Realistically, if you’re a young person in your 20s (for example), you won’t actually “get out of shape” and lose muscle this quickly. Research suggests you’ll start to lose muscle 3–4 weeks after you are “inactive.” It’s also suggested that you can get back to your peak fitness level more quickly after a period of inactivity than when you originally started. 

Your body has the capacity to maintain a high level of fitness. The problem is your brain. You need to train your mind for resilience as well. 

Time off doesn’t have to stress you out

Being realistic with yourself about what you need is going to help you enjoy time off without stress. If you’re coming out of a season where you felt great physically and mentally, you might be motivated to simply keep up with your training and activity levels.

If the season wasn’t your best, you may need a longer period of true rest or time away from dance to recover mentally. This is something to give yourself permission to take, especially now that you know you won’t be instantly losing tons of strength. 

Use your time away from dance productively

Establishing goals for a level of productivity is going to help you feel good about the time off. It can mitigate any guilt you might create in your mind if you accomplish some things you find fulfilling.

Before you jump into action, give yourself time to truly reflect on what went well in your season and what you’d like to improve. This way you’ll be able to set goals and intentions around what you’d like to see shift in your next dancing season.

The truth might be that you want to fully disengage from dance for a period of time. If that’s the case, how will you find movement that’s enjoyable and motivating? 

• Try a new workout class
• Sign up to work with a personal trainer for dancers
• Consider health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching for direction, support, and accountability: book your coaching consultation here
• Get active with friends or family
• Plan for activities that involve movement that makes you feel good, like amusement park visits, museum trips, hikes, or swimming

As the season gets closer: 5 ways to feel more ready

When it comes closer to your next dancing season, work to feel prepared both mentally and physically.

• Get back into the studio.

If you’re still feeling resistance, find a friend to go with you. Maybe re-enter with a class that’s outside of your genre of focus. Keep it low stakes. No pressure to do 5 pirouettes on day one. Instead, give yourself permission to take baby steps towards your full dancing potential. 

You might begin by just taking barre or putting your pointe shoes on for 10 minutes at the end of class. Really think about what you can handle and how you can find inspiration as you get back into it slowly.

• Stay aware of stress surrounding your food choices.

Stressing out about what is the “right” thing to be eating or what amounts of food are “perfect” is counterproductive. It will only lead you down a path towards guilt and overthinking.

Instead, connect to what feels good about your food choices. Focus on foods and meals that provide your body with energy and easy digestion. The more you connect to mindful eating, the better you’ll get at meeting your body’s needs with ease. 

• Create a schedule that’s flexible but intentional. 

During the season, most dancers have very regimented schedules. Your rehearsal schedule is dictated to you, and you might have outside work hours that are set or consistent. 

Give yourself the flexibility in summer to make space for some spontaneity and extra time with friends or family. If someone invites you to go to the beach, you don’t want your workout plans to get in the way.

• Find support to create goals.

If your goal is to go back into your season feeling stronger and more prepared than when you started last season, the best way to accomplish that is to work backwards from the goal. 

It can’t just be about physical preparation. Keep in mind we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in shorter periods of time (days or weeks) and underestimate what we can accomplish with more time (months or years). 

If you’re struggling to find clarity on your goals or achieve them, coaching could provide the support and accountability you need to make your goals a sustainable reality. 

• Check in with your mindset. 

Your internal narrative and self-awareness have a huge impact on how you feel in your body. When dancers accept that some body change is normal and to be expected during time off, they’re much gentler with themselves. With this approach, you’re able to take the changes (which are usually small) in stride, which facilitates a much healthier approach as you get back into your dancing season. 

By avoiding extremes, the fluctuations come and go with ease. In terms of mental approach, if you let yourself let go of the attachment to always being “in shape,” you’ll have much greater odds of actually staying in shape. 

Remember, your perspective on your body is built in your mind…

As a dancer, you may have heard: your body is your instrument. And it is, but it’s also so much more. Your body is your home. It’s the place you’ll spend your entire life. 

When you find you’re feeling overly concerned about “being in shape,” it can be helpful to come back to the intention of caring for yourself. Above all else, you want to nourish and care for your body so you’ll feel your best from the inside out. 

For dancers, in a world that’s so aesthetically focused, it can be hard to come back to that intention on your own. If you’re struggling to put your well-being first, reach out. Start your coaching journey by scheduling a complimentary coaching consultation call here.

