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Strength Training for dancers is a topic that is met with resistance in some dance circles, although recent investigations revealed that dancers were more open to the idea as compared to their teachers. Reasons for this resistance relates to the myths that strength training will make muscles bulky and/or negatively affect a dancer’s flexibility.
This blog post will explain why these long held beliefs are not true, if one follows some basic tenets of strength training. The science behind building muscle and building strength is well established, and while it also depends on your individual genetics, there are some clear protocols to adhere to. Science has also shown us that one of the most effective ways of strength training muscles is also one of the most efficient ways of lengthening muscle fibers. How about that!
The Myth: Bulky vs. Lean Muscles
The misconception that strength training leads to bulky muscles is rooted in several misunderstandings about exercise physiology, particularly concerning the way different training methods impact muscle size and appearance. The fear of bulky muscles impeding a dancer's flexibility and grace is often based on these misconceptions. Here are some key points to consider:
Muscle Hypertrophy vs. Strength Training:
Strength training and muscle hypertrophy are related but distinct concepts. While strength training can contribute to muscle hypertrophy, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who engages in strength training will develop bulky muscles.
Strength training primarily focuses on improving the body's ability to produce force. This can involve lifting heavier weights, performing fewer repetitions, and longer rest periods.
Genetic Factors
The extent to which muscle hypertrophy is influenced by genetic factors. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to develop larger muscles more easily than others. Therefore, one person's response to strength training may differ significantly from another's.
Training Variables
Specific training variables, such as the number of sets, repetitions, and rest intervals, play a crucial role in determining the outcomes of strength training. Programs designed for muscle hypertrophy typically involve higher volume (more sets and repetitions) and shorter rest periods.
Flexibility and Grace
Contrary to the misconception, proper strength training can enhance flexibility and grace. Strengthening the muscles around joints can provide better support and stability, leading to improved range of motion and control. Additionally, strength training can enhance overall body awareness and control, which are essential for graceful movement.
Balanced Training
A well-designed strength training program can be tailored to suit the specific needs of dancers. This includes focusing on functional movements, core strength, and muscle endurance rather than solely on building muscle mass.
The Reality: Strength Training for Lean, Functional Muscles
Strength training can indeed be used to develop lean, functional muscles without necessarily leading to bulk. It's essential to understand the distinctions between various types of strength training, particularly the difference between bodybuilding and dance specific functional strength training. Here's how strength training can promote lean, functional muscles and why it differs from bodybuilding:
Dance Specific Functional Strength Training:
Dance Specific Functional Strength Training: Focuses on improving the body's ability to perform dance related movements efficiently. This includes activities like jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, holding and carrying, essential for dance performance.
Muscle Recruitment: Functional strength training, in general, emphasizes engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously, promoting a more integrated and coordinated approach to movement.
Dynamic Movements: exercises in functional Strength training often involve dynamic movements that mimic what is needed for dance-specific movements, enhancing overall functional capacity.
Lean Muscle Development:
Intensity and Volume: Lean muscle development is often achieved through strength training programs that manage reps, sets and intensity (Rate of Perceived Exertion - RPE). The right combination of the above helps build muscular strength without necessarily causing significant muscle hypertrophy.
Balanced Program: A well-rounded program includes a mix of compound exercises targeting different muscle groups, promoting overall muscular development without focusing excessively on specific areas.
Bodybuilding vs Functional Strength Training:
Goal Orientation:
Bodybuilding: The primary goal is to maximize muscle size and symmetry, often focusing on specific muscle groups to achieve a more aesthetic appearance.
Dance Specific Functional Strength Training: The primary goal is to improve overall functional capacity and performance for dance.
Training Techniques:
Bodybuilding: Involves isolation exercises that target individual muscles, often with a focus on high-volume, controlled repetitions.
Functional Strength Training: Emphasizes compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups, promoting coordination and functional movement patterns.
Muscle Adaptation:
Bodybuilding: Aims for muscle hypertrophy through a combination of high-intensity resistance training and controlled nutrition.
Functional Strength Training: Focuses on building strength, endurance, and functionality without necessarily prioritizing significant muscle size.
