http://www.iadms.org/blogpost/1177934/272128/Are-You-Warm-Enough-to-Start-Dancing
Are You Warm Enough to Start Dancing?
Posted By Brenton Surgenor and Andrea Kozai on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee, Monday, April 3, 2017
Warming
up is essential before taking part in any type of dance activity, but
it’s not always clear how to warm up effectively. This blog post sets
out the what, why and some of the how-to’s of an effective
dance-specific warm-up. This prefaces our new, upcoming Resource Paper
on effective warm-up for dancers, which has much more information and
advice on how to prepare the body for dancing.
Firstly,
an effective warm-up will prepare you (or your dancers) mentally and
physically to meet the challenges and physical requirements of a class,
rehearsal, or performance. As the name suggests, a warm-up should
increase your core body temperature, which prepares your muscles and
joints to function effectively during dancing as well as reduces injury
risk.
During
the warm-up there is an increase in the amount of energy required by
your working muscles. This means your body needs to consume more oxygen
and fuel (glucose) to generate energy to power your muscles. A
byproduct of all this extra energy production is the increase in body
temperature that gives the warm-up its name, so the cardiovascular
section of a warm up is vital in ensuring your body is ready to go.
Therefore, sitting in the sun enjoying a hot coffee will not have the
same benefits as a physical warm-up, as a warm-up ensures that your
cardiovascular system, breathing rate, and energy-producing systems
gradually increase to meet the higher demand for energy when you begin
dancing.
Whilst
it’s good to include some stretching as part of your warm-up, not all
types of stretching are beneficial before dancing. The role of
stretching during a warm-up is to mobilize muscles and prepare them
safely to carry out the range of motion required of dance activities,
not to increase flexibility. Stretching should happen after the
activation of the cardiovascular system and when core body temperature
is raised. Dynamic stretching (taking the joint through a full range of
motion in a slow and controlled way) is the best form of stretching in a
warm-up. This is because research suggests static stretching
(stretches held in one position for longer than 15 seconds) can have a
negative effect on balance, proprioception (knowing where your body is
in space) and the muscles’ ability to produce powerful quick movements
like jumps (Morrin and Redding, 2013). While static stretching can be an
important part of flexibility training it is not an appropriate method
of warming up; on the contrary, the purpose of dynamic stretching is to
ready the body for full range, dynamic motion (Quin, Rafferty and
Tomlinson, 2015). For more about stretching, see IADMS Resource Paper “Stretching for Dancers”.
Warming
up your mind is just as important as warming up your body. A good
warm-up will give you an opportunity to check how you are feeling, to
notice your posture and any unnecessary physical tension or pain. It
can also help you concentrate and focus, which should contribute to
technically better dancing and reduced risk of injury (Laws, 2005;
Malliou et al., 2007).
Although
a thorough and effective warm-up should take about 20 minutes, the time
required is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited
to: whether the dancer has participated in any physical activity that
day (is it the first class of the day or has the dancer recently
completed another class); how warm or cold the environment is; and how
much space and time is available for the warm-up. This should include a
general physiological warm-up that prepares the core body temperature
for physical activity. Importantly too, the warm-up should include
specific activities that relate to the style of the dance to follow
(Quin, Rafferty and Tomlinson, 2015).
A
warm-up generally consists of three or four sections: a gentle
pulse-raising section, a joint mobilizing section, a muscle lengthening
section, and sometimes a second pulse-raising section (Quin, Rafferty
and Tomlinson, 2015). The pulse-raising sections aim to increase
cardiorespiratory and metabolic rates; these are the prerequisite to all
further activity. The joint mobilizing section consists of gently
moving the various joints through their ranges of motion, and the
purpose of the muscle lengthening section is to prepare the muscles for
the demands to come through the use of dynamic stretching (Wilmerding
and Krasnow, 2017). It is also appropriate to include remedial exercises
for injury prevention purposes at the end of the warm-up (Volianitis et
al, 2001), and mental skills and preparation can be included at any
stage.
Remember
the benefits of a warm-up will be reduced or even lost once the body
returns to its resting states of heart rate, respiration, and body
temperature, so try to keep the time between the end of the warm-up and
the dancing a minimum. Warm clothing and continued movement (but not
static stretching) will help keep the body’s core temperature elevated.
However, this is dependent on what happens after the warm-up (does the
dancer keep moving or do they sit down and rest) and environmental
elements such the ambient temperature. Cooler temperatures and the lack
of movement may cause the effects of the warm-up to dissipate more
rapidly.
Unfortunately,
there is no magic recipe for warming up and the most important thing to
remember is that the warm-up should be specific to the type of dance
activity to follow (in other words a ballet warm-up will be different
from a jazz warm-up). However, with an understanding of a few basic
principles, it should be safe and easy for you to design a warm-up that
works for you.
Here are some suggestions to help you design your perfect dance warm-up.
1. Involve
your mind and take a moment to center yourself. Check in with how you
are feeling; notice any areas where you need to give special attention.
2. Make your warm-up dance (and type of dance) specific.
3. Introduce an activity to gradually increase your heart rate.
4. Keep the movement simple to begin then progress to more complex and challenging movement patterns.
5. Mobilize
all the joints in your body and don’t forget about your spine and upper
body, especially if your dance style includes upper-body weight bearing
or/and partnering work.
6. Give yourself a goal or try some positive self-talk.
7. Use
dynamic stretching and take your body carefully through full ranges of
motion saving the static stretching for the cool-down or the end of the
day.
8. Wake
up your nervous system by incorporating quick changes in direction and
stopping to balance on one leg – this will engage your proprioceptors.
9. Once
you are feeling warm and just a little bit sweaty, introduce some power
movements like small jumps followed by some bigger ones.
10. Towards
the end of the warm-up, pick the pace and progress your movement to
speeds nearer the pace of the following dance activity.
Whatever you choose to include, by the end of the warm-up you should
feel ready to meet the mental and physical challenges of dancing. For
more detailed information, check out the new IADMS resource paper on
warming up for dancers.
For more information about warming up see the following resources.
1. Harris J, Elbourn J. Warming up and cooling down. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2002.
2. Laws, H., & Apps, J. (2005). Fit to Dance 2: Report of the second national Inquiry into dancers' health and injury in the UK. Dance UK.
3. Malliou,
P., Rokka, S., Beneka, A., Mavridis, G., & Godolias, G. (2007).
Reducing risk of injury due to warm up and cool down in dance aerobic
instructors. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 20(1), 29-35.
4. Morrin,
N., & Redding, E. (2013). Acute effects of warm-up stretch
protocols on balance, vertical jump height, and range of motion in
dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 17(1), 34-40.
5. Quin E, Rafferty S, Tomlinson C. Safe Dance Practice. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2015.
6. Volianitis S, Koutedakis Y, Carson R. Warm Up: A Brief Review. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science 2001; 5(3): 75-79.
7. Wilmerding MV, Krasnow DH (eds). Dancer Wellness. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2017.
Written
by Brenton Surgenor (BPhEd, MA, MSc), Hong Kong Academy for Performing
Arts and Andrea Kozai (MSc, CSCS), Virtuoso Fitness
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