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Author of The New Rules of Cross Training for Dancers

Writing “The New Rules of Cross Training for Dancers” was a project that was very close to my heart. When I was dancing in college, I was constantly fighting with my body.

My professors would tell me I needed to lose weight, but I felt like no matter how hard I worked in the gym, I wasn’t seeing results. On top of that, I was frequently suffering minor injuries and was concerned about my ability to handle the workload of a professional dancer. I got really discouraged and started wondering if maybe I just wasn’t talented or disciplined enough to make it as a dancer.

I came across weight lifting somewhat by accident. I started dating the man who is now my husband and since I was trying not to go out to eat all the time, we would go on “gym dates” instead. He showed me how to use some of the free weights and machines, and it was a lot more fun than using the elliptical.

I started lifting weights with him a few times a week and within only a month, I saw drastic changes in my body. I hadn’t changed my eating, but I looked leaner and more defined.

I also saw improvement in my technique. My balances were more stable, my partnering was more secure, my jumps were bigger, and my extensions were higher. Over time, my injuries got fewer and fewer as well.

Although I was ecstatic to have found this magic cure-all, I had some questions. Why hadn’t anyone told me to do this? Why aren’t other dancers doing this? Unfortunately, there are still some myths around weight lifting that are preventing dancers from incorporating it into their cross training, the main one being that lifting weights will make them bulky.

The truth is, women don’t produce as much testosterone as men, so we don’t put on muscle like men do. Even when we do put on muscle, it looks different on us than it does on them. Putting on muscle means you’ll look more like a professional dancer, not like a bodybuilder. There’s no chance of you getting bulky by following the kind of program I’m recommending.

Another benefit of having more muscle is that it increases your resting metabolic rate, meaning you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not exercising. You would have to do twice as much cardio to burn the same number of calories as you would in a weight lifting workout.

Weight lifting makes it easier to maintain a lower body fat percentage without cutting calories. Dancers are athletes, and it’s important to fuel your body. If you’re continuously putting yourself in a caloric deficit, it’s just a matter of time before you get injured.

Many dancers use cardio machines with the goal of losing fat. After I became a personal trainer, I learned that this is not only ineffective, but may be putting you further from your goals.

Doing high amounts of cardio (e.g. 60 min sessions) sends a signal to your body that you want to get better at endurance activities. From a survival perspective, two things have to happen for your body to improve its endurance. First, it’s not advantageous for your body to have a lot of muscle for endurance activities, so you won’t put on muscle and may even decrease muscle volume. Second, your metabolism will slow down so you burn fuel more efficiently. If cardio is the basis of your cross training program, you would have to keep increasing the amount of cardio you do and keep decreasing your calories, which is a bad idea for dancers already engaging in high amounts of activity.

“The New Rules of Cross Training for Dancers” teaches dancers how to lift weights and incorporate cardio in a way that is relevant to the demands of dancing and will improve both aesthetics and performance. You will learn how to execute each of the six most important compound movements of weight lifting as well as how to structure your workout plan and track your progress. Detailed explanations of each movement and pictures are included to get you started correctly.

Another important aspect of training I discuss in the book is how to properly warm up. I completed a certification in corrective exercise that taught me a lot about muscular balance and how to create a routine based on the individual’s alignment to get the body ready to move. By using a routine like this regularly, you can prevent alignment issues from turning into an injury. The book goes in depth about the difference between under-active and overactive muscles and how to address both of these to restore proper movement patterns. These concepts were a game-changer for me, and I believe these can really help other dancers stay injury free as well.

My goal in writing “The New Rules of Cross Training for Dancers” was to help dancers transition smoothly into college dance programs and the professional world. Weight lifting can help you maintain the dancer aesthetic, improve technically, and prevent injury, all of which are some of the most common frustrations of dance. This is a method of training that completely changed my career trajectory and mindset, and it can change yours, too. Are you ready to take the next step in your training?

Check out The New Rules of Cross Training for Dancers on Amazon

About the author: Annelise Eastes is a professional dancer with a BFA in Ballet Performance from Butler University as well as a personal trainer certified by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the American Council on Exercise. She is also a Corrective Exercise Specialist certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

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Are you ready to make healthy choices more easily and consistently?

If you’re on a grocery shopping budget or strapped for time, this challenge is for you.

The post Healthy Choices : A key to your best body appeared first on The Whole Dancer.