Nutcracker Season: Strength Training Essentials (and ONLY the Essentials)
I’m working with a dancer remotely who not only is responsible for dancing with her contemporary ballet company, but also for gearing up for some guest appearances all the way across the country in December. She knows she’s going to be tired, but she also knows that she needs to stay strong and powerful.
From a programming perspective, here are the problems I am trying to solve:
Limited time and energy
The need to stay explosive
Probably accumulation of fatigue in the legs specifically
Training in a commercial gym
Trying to break through a plateau on the dumbbell chest press
In our experience at Present Tense, most professional dancers only have two days a week to devote to “cross training,” so I wrote this dancer a two-day program.
Day One
(A) Dumbbell split jerk (3x5 each side)
(B) Dumbbell chest press (3x5)
(C) Seated cable row (4x10)
Day Two
(A) Dumbbell snatch (3x5)
(B) Dumbbell seated overhead press (3x5)
(C) Lat pulldown (4x10)
The first thing you’ll maybe notice is that there are no traditional “leg only” exercises. My goal was to preserver this dancer’s power—remember that strength and endurance are fairly resilient traits, but power declines rapidly if we don’t train it—so that’s why you see those (A) exercises, but no squats, lunges, or deadlift variations.
The second thing you’ll notice is that the volume is really low for these workouts. That low volume allows us to preserve power, actually increase strength, but allow for the rest and recovery she needs to get through this part of the season. When I said “increase strength,” that’s exactly what I mean. She’s hit a bit of a plateau on her dumbbell chest press, and so I’m using this program as an opportunity to help her break through that. The lesson here is that constraints in programming often create windows to work on things we otherwise might not. In her case, since we’re already trying to keep volume low, why not work a lower repetition range at a heavier weight?
The third thing you’ll notice is that these exercises are simple, and the equipment needed to execute them available in every commercial gym I’ve ever been in. We must consider logistics when programming for dancers because few of them have access to the types of gyms athletes usually train in. Considering logistics is integral to a strength coach’s life. Writing a perfect program that a person can’t actually work through because of equipment or space limitations is not at all helpful or wise.
What You Can Do
If you’re a dancer or someone who cares for dancers, you can use a similar framework through Nutcracker season.
(A) Choose a full body, explosive power movement
(B) Upper body push
(C) Upper body pull
In and out of the gym in about 45 minutes, including warmup. That means more time for class, rehearsal, and continuing to carve out a life outside of the studio.