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Position:Home>Dancing> Should dancers work out? *best answer WILL be chosen*?Question:ok im a 13 year old female dancer and i am not sure if i should go to the gym and work out or not. im afraid that it will make my muscles bulky instead of long and lean! (i have great legs :] ) i am asking this question because i dont have my leg extensions and it is driving me absolute CRAZY! haha. if i should work out how many days a week (i already dance everyday) and for how many hours. what work outs help strengthen the muscles needed for leg extensions?! and any other tips on extensions would be GREATLY appriciated! *best answer will be chosen! thanks! Jessie Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: ok im a 13 year old female dancer and i am not sure if i should go to the gym and work out or not. im afraid that it will make my muscles bulky instead of long and lean! (i have great legs :] ) i am asking this question because i dont have my leg extensions and it is driving me absolute CRAZY! haha. if i should work out how many days a week (i already dance everyday) and for how many hours. what work outs help strengthen the muscles needed for leg extensions?! and any other tips on extensions would be GREATLY appriciated! *best answer will be chosen! thanks! Jessie im a ballet dancer myself. I dance with a second company right now and i have to tell you that cross training is very important. Pilates is akways good but my favorite is bikhram yoga. It might be too hard to do at your age but in a couple of years it will really help. Its the hot hot yoga that makes you sweat alot! It helps with flexibility! Like I said cross training will make you a stronger dancer and at the same time prevent injuries. I dont have great extensions either. You can go to target and buy a tire tube thing for a bycicle. It might sound weird but it is basically a long rubber band. You can use it to stretch your extensions especially your arabesque. And yes you dont want bulky muscles but dont worry you are still young! Learn to work with your inner thighs as opposed to using your quads.this is extremely hard, i have alot of trouble myself! Ok well good luck with everything and keep stretching!! Actually stretching builds muscle mass in a different way then dancing alone.. I read an article in womans health magazine last month (or was it the month before) that said that when you stretch it increases muscle tone 3-5%. If you're already dancing every day you're probably very toned already, you could try adding cardio that would overlap your love of dancing - something like a Jazzercise or Zumba class. A pilates class may also be something you could enjoy, helps build long, lean muscles but also builds strength. Hope this helps! If you don't want to bulk up, but want to do some good toning/strengthening exercises, make sure to do lots of reps with light weights. It is heavy weight that will make you bulk up. I wouldn't work any part of my body seriously more than twice a week. If you are efficient in the gym then 30 minutes should be more than enough. Getting good extensions can be as simple as doing more stretching. Maybe you can ask one of your dance instructors what s/he would suggest. I'd also recommend a consult with a trainer at your gym to get you on the right track and to teach you how to do the exercises properly. Good luck and keep dancing! listen to DisforDeon goign to the gym at your age isnt bad..... but i wouldnt recommend it. You get all the exercise you need by dancing. Honestly the only reason why gyms exist nowadays is to give ppl a place to achieve looking their best. Yes it helps ppl lose weight (but there's other methods of losing weight, like dancing) but thanks to the media, it has put pressure on most ppl to get those sexy abs, when in all truth, the only reason why you'd need your abs looking like that would be for a photoshoot. And yeah do yoga to increase flexibility and stretch. She pretty much called it ummm, well i would advise doing pilates. It strengthens the muscles that dancers use the most, but doesn't make them all bulky. At my dance studio, they recently made it a mandatory class for company members, and it has helped me a lot!! I hope it helps you too! Good luck! Yes, working out is the best thing to do, you just need to know how to do it correctly. I am a dancer, not much older than you, and I have been going to the gym for a year, and it has improved me so much. most of the stuff that i do, helps streching, but also strengthens at the same time. I work my inner thighs in a turned out position to help with my jumps, and i go onto machines that have back strenghteners so that I can have a really strong core for pirouettes and turns. You can also ask for your gyms list of classes, so you can have a REAL PROFESSIONAL work on your leg extensions, so you don't hurt yourself and have to skip classes. Since your schedual is pretty busy, I would reccomend an hour class of yoga at least once a week and an hour and a half of body strengthening a week.That can mean that you can go to the gym for 15 minutes a day, and have a specific area to work on, or you can do it all in one visit. Hope this helped!!! When I was younger, I was an INTENSE ballet student. Myself and my fellow dancers were restricted from working out. Our ballet mistress feared we would become too athletic looking. I listened to her and never worked out. I regret it so much now. Work out, go to the gym, run...do what ever you want. If you don't want to get bulky do lots of stretching (yoga is good). But remember, physically it is hard for females to bulk up. So, unless you are doing some extreme weightlifting, you should be okay. |