Nyeh!
Dancers tend to twist, push, and bend their bodies in
some of the most unique ways.
However, because dance is not just a sport, but also an art and a
social activity, not every dancer is putting forth the effort to care
for their bodies like an athlete.
We've put together a simple, yet comprehensive 10 minute daily dance
prep that every dancer should do, preferably 10 15 minutes before their
dance activity to supercharge their body's performance and prepare it for the
heavy demands about to be placed on it.
Let's get started.
We'll be doing eight different drills, starting with a
mobility drill called Cat Cows.
Oh yeah, and take your shoes off.
Your little toesies gotta get warmed up too.
How to do this?
Start with your knees and hands on the ground.
Keep the knees under your hips and hands flat facing forward under your shoulders.
Flex your toes toward your shins.
Now, make sure your shoulders and elbows are externally rotated.
To start the drill, tuck your chin into your chest, push the middle of
your back as far to the ceiling as possible while exhaling, making an arch.
Then, create an arch in the opposite direction, and bring the top of your head
as high up as possible while inhaling.
That's a single cat cow.
Let's do eight of them.
A tip as you do this, push your spine a little further than you
think you can when lifting it, and really make sure you use your exhale
to help get that extra stretch.
This mobility drill affects three sections of your spine.
Your cervical, thoracic,
and lumbar.
It creates space in between the vertebrae, which helps you move more freely.
Next up, 90- 90 hip switch for 20 seconds.
How to do this?
Start on your butt.
Put your legs in this 90 degree, 90 degree position.
The regressed, or easier, version has your hands behind you on the floor.
The progressed, or more difficult but more engaged, version has your
hands grasped together in front.
Push your front leg into the ground and peel your opposite
leg out until your front leg can't stay on the ground anymore.
When both legs are in the air, make sure to actively pull your
knees away from each other.
Let's do this for 20 seconds.
This is
mainly a mobility drill with the primary focus being the internal and
external rotation of the hip joint.
It also creates mobility of your groin and promotes adductor
mobility, which are the muscles you often use when you lift your legs.
Next, the adductor rock.
Six on each side.
A great rule of thumb in any warm up, mobility drill, or activation drill is
to start on the side that feels tighter.
So, the side that needs more work.
Let's extend the tighter leg out and place the other knee on the ground.
Flex and flatten your extended leg's foot and keep those toes facing forward.
Keep both hands flat on the floor beneath your shoulders.
Then, start this drill by sitting your butt back, trying to get it
to touch the heel while inhaling.
Then rock forward, keep your ribs and pelvis tucked, and exhale.
Let's do a total of six on this side, then six on the other.
And, go.
Switch to the other side.
What
this affects?
Similar to the 90 90, it promotes hip mobility, but also more specifically
targets the inner thigh, which tends to get neglected in most training regimens.
Next up, the crab reach.
Plant both feet on the ground close to your butt.
Put one hand down flat behind you a little further away than beneath your shoulder.
Face the fingers away from your body and fully extend that arm.
The other arm's elbow is bent and tucked against your chest rib area.
You will do a combination of squeezing your butt and elevating the hips.
Then, twist to reach your fingers towards the hand on the floor.
Emphasis on the twisting.
Try to keep your feet planted at all times so you're getting
more rotation out of the spine.
Then reset and sit down.
Let's do five of these on each side.
Switch.
What this affects?
This is a shoulder and glute activation drill.
It also helps with T spine, or thoracic spine, mobility, for rotations, and
is perfect for isolations and leans.
Next up, Beast Hold.
How to do this?
Wrists under shoulders, knees on the ground.
Make a square between the wrists and knees.
Toes flexed towards your shins.
Try to keep your back as parallel to the ground as possible.
Lift your knees off the ground and hold for 20 seconds.
What does this affect?
This is an activation drill for your shoulder, core,
quads, ankles, and toesies.
It also improves wrist and joint strength.
We only have three more to go.
You're doing amazing by getting this far.
Let's take a 30 second break as I tell you a bit about my company.
Our mission is to promote the holistic well being of creatives.
Through fitness and wellness, we provide a unique space where artistic
minds flourish, combining strength and conditioning programs with an
immersive and health centric atmosphere.
Our dedicated team of trainers, practitioners, and coaches are
committed to nurturing not only physical strength, but also mental
and emotional wellbeing and empowering our community in their journey towards
optimal health and boundless creativity.
We believe that a healthy body is the canvas upon which
artistic brilliance can shine.
And our break is up.
All right, let's do the last three drills of our daily dance prep routine.
We're going to move on to the SL RDL to OH reach.
What in God's name does that stand for?
Single leg Romanian deadlift to overhead reach.
We'll do eight of them.
So, if you need help with balance to start, hold on
to a counter or solid chair.
Start by standing on the leg that has the worst balance and slightly bend that knee.
Slowly tilt your torso forward while the other leg extends and
lifts backwards while keeping the toes flexed towards the shin.
Keep the spine and leg as parallel to the ground as possible.
Then, push through your big toe on the floor to stand straight and lift that
extended leg forward to a 90 degree angle.
The progress version removes the balance assistance and you extend both
arms up when you extend your leg back, then down when you raise your knee.
We're going to do eight on each side.
Switch.
What
this affects, this activates your toes, ankles, calves, glutes, hips, and core.
Most everything that's required for balance can be addressed with this drill.
Pogo Hops for 20 seconds.
Put your hands on hips, keep that feet shoulder width apart, with your chest
proud, like a lame superhero pose.
Start by doing mini hops, but the majority of your push and landing
is found through the foot and ankle, as opposed to the knees.
You want to feel like you're slapping the bottom of your toes on the
ground, then immediately lifting your toes towards your shins.
Let's do this across the floor for 20 seconds, but if you don't have room to
move forward and back, just stay in place.
What do pogo hops help with?
Your Achilles tendon gets a positive response from the healthy
stress you're putting it through.
Also, being that this is a dynamic warm up drill, it helps with body awareness.
So basically, your brain is being primed for movement, and you'll be
more coordinated when you dance.
Lastly, let's do a skip for 20 seconds.
Just kidding.
Not a skip.
A skips.
To do it, it's basically a progressed version of the pogo hop, but
performed on one foot and a high knee.
It mimics a running motion with a bounce between.
Start with one pogo hop, but land with your right leg striking down
first, and elevating the left knee in a 90 degree position.
Bring your opposite arm to a 90 degree position.
Repeat this and bounce into another pogo hop, then bounce
and land with the opposite leg.
Let's do this for 20 seconds.
What this affects?
Similar to the pogo hop, this provides a healthy stress for the ankle, toe,
and Achilles area, but challenges it more by implementing more coordination.
Which is the perfect way to end your warm up session and get straight into dancing.
Come back and do this routine every day, or 15 minutes before
you dance, and watch how your body and dance abilities thank you.
Also, you can click the link in the description to take STEEZY's recommended
dance workout classes online, and even a strength and conditioning class from me,
if you want to go beyond this dance prep and take on the next level of body care.
Peace.