Nutrition
Stamina

Stamina
Stamina is defined as the ability to maintain a high performance level for the maximum length of time. Your stamina can be impacted in the short term by your diet and how much (and what type of) fuel energy that you have taken on board which can be easily used by the body during a competition. However, in the longer term your level of stamina will be driven by your physical training which will build your body's ability to cope with the effects on your heart, lungs an muscles that dancing inflicts.

Most forms of stamina training over emphasise the lower body and don’t encourage muscle strength and stamina in the shoulders and arms. The effect on heart and lungs is beneficial, but can cause over development of legs, with no improvement in your ability to hold a good ‘frame’ and this is usually the first area to show fatigue. Thus, probably the safest and most appropriate form of stamina training is dancing! Dancing non-stop for 20 minutes 2-3 times a week will increase both stamina and strength, but remember to keep the arms above shoulder height. If you choose to workout down the gym, then when you run, raise your arms above shoulder height as well.

Strength
Increasing your level of strength can easily be mis-interpreted and care must be taken to ensure that any muscle development that you are seeking to obtain is beneficial to your dancing and will not have a detrimental effect. If you only have dancing as your chosen form of exercise, then you could be at risk of uneven muscle development or specific muscle weaknesses. On the flip side, if you work extensively down the gym, then there exists the danger that you could be building excess muscle which can reduce mobility and flexibility. If you consider that either of these scenarios applies to you then it would be advisable to be examined by a suitable practitioner before remedial exercises are started, otherwise you can do yourself more harm than good.
Two points that will be helpful to remember...
If you want to use weights, then use lighter weights with a greater number of repetitions as this will build stamina rather than muscle bulk.

Abdominal muscles can rarely be too strong and very frequently are too weak!! But beware of badly designed exercises which cause excessive arching of the spine. ALWAYS keep the back flat on the floor.

Flexibility/Co-ordination
Very often flexibility training is not given the attention that it deserves. However, regular stretching will not only make a dancer less liable to injury, it will ensure that a youthful elasticity is maintained. All dancers dread the onset of the ‘ironing board’ rigidity that can creep up as the years pass! It is this more than any other factor that visually marks out age.

Warm up
Regular ‘warming up’ can be a very useful addition to any dancer’s training regime, irrespective of the level at which they perform. Contrary to popular belief, there is much more to it than just raising the body temperature! The key functions of warming up include...

- Improves the blood supply to muscles, allowing increased flexibility and power with less injury risk. This benefit also applies to the muscle tissue of the heart.

- Encourages a gradual increase in the lubrication and flexibility of the joints, reducing the chances of damage and early arthritic changes

- Expands the rib cage and lungs to maximise breathing capacity
Starts the chemical and nervous processes which cause an increase in the hormone Adrenaline. This is responsible for many of the reactions of the body to fear and excitement, temporarily increasing power and concentration.

So, to sum up, please remember the following:
- Warm up before lessons and practice (not just competitions). This applies to teachers and pupils alike.
- Warm up before each round of a competition
- Keep moving between rounds also, in order to keep muscles warm and flush waste products which accumulate during strenuous activity.
-After competitions and long practice sessions it is important to warm down by repeating the exercise, especially those for the legs. This will reduce muscle aching on the following day, and allow a faster return to full form - very relevant when competitions stretch across more than one day.