effect. In dance, this principle mostly applied to increasing neuromuscular control, strengthening, and the performance and mastering of progressively difficult dance steps. To increase the load on a muscle, you may increase the intensity, the volume, and the frequency of the exercises.
Itensity
You can increase the intensity of strengthening work simply by using resistance from a partner, heavier dumbbells, or higher-resistance elastic bands. Increase your cardiorespiratory conditioning, and muscle’s performance by activating muscle in a systematic way.
To increase your cardiorespiratory conditioning you need exercise that maintains 60 to 77 percent of your maximal heart rate (HRmax) for at least 15 minutes. You can calculate your HRmax by using the formula provided below.
Volume
If your aim is to increase maximal strength, perform fewer repetitions with greater resistance; if your aim is to improve muscular endurance, perform more repetitions with less resistance. In order to increase strength, one must increase the number of sets. The advanced dancers could perform a maximum strength set in the morning and a muscular endurance set in the evening. Usually if resistance is too high, you end up sacrificing quality; in dance training, quality is key.
To increase your cardiorespiratory conditioning you need exercise that maintains 60 to 77 percent of your maximal heart rate (HRmax) for at least 15 minutes. You can calculate your HRmax by using the formula provided below.
Frequency
In order to benefit fully from your training, must train at regular intervals. Exercise frequency of three times a week is sufficient to increase strength and maintain fitness. Dancers often train more frequently than that, but how to not end up overtraining?
– Limit time spent in dance classes to 3 hours a day
– Use more imagery, positive self-talk, and self-awareness techniques
– Practice a conditioning routine three times a week
Create more thoughtful training cycles; concept of periodization.
1. Preparatory phase. Low resistance exercises and light stretches
2. Build up phase
3. Maintenance phase
To increase your cardiorespiratory conditioning you need exercise that maintains 60 to 77 percent of your maximal heart rate (HRmax) for at least 15 minutes. You can calculate your HRmax by using the formula provided below.
