Cross-Training for Dancers
Any dance enthusiast will agree that dancers are the most incredible athletes ever. But they haven't always been thought of that way, and dance training and education has traditionally left out some important tools for maintaining strong, healthy bodies. Thankfully, that has been changing over recent years and dancers are increasingly treated as the elite athletes they truly are. One of the most fundamental tenets of any athletic training regimen is cross-training, and it is just as important in dance as it is in any other sport. Cross-training is the regular use of other forms of physical exercise in addition to an athlete's main activity. Using the same muscles in the same ways over and over repeatedly leads to overuse injuries such as muscle strains and tendonitis. (Think of the number of pliés a dancer does in the course of a week!) Engaging different muscles in different ways builds strength, coordination, and endurance, and helps prevent overuse injuries. Aero