Rep Range and Rest Periods:
Bodybuilding: Typically involves moderate to high rep ranges with shorter rest periods, contributing to muscle pump and fatigue.
Functional Strength Training: Utilizes a variety of rep ranges, with an emphasis on strength-building sets and longer rest periods to promote overall functional capacity.
The Role of Reps and Resistance
The number of repetitions (reps) and resistance levels in strength training programs play a crucial role in determining muscle size. Tailoring strength training programs to the specific needs of dancers is essential for achieving the desired outcomes without compromising their performance. Here's how the number of repetitions, resistance levels, and programming specificity can influence muscle strength, with a focus on the considerations for dancers:
Number of Repetitions:
Low Repetitions (1-5 reps):
Muscle Strength: Performing a low number of reps with heavy resistance primarily targets neural adaptations and maximal strength development.
Muscle Size: While muscle hypertrophy is not the primary focus in low-rep ranges, these sets contribute to a dancer's ability to produce force and power, enhancing overall strength.
Moderate Repetitions (6-12 Reps):
Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy: This rep range is often considered a balance between strength and hypertrophy. It contributes to both muscle endurance and moderate increases in muscle size.
Endurance: Higher rep ranges promote muscular endurance, an essential component for dancers who require sustained effort during performances.
High Repetitions (12+ Reps):
Muscle Endurance: Performing a higher number of reps with lighter resistance focuses on muscular endurance, helping dancers sustain their energy levels throughout longer routines.
Definition and Tone: While not as effective for maximal strength or significant muscle growth, high-rep ranges can contribute to muscle definition and toning.
Resistance Levels:
Heavy Resistance (80-90% of 1 Rep Max):
Strength Development: Heavy resistance is crucial for building maximal strength. It activates high-threshold motor units and promotes neural adaptations.
Moderate Hypertrophy: While not the primary focus, heavy resistance can contribute to moderate muscle hypertrophy, especially in combination with moderate rep ranges.
Moderate Resistance (70-80% of 1 Rep Max):
Balanced Approach: Moderate resistance allows for a balance between muscle activation, time under tension, and metabolic stress, contributing to both strength and hypertrophy.
Versatility: This resistance range is versatile and can be suitable for various training goals, making it applicable to the diverse needs of dancers.
Light Resistance (<70% of 1 Rep Max):
Muscular Endurance: Light resistance is effective for promoting muscular endurance, enhancing a dancer's ability to perform repetitive movements with less fatigue.
Toning and Definition: While not optimal for maximal strength or significant hypertrophy, light resistance can contribute to muscle tone and definition.
Programming Specificity for Dancers
Functional Movements: Dancers should prioritize strength training exercises that mimic the specific movements and demands of their performances.
Balance and Coordination: Incorporate exercises that enhance balance and coordination, as these are essential for graceful and controlled movements.
Individualized Programs: Recognize the individual needs and strengths of each dancer. Tailor programs to address specific weaknesses, imbalances, or areas requiring improvement.
Periodization:
Varied Intensities: Implement a periodized approach that includes phases of higher and lower intensities to prevent plateaus and overtraining.
Progressive Overload: Gradually increase the resistance levels or the complexity of exercises over time to ensure continuous improvement.
Enhancing Flexibility Through Strength
Proper strength training is a valuable component in enhancing flexibility for various reasons. Contrary to the misconception that strength training makes individuals stiff or less flexible, a well-designed strength training program can contribute significantly to improved flexibility by addressing key factors such as joint stability, muscle control, and range of motion. Here's how proper strength training can positively impact flexibility:
Improving Joint Stability:
Joint Support: Strength training helps strengthen the muscles around joints, providing better support and stability. This increased stability allows joints to move more freely.
Joint Alignment: Strengthening muscles helps maintain proper joint alignment, managing issues such as joint hypermobility or instability. When joints are properly supported, they can move through a greater range of motion without compromising stability.
Increasing Muscle Control:
Neuromuscular Coordination: Strength training enhances neuromuscular coordination, improving the communication between the nervous system and muscles. This heightened control allows for more precise and deliberate movements. The Reciprocal Inhibition phenomenon is optimized with better neuromuscular coordination: when you contract one muscle group (eg. hip flexors) its antagonistic, or opposite, muscle group (the glutes and hamstrings) are allowed to relax more fully, expressing a larger range of motion.
