Article 1:
ISTD - “warm-up…why?”
“Whilst some injuries are true accidents in the sense of being unavoidable, many are the result of your body being unprepared for tasks that you have set it”
people are confused about what constitutes a good warm-up - some think barre is a warm up but this is false
for barre and set exercises you need to be sufficiently warm already to make the most out of the exercises and also prevent injuries
“A good warm-up is a group of exercises performed immediately before an activity that provides the body with a period of adjustment from rest to exercise”
It improves performance by preparing a dancer mentally and physically
It should increase elasticity of muscles and tendons allowing greater flexibility of the joints preventing injury. This is caused by blood situation which is why cold muscles are more susceptible to injury
You should increase breathing rate to take in more oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide
You should raise your heart rate to deliver more oxygen and glucose to the muscles for energy
you should increase your body temperature
you should activate and speed up the signals along motor nerves to allow quicker muscle contractions for faster, smoother movements (muscle engaging exercises)
you should focus and concentre your mind to avoid making mistakes that could result in an accident
increase range of movement in the joint
“A warm-up is necessary no matter how warm the environment. All the above benefits can be obtained by a warm-up routine that should include the following features in this order: -
• Gentle jogging, marching, skipping or similar rhythmical activity.
• Exercises of a steady rhythmical nature involving other joints of the body, such as gentle knee bends, arm swings, sways, trunk rotation, step ball change. None of these should reach end of range of movement at this stage so muscles and joints are not overstretched. Incorporating arm movements at this stage will accelerate the effects of the warm-up.
• Gentle stretches to the large muscle groups, holding each stretch for 10-15 seconds. An increase in flexibility through stretching may reduce the incidence of musculo-tendinous injuries.
Balance exercises, such as standing on one leg, then being able to control bending and straightening the supporting leg and rising on to demi-pointe.”
the fitter you are and the higher the level of your training, the longer warm up has to be to have the same effect.
The warm-up should be gradual and sufficient to increase muscle and core temperature without causing fatigue or reducing energy stores, and should not involve technical demands on the dance student (dictated)
Remember to consider that sometimes with a long day or rehearsals and performance, often the benefits of an early warm up may not still be there later on
COOL DOWN:
cooling down allows your body to wind down after activity gradually and return to a resting state as opposed to just stopping
interestingly, your body returns to its pre-exercise state more quickly if you perform light exercise during the recovery period than just stop. (dictated)
cooling down allows you to relax both mentally and physically. it helps the recovery process and prevents muscle soreness and tightness in following days.
Article 2:
Trinity Laban - Warm up and cool down for dancers
It is important to warm the body up in order to prepare it for longer, more intense movements. it also helps to relieve tension in the joints and muscles
by doing this you are ensuring you are able to dance without strain on the body
an ideal warm up gradually raises the body temperature to that of an optimum working condition
The cool down is just as important after dancing as this can help to reduce muscle soreness and speed up the recovery process after the activity.
a warm up should; prepare you mentally and physically, improve performance and reduce occurrence of injury, increase coordination and proprioception, raise heart rate and increase blood circulation, raise body temp, free joint movement, improve muscle actions, improve transmutation of nerve impulses.
a warm up shouldn’t tire you or contain anything too high impact with rapid change of direction
The movements should be controlled, continuous with the correct alignment to reduce the risk of injury (dictation)
A warm up should include exercises for ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows and wrists with 6-8 repetitions of each exercise
With the information I had found on these two websites, I decided to create some interview questions to ask fellow company members and also external dancers that ask them about their warm up and cool down regimes as well as how they manage their bodies on tour or in a work environment.
The questions I came up with were:
1) Do you think warm up/ cool down is important for dancers and why?
2) At what point in the day do you think is the optimum time for warm up?
3) How long do you think a warm up should last and what do you include in your daily warm up?
4) Do you think rest is important, and how often do you rest your body?
5) What is the first thing you do when you get a niggle?
6) Do you think it is harder to look after your body on tour and why?
7) Is there anything you do to prevent injury or stop niggles worsening?
8) How do you think you could look after your body bettie whilst on tour and manage time more effectively?
9) Do you think it is important to do preventative strengthening exercises to stop injuries occurring on tour?
I am going to ask these questions to 4 dancers within my company (2 males, 2 females) and also 2 dancers working for other companies.
Getting back to blogging will hopefully enable me to manage my time more effectively as I am aware time is running away very quickly.
