Principles Of Training

As dancer we are always looking to improve not only our technique but our overall fitness, flexibility and aspects pertaining to our physiology. A way in which we can do this is by Progressive Overload. This means in order to grow stronger/better at something we have to increase the intensity of a particular exercise so that we improve. If we kept on training at the same level after a certain time there would be no gain and the exercise would be useless. We shouldn't just increase the intensity though; We should change the frequency (how often we do it) and time (how long we do it for). Here is a helpful anagram to help me remember:

Frequency - How often
Intensity - How hard
Time - How long
Type - What it is

An example of an exercise we did in the session was the plank. We had to first plank for 30 seconds and rest, 1 minute and rest, 1.30s and rest then 2 minutes. This involved us using our cores strength as well as our muscular endurance to sustain this pose. This was a good exercise because it helped to strengthen many areas of my body however as dancers we have to focus on not only our muscles but our hearts as well. We also did a warm up that challenged our cardiovascular fitness. It is very important that we improve on our stamina so we can dance for long periods of time.

Here is a link to a website I did some research on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/pe/exercise/1_exercise_principles_rev1.shtml