Dancers training under cloud of uncertainty
Last weekend it occurred to me that one of the reasons I’ve had trouble writing about fitness at my usual, pre-COVID pace is that I know many of the dancers and dance medicine professionals who might follow this blog are themselves facing an uncertain future. Seasons up in the air, the potential for lockdowns to resume (particularly here in the United States, where our response to the pandemic has highlighted all of the deep flaws in our overconfident system), and a general feeling of loss for artists who need at a cellular level to perform for live audiences. It’s all a lot.
My aim here is to give people concrete actions they can take right now. These suggestions are as much about what they can give you emotionally as they are about physical training. What I’ve seen among some dancers is a gap between what they need emotionally and what they have access to emotionally because, for dancers, movement isn’t optional.
As a coach, one of my jobs is to help bridge that gap with actionable items that are realistic in the world we’re living in right now. What follows are four suggested strength and conditioning approaches dancers can adopt during the global pandemic to keep them prepared for what’s ahead.
Targeted Technique Work
I’ve written a lot about how one of the most important ways that the dance world could improve the health of artists is through eliminating a lot of the random stress that comes from mindlessly taking classes. Especially if you’re facing an uncertain return to the stage, one way you can ameliorate some of the anxiety around the pandemic while setting yourself up for an eventual return is to identify current gaps in your technique and focus most of your attention on those.
There are two reasons for this. First, focusing on a specific technique area will give you an identifiable, digestible goal on which to focus. Rather than the monotony of several Zoom classes in a week, dialing in on something specific will feel less tedious because you can hold yourself accountable for improvement. Noticing wins is one of the most important aspects of sustainability based on everything we know about coaching change (which largely comes from the addiction world). If you’re just randomly taking Zoom classes, boredom will rack up quickly because it’s difficult to notice improvement from week to week. But improving développé height and technique, for example, is something measurable and specific that can help anchor your work.
Second, identifying a specific technique goal allows you to take advantage of an opportunity dancers don’t often get, which is the time to home in on something specific while giving their body much-needed rest. One of the reasons it can be difficult for dancers at every level to improve some specific area dramatically is simply a lack of time and energy. In that sense, it’s not necessarily just a “make lemonade out of lemons” argument but a recognition of reality. Hopefully we won’t face another global situation like this in our lifetimes, so it makes sense to try to carve out something positive it at all possible.
Identify a Bodyweight Exercise Goal
A lot of dancers in the United States still aren’t able to return to their gyms safely, so they’re facing the difficult task of working out at home, often without equipment. (Let me use this as an opportunity to say, if you haven’t purchased equipment now is a great time to get on a waiting or notification list to be able to purchase before winter. If things lock down again because of a second wave, you don’t want to be stuck in the same position where everything is sold out.)
Bodyweight workouts can be monotonous and boring, but not if you’re working toward a specific goal. One of the best people out there putting out good work is Meghan Callaway, whose push up and pull-up programs offer rigorous, systematic methodology for unlocking bodyweight achievements. The arguments for identifying specific bodyweight goals are the same as why choosing a specific technique goal can be helpful. We know from the world of change psychology that when people are able to identify victories along the way using specific and measurable goals that they’re more likely to stay consistent.
Acquire a Strength Training Skill
One training tool from which I think almost every dancer could benefit is the kettlebell. Living in a studio apartment? No time to get to the gym? Having one or two kettlebells—and knowing how to get an effective workout from them—could be the difference between sustainable strength and falling off. Kettlebell experts like Justice Williams, who operates out of Brookline, Massachusetts, can help you break down and master exercises like the kettlebell swing, snatch, and clean. And he can also help you think through programming and developing strength and conditioning complexes using just one kettlebell.
Dancers are used to working technique in their art, but particularly for people who don’t have a lot of strength training experience, this can be an opportune time for developing skills that can last a lifetime. It’s difficult to think beyond what the next month or year will bring, but if you can master something like the kettlebell now then you’ll be putting yourself in a position to benefit from this tool the rest of your life.
Sprint, Jump, Land
Without access to gym equipment (get on a waiting list now!), dancers are faced with the prospect of losing their power. It’s the athletic attribute most likely to fade quickly with an extended layoff. Thankfully, developing power doesn’t require equipment as long as you thoughtfully sprint, jump, and land.
While I’m not a fan of slow jogging for dancers, I do think sprinting holds great promise. It’s an area of athleticism that I’ve been researching specifically for dance populations, and I think the posterior chain development required for sprinting could yield great benefits for artists. Just as with lifting weights, you want to make sure that you’re learning the skill involved in the work. Sprinting is SUCH an explosive movement that injury could result if you’re not mindful. Experts like Les Spellman have made careers out of making athletes like football and rugby players faster. And while a ballet dancer need not prepare for a 40-yard test at a combine, the mechanics involved with getting faster could be beneficial because the process of getting faster will target muscle groups often neglected by traditional dance training. Sprinting could fill one of the dancer’s buckets that is often neglected, which is the entire point of “cross training.”
Jumping and landing, paired with sprinting, would help dancers ensure that they are maintaining and even developing their athleticism, even while locked out of commercial gyms. There’s an unusually pedantic commenter on my Instagram feed who joked once about why I say jump and land, when it’s obvious that when someone jumps that they have to land. The point is that the landing itself is as important as the jumping because deceleration is where the preponderance of injuries happen. (Here is a good way of thinking about jumping and landing without equipment.)
No one can predict what the next several months are going to bring. But if you’re able to identify specific and measurable goals, you’ll be in a better position to stay in shape and even develop new skills. Most importantly, remember that you’re not alone and that if you’re feeling anxiety over the uncertainty of your career or a return to live audiences, it doesn’t mean you’re flawed. It means you’re human.