Muscle Activation: Strengthening specific muscle groups through targeted exercises ensures that muscles engage optimally during movement. This increased muscle activation contributes to better control over joint movements and allows for smoother transitions between positions.
Enhancing Functional Ranges of Motion:
Active Stretching: Strength training involves active movements and dynamic stretches that engage muscles through their full range of motion. This active stretching contributes to improved flexibility by encouraging the muscles to adapt to a broader range of movements.
Muscle Lengthening: Strengthening exercises that involve controlled lengthening of muscles, such as eccentric contractions, can help improve muscle flexibility over time. This is particularly beneficial for dancers and athletes who need flexibility in various positions. The scientific literature has shown that the eccentric muscle contraction is exceptional, in particular, for two reasons: it is much stronger than its concentric (muscle shortening while contracting) counterpart. In other words we can lower much more weight than we can lift, hence the importance of using the eccentric contraction for strength gains. The second physiological characteristic an eccentric muscle contraction affords us is that it increases muscle fascicle length, implying that eccentric training shifts the optimal point in the length-tension relationship to a longer muscle length. Theoretically then we can also see how this may also positively affect a muscle for athletic performance and injury risk reduction.
Balancing Muscle Groups:
Addressing Muscle Imbalances: Strength training programs can be designed to address specific muscle imbalances. This is crucial for flexibility, as tightness or weakness in certain muscle groups can restrict movement. By achieving a balance between opposing muscle groups, the body is better able to move through its full range of motion.
Specificity in Training for Flexibility:
Targeted Exercises: Including specific strength training exercises that target the muscles involved in a particular range of motion or flexibility goal can be highly effective.
Functional Movements: Incorporating functional movements into strength training helps ensure that flexibility gains are relevant to dance specific or choreographic specific movements, making them more practical and functional.
Strength Training and Injury Prevention
Strength training plays a crucial role in injury prevention, or more accurately, injury risk reduction. Here's how stronger muscles contribute to the reduction of injury risk in dancers:
Joint Stability:
Muscular Support: Strengthening the muscles around joints helps improve joint stability. This added support reduces the risk of joint instability or misalignment during dynamic movements performed in dance routines.
Balance: Strong muscles contribute to better balance, preventing falls and awkward landings that could lead to sprains, strains, or other injuries.
Ligament Protection:
Reducing Stress on Ligaments: Strong muscles act as dynamic stabilizers, absorbing and distributing forces during movements. This reduces the stress placed on ligaments, which are more prone to injuries when subjected to excessive loads.
Improved Proprioception:
Enhanced Body Awareness: Strength training contributes to improved proprioception, the body's awareness of its position in space. This heightened awareness allows dancers to move more consciously and avoid awkward positions or missteps that could lead to injuries.
Muscle Control: Strengthening specific muscle groups enhances the dancer's ability to control their movements precisely. This control is essential for executing complex dance techniques without compromising joint integrity.
Muscle Balance and Symmetry:
Addressing Muscle Imbalances: Strength training programs can be designed to address muscle imbalances, a common issue in dancers. Imbalances between opposing muscle groups can lead to joint instability and an increased risk of injury. Strengthening both agonist and antagonist muscles helps maintain balance and symmetry.
Preventing Overuse Injuries: Strengthening a variety of muscle groups ensures that no single group is overworked, reducing the risk of overuse injuries that can result from repetitive movements in dance.
Enhanced Flexibility and Range of Motion:
Controlled Range of Motion: Strength training contributes to flexibility by promoting controlled and functional range of motion. This controlled flexibility reduces the likelihood of hypermobility-related injuries and helps the dancer have sufficient strength throughout the entire range of motion..
Injury Resilience:
Adaptability: Strong muscles are more adaptable to different movement patterns and intensities, making dancers more resilient to the physical demands of their art.
Faster Recovery: In the event of a minor injury, individuals with a strong muscular foundation often experience faster recovery times due to the support provided by well-conditioned muscles.
