Navigating Commercial Gyms for Dancers

Dancers should have teams—dietitians, strength coaches, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and mental health professionals. What goes along with that, in an ideal world, are facilities designed for dancers to train at the very highest levels of athletic achievement. The reality is that dancers often neither have teams nor facilities designed around their physical and mental needs. A professional ballet dancer might find herself navigating a large commercial gym—at peak hours even—as she tries to develop strength, explosiveness, and conditioning. This is less than ideal, but if you keep these ideas in mind you can navigate those large spaces more easily.

At Present Tense, we’re helping multiple dancers navigate new cities and new companies, so this is at the top of my mind.

The closest gym might be better than the best gym

The first thing I do when a dancer needs guidance on finding a gym where she can train is identify the closest facilities possible. So much of what’s difficult about preparing physically for the rigors of dance is about finite time, and so when it comes to finding a training facility I really prioritize this. If there’s a Planet Fitness within walking distance or a ten-minute drive, that might be preferable to a better-equipped facility 20-minutes away. First, you’re more likely to go to a gym that’s closer, and second, shaving off 40 minutes of commute time gives you more space to cook, socialize, clean, and sleep.

Prioritize space over machines

Commercial gyms are slowly changing, probably in large part because of the influence of Crossfit, but many of them still have far too many machines taking up far too much space. Ideally you’d have access to multiple squat racks and plenty of open space in which to jump and hop, but in less than ideal circumstances you want to choose the gym space that has the most free weight selection and the biggest space. A small, cramped facility full of machines isn’t going to do a dancer nearly as much good as a space designed for movement.

Find a space, and hold it

Training in a commercial gym isn’t fun, but training in a commercial gym during peak hours is really no fun. If you find yourself working out along with every bro who posts pics of himself flexing on Facebook, then one plan you can use is to pick a dumbbell or a kettlebell and take yourself through a circuit using just one tool. This is why learning a movement-based system of training—squat, hinge, push, pull—is helpful. If you only know exercises, but don’t understand what kind of movement that exercise is, it can be difficult to improvise when someone leaves trinkets on four different pieces of equipment while claiming they’re doing one giant superset. (This actually happens).

Find a Crossfit-style gym—but don’t take their classes

One of the more dangerous things that I think dancers at the professional level do is sign up for random fitness classes. Okay, so dangerous might be too strong of a word, but if my livelihood depended on my body operating at a high level, the last thing I would want to do is to take my body through a random set of movements designed for accountants, bookkeepers, and stay-at-home parents. For most of us, taking classes will work just fine. We get a sweat. We get to hang out with people we enjoy. We get to listen to some good playlists. But for an athlete, the randomness should be considered unacceptable.

However, if you can find a Crossfit-style gym, these facilities often will provide solid training environments, and many of them will let you join for a discounted price if all you want is “open gym” (and not programming or classes). Another hack you can use to find a place like that is to use “sports performance” in your map’s search function.

Keep Training

The most important advice if you’re a dancer arriving in a new city or your company doesn’t have dedicated training space for you is that strength training shouldn’t be considered optional. By now we know the benefits are numerable, the risks negligible (particularly with good coaching and programming), and the efficiencies extraordinary. You need to be strength training. If gyms aren’t plentiful, choose an apartment based on whether it has even a small gym. If your only option is an LA Fitness—join. If longevity is something you desire, and if dancing with less pain is something that would help you express yourself artistically, then strength training must be a part of your consideration when navigating a new city. Don’t make it an afterthought.