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Monika Volkmar, Dance Personal Trainer Photo: courtesy Monika Volkmar |
~Monika Volkmar, Dance Personal trainer
Over the holidays I hired a personal trainer to help me with my Irish dance diet. I want to do this right, and balance good eating with strength training and cardio health. It's going great. I feel good, I'm losing fat and I'm strengthening my body. I'm going to a better Irish dancer!
Month 3
Weight:
Weight lost:
Muscle gained: 4 pounds
Total fat loss:
As I've been getting into personal training, I ran into Monika Volkmar, a personal trainer who specializes in dancers. I've asked her to answer some questions for us Irish dancers. She's very enthusiastic and I think you'll enjoy her advice.
Christy: Why is strength training an important part of a dancer's health?
Monika: Making a dancer stronger requires a more wholistic approach, taking the mind and body into consideration. And though there are many, many reasons for dancers to strength train, my top 3 reasons are: to correct muscle imbalances, to gain full body strength, and to improve technical execution. By becoming stronger, dancers can also improve elements of their technique, such as jumps, leg height, upper body carriage, turns and balance.
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Monika Volkmar, Dance Personal Trainer Photo: courtesy Monika Volkmar |
Christy: Can you recommend some strength training exercises that may be helpful for Irish dancers?
Monika: I’m not going to pretend that I’m an expert on training Irish dancers(my training being mostly in ballet, modern and jazz dance). I can say that Irish dancers would benefit from strengthening the anterior core, hip extensors, and upper back, while working on ankle mobility.
Upper back strength will help to maintain the upright posture of the shoulders. Developing a strong pair of glutes to extend the hips is of utmost importance. Your hips are where your power comes from so you must learn to use them!
I also understand that the posterior calf becomes quite shortened, and tight due to the fact that you’re constantly on your toes. It is, therefore, important to maintain mobility of the ankle to prevent things like shin splints, ankle sprains, Achilles tendinitis, and knee issues. Using a lacrosse ball to massage the calves, simple ankle mobility drills, and strengthening the tibialis anterior should be part of every Irish dancer’s self-care routine
Monika demonstrating the deadlift, which works core, glutes, hamstrings and upper back.
Here are some of my favourite strengthening exercises:
Squats: core, glutes, quads, upper back.
Deadlifts: (my favourite): core, glutes, hamstrings, upper back
Single leg Romanian deadlifts: single leg hip stability, core strength, glute and hamstring strength
Single leg Romanian deadlifts: single leg hip stability, core strength, glute and hamstring strength
Row variations: Upper back.
YWT: Lower/middle traps, external shoulder rotators, scapular stability
Plank: Core strength
(note: Monika has videos for all of the above exercises on her YouTube Channel, including the one above)
Christy: What suggestions do you have for adult dancers?
Monika: As you age, you begin to lose muscle and strength, and joints become compromised, making you more at risk for injury. My advice: if you don’t already strength train, start now! Try to maintain mobility at the ankles, hips, and shoulders, and constantly work on stability of the knee, scapulae, and core. The older you get, recovery from injuries becomes more and more timely, so prevention is your best bet.
Most importantly, pay attention to your posture outside dance class and the gym.
And keep dancing! It’s good exercise for the heart, and keeps your brain sharp. Oh, and it’s fun too.
Christy: Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us, Monika.
To find out more information about Monika's dance strength training program, visit The Dance Training Project website.
Christy: Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us, Monika.
To find out more information about Monika's dance strength training program, visit The Dance Training Project website.
That's got to be some hard-core training! I'm not a dancer, but I'm trying to get healthier. I'm attempting Zumba for fun right now, and really loving it!
ReplyDeleteZumba is so dang fun! I put my back out and can't do all of the hip action going on at Zumba class. I sure miss it! Yes, the training is pretty hard core and I'm finally seeing results with it!
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