Different Forms of Supplementary Training

There are SO many different types of supplementary training and it is often seen as an overwhelming subject and one where dancers just don't know where to begin. But through research I have found that supplementary training is a very individual subject and there is not one formula for everyone. Everyone's body is different and we all work in different ways therefore so will our supplementary training routines. 

 When thinking about how to approach your body conditioning you should consider:

 - Your areas of physical weaknesses 
- Past injuries 
- Your current workload 
- Dance technique weaknesses

 Different forms of conditioning:

 Pilates: A brand name for a system of physical exercise involving controlled movements, stretching and breathing.

 Good for:
- Targetting smaller muscles and muscles groups that may be more difficult to    isolate 
- Strengthen individual areas of weaknesses
- Low impact form of conditioning 
- Creating a mind-body connection
- Helping hypermobile dancers improve control
‘I have found that in engaging in an activity such as Pilates, I am stabilising the small and hard to reach muscles that I cannot target in dancing ballet'. Skylar Brandt. 
Yoga: a set of physical and mental exercises, originally from India, intended to give control over the body and mind. 

 Good for:
- Increasing flexibility
- Improving upper body strength 
- Helping improve balance 
- Relieving stress and encouraging relaxation

'I found it really good for stability because there’s quite a few balances and also I did hot yoga which I found was really good for releasing muscles.' Dancer A







Plyometrics: exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power.

 Good for:
- Improving muscle power
- Helping allegro work 
- Improving muscle definition 
- Encouraging quick muscular reflexes 

 'I did plyometrics for a little bit and found that it really helped my allegro and .... being able to travel and move fast so I found that when I was actually doing a lot of plyometrics it dramatically helped.' Dancer A

 In terms of dance technique I have conduced what I have found from research from literature as well as talking to other dancers and have put together a list of which type of training would be most beneficial for improving individual areas of dance technique.








Pilates - Increase the ability of holding turnout, improve posture and alignment. 
Yoga - Improve flexibility and adage (sustained flexibility), improve balance, relax after a performance 
Plyometrics - Increase jump height for grande allegro, improve fast food work in petit allegro and batterie. 

Conversation starters:
What types of supplementary training do you find beneficial or detrimental to your training/performance and why?
Do you agreedisagree with the points written about in this blog post?















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