Whole-Body Integration:
Functional Strength: Strength training that incorporates functional movements ensures that the entire body works in harmony. This integration is essential for preventing injuries related to compensatory movements or muscle imbalances.
Real-Life Examples
My favorite example of the power of strength training in dance is the progress that T.G. made coming off of chronic injuries, working through the covid pandemic, and coming out the other side in magnificent shape. For 2 plus years, he was consistently strength training in-person with the Strong Dancers Program, twice per week, and supplementing that with complimentary workouts on his own. The pay-off for him is that he now performs with one of the most respected contemporary ballet companies in the world.
The highly demanding pre-professional dance company we collaborate with in-person in Vancouver, BC testifies to the effectiveness that strength training has had on their dancers' experiences. During our work with them throughout summer and winter breaks:
“The results of Strong Dancers Training Program for Arts Umbrella’s dancers has impacted the students in an extraordinary way. The rigours of dance, put tremendous demands on the body and through cross training, including Strong Dancers Training Program, the dancer is adequately prepared to meet these demands resulting with fewer injuries and greater endurance. Plus, the staff is professional, knowledgeable, patient and kind, allowing anyone at any level to feel the positive physical and mental improvements.”- Lynn Sheppard
The Strong Dancers Approach
The Strong Dancers approach combines all of the knowledge above, along with our invaluable years of experience acquired in the weight room coaching and working with dancers, to come up with various solutions to help you reach the goals you have set for yourself. If you are new to strength training, our process will include an optional free consultation to help you understand the best path to follow. If you have some experience already and know exactly what you want, the free consultation is not obligatory. We are there for you, if you need us.
We have 4 Week, 6 Week, and Ongoing Programs with different focuses, depending on what you want to accomplish. Our Strength Training programs are designed in circuits, to help you maximize your time, but can also be performed linearly. All of the programs encompass the whole body and take into consideration the periodization required to work around a typical year-round dance schedule, including performances, auditions, off-season, and summer intensives.
Conclusion
When approached using a balanced and well-designed program, strength training can enhance a dancer's performance, flexibility, and grace without necessarily leading to bulky muscles.
Strength training can be tailored to promote lean, functional muscles by emphasizing compound movements, dynamic exercises, and a balanced approach to intensity and volume. The key is to design a program that aligns with your goals. The myth that strength training inevitably leads to bulky muscles is debunked by recognizing the diversity of training approaches and their respective outcomes.
The number of repetitions and resistance levels in a strength training program can be adjusted to achieve specific goals, including muscle size, strength, power, and endurance. For dancers, programming specificity is crucial to ensure that strength training enhances their performance without adding to their already significant training load. Well-designed programs that align with the unique demands of dance can help dancers achieve their desired outcomes while maintaining optimal functionality.
Proper strength training can be a powerful tool for enhancing flexibility by improving joint stability, increasing muscle control, and enhancing the overall range of motion. When integrated intelligently into a comprehensive training program, strength training complements flexibility goals and contributes to a more balanced, adaptable, and resilient body.
Strength training is a vital component of injury prevention for dancers as it helps build muscular strength, stability, and control. Strong muscles provide effective support to joints and ligaments, reducing the risk of injuries associated with the demands of dance. A well-structured strength training program, tailored to the specific needs of dancers, can contribute significantly to overall physical health and longevity in your art.
Check out our Instagram page to see some of our content, book a free consultation with one of our Coaches to find out more about how Strong Dancers can help you to Dance Stronger!
Bibliography
Perceptions of Strength Training in Dance, Claire Farmer and James Brouner, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science 2021 25:3, 160-168
The Significance of Muscular Strength in Dance, Yiannis Koutedakis, Antonis Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou, and Giorgos Metsios, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science 2005 9:1, 29-34
The Significance of Muscular Strength in Dance, Yiannis Koutedakis, Antonis Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou, and Giorgos Metsios, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science 2005 9:1, 29-34
Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Risks and Benefits. Hody S, Croisier JL, Bury T, Rogister B, Leprince P. Front Physiol. 2019 May 3;10:536.
Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Dec;52(24):1557-1563.
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