Getting those spins on point!
How controlled are your spins? Are you leaving yourself at risk for injury?
If you are a professional dancer, a performer, a weekend social dancer, a social media sensation, or simply dance for a hobby, improving your dance skills is a constant. Especially SPINS! Not only do we need to be working on the efficiency of our spins for our own performance and to reduce risk of injury to ourselves, but also for the sake of our dance partners.
Leads, follows, solo dancers…we all need to learn how to control balance and momentum in order to nail those reaches, spins, kiz tricks, and pirouettes. When we first learn spins we are all over the place, can I get a witness? So we practice keeping our center of mass over our feet, keeping free limbs close & controlled, spotting in front of a mirror, and subconsciously calculating force, direction, and friction on the floor. But what about what we can do inside our bodies to help protect ourselves from injury and perfect those spins, tricks, and all things on the dance floor?
While there are sooo many things to focus on, improving core strength takes it for the win!
In order for our bodies to create that perfectly controlled circle, our abdominal and core muscles must work to achieve the rotational momentum necessary along with our hip rotator muscles and stabilizers. Think about it, how else could we spin without pushing off of anything!? Try it. Stand on one leg, then without pushing off with your other leg…spin! See how your upper body turns first? It all stems for the CORE (aka. our trunk muscles…and how they coordinate with our hip muscles)!
Ok, blah blah blah…so why does this matter? Research shows that dancers (both recreational dancers and performers…especially performers with how much y’all put your bodies through) who demonstrate poor core and abdominal strength are at a higher risk of injury and actually sustain injuries more often (Russell, JA. 2013). Yikes! And you thought sit ups were over rated. Research also shows dancers who perform core exercises 3 days per week can significantly improve balance and performance with spins, reaches, relevé, and pirouette within 8 weeks of starting core training (Watson et al. 2017). So I think we have a real clear sign for ALL of us to immediately start improving our spin performance and reduce injury, both on and off the dance floor, just by hitting some sit ups and planks weekly. Just like that!
You may be thinking, ‘So what do I do Dr. Steph?’, glad you asked! Let’s break it down with some examples to strengthen together…
PLANK TIME! Make it more challenging by adding arm or leg movement. Hold for a minimum of 30 seconds.
Work those SIT UPS. Add a challenge by rotating your upper body.
RUSSIAN TWIST. Grab a weight and get to twisting!
SUPERMANS. Hold position or repeat motion up and down.
Remember…investing in you first is the only way we get to do more of what we love. I don’t know about you, but the dance floor is always calling my name and I never want to have to say no.
I’ll see you on the dance floor!…after your planks :)
Salud - Dr. Steph
RESTORE - INVEST - STRENGTHEN - EXPLORE