Develop Super Stamina!

Stamina is the ability to maintain your energy & strength for an existing period of time.

For dancers, stamina is our best friend or worst enemy.

Have you ever started a routine off so strong with perfect technique and amazing jumps to find you start to fade out at the end? This is stamina playing a game with you!

Stamina is something you must build and continue to work on your entire dance career. Professional athletes and dancers train themselves to peak just near a performance or a race so they are at their strongest.

You can build your stamina by doing cross training, or in other words, a variety of different exercises, which are not always dance related. The more you work your cardiovascular strength the better you train your body to deliver oxygen to your muscles so they can work more efficiently and stay stronger for longer.

Here are some exercises you can do to help you start to track the level of your stamina at the moment and begin to improve on it:

Skipping

Skipping is an excellent dancer's tool! It's cheap, doesn't take up room in your dance bag and you can do it in your backyard!
Try this:
Put on your solo music or your favorite routine song. Try skipping non-stop the whole way through. Remember to land LIGHTLY! How did you do? Measure your heart rate for a few weeks & see if your body gets stronger and fitter fast!

Bike Riding

It can be stationary or outside and is one of he easiest ways to build up your stamina while giving your legs a rest from the ground. Work to cycle hard for 15 minutes and increase your time 5 minutes every day.

Swimming

Swimming is great for dancers because it gives your body relief from the impact of the floor, It also involves another important tool a dancer must learn to use - control over our breathing. Swim a couple of laps in the pool concentrating on your breathing being controlled. So many dancers forget to breathe when they focused on learning & executing the dance steps. So, learning in the water to control your oxygen intake is an excellent way to become attuned to your body.

I love to hear from you! Let me know if you tried any of these ideas. How did it work for you? Do you have other things that have worked well for you?

Until next month~
Keep it positive!
~Miss Kelley
www.TheDance-Central.com