Question about maintaining abilities.

B

bosharpe1

New Member
Hello there!

This is my first post. I've just discovered I can move, am flexible and have good coordination after 32 years of life!

I'm not really a conventional dancer and don't want to professionally pursue it. I am however two years into my journey to become a slapstick comedian, clown and physical theatre performer. I'm a little late to the party but I'd really like to maintain (and even improve) my agility, flexibility and stamina through the next 20 years of my life so I can use this new found love and hopefully keep doing it.

Is it possible, and is there any practical advice would you offer, like areas of the body to strengthen or pitfalls to be weary of?

I'm a male, I already eat well. Don't drink. I walk long distances often.
 
Another program to look into is Classical Stretch / The Esmonde Technique / Essentrics. Taught and first developed by Miranda Esmonde-White. Also now taught by her daughter Sahra, and a few other instructors. They have a variety of videos available, for purchase (DVD), online streaming membership, and also frequently are broadcast on PBS stations.

They are really good at working all parts of the body to maintain flexibility, mobility, and strength. Some programs are slower paced, others are faster paced, and the focus varies, so if the first one you try isn't your style, try another.

The programs are taught by fit women, but they do work with male and female athletes from all sports, including hockey, soccer, etc, so don't think that their videos are just for women. They are excellent for anyone looking to keep their whole body working.

For stamina, look into regular walking, biking, running, swimming etc in addition. But start with the mobility work, IMO, to make sure you stay limber. Lots of walking, biking, running without any stretching can make you strong, but stiff!
 
Much appreciated. I'll check her out. I try and walk for 8 hours a week. I'm going to start running too.

Is there a particular dvd of Miranda's you like?
 
bosharpe1 said:
Much appreciated. I'll check her out. I try and walk for 8 hours a week. I'm going to start running too.

Is there a particular dvd of Miranda's you like?
Click to expand...

My needs are likely different than yours in detail. But Miranda's season 4 DVD of Classical stretch has a nice variety and is a good place to start. All of her full season DVD sets have 24-30 episodes in them. So they give you a big variety of workouts (though with lots of overlap from one episode to the next) on a single season DVD set.

Her website has recommendations for various DVDs appropriate for various situations here, on the page "for beginners" - it has beginner tips (start slow, listen to you body, etc) as well as which DVDs to start with depending on your situation:
https://www.essentrics.com/Beginners.html

And if you're not sure, the streaming membership might be a way to sample a whole lot of things before deciding on a particular DVD or a few of them. There is a sale on at the moment, I think, so if you do like DVDs vs streaming, now is a good time to buy a DVD or two. There is a lot of info (including some short free videos) on the Classical Stretch / Essentrics websites. Poke around a see what looks good to you!

Hope that helps!
 
Cardio and squats and lunges get the blood flowing and warm up the muscle groups needed for most of the ballroom dances. On days where I manage to squeeze in a gym session before a lesson, I do noticeably better.
 
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