What are the most useful gym exercises for ballroom dance?
I'm thinking in terms of things like core exercises, flexibility, weights, cardio, etc. Specifically for beginners, what would be the best type of exercise to primarily focus on to improve ballroom technique/ability? Any suggestions for particular exercises? Does it differ for leaders vs. followers?
Answers ( 1 )
That is an interesting question, for a couple of reasons - and one I myself asked from some Lindy pros when I was at a summer camp in Sweden. The answer really depends on your current fitness/skill level, and your goals.
Any kind of dancing is fundamentally about controlling, with precision, the coordination of muscle groups. Isolations aren't really (with a few notable exceptions) a part of most partner dances. That makes classic "build upper/core/lower" exercises somewhat less useful - if approached alone. But as a part of an overall fitness regieme, where you are strengthening evenly, working for tone and not bulk, gym exercises are definitely a positive part of a ballroom dancer's off-the-floor time.
Top priority is probably core, and if you only had the time to do one extra-curricular gym activity, that's where I'd focus. Everything flows from your core, so having a strong, stable center to your movement will always be advantageous.
Ballroom dancers also have a need for strong AND mobile feet, ankles, & knees. The classic tradeoff in these exercises is the stronger you get the less mobility you have, but in my experience almost everyone who isn't already a professional dancer can improve both strength and mobility in these areas before getting to the point where you are making a sacrifice of one for the other.
On the upper body front, you want to have excellent posture and flexibility, and develop spatial awareness (not something you always think of in a gym environment). If you have habitual problems with posture from a sedentary lifestyle, there are gym exercises that will help develop the "other" set of muscles - lats, usually, but YMMV. Followers focusing on Latin dances will want to work on having strong, flexible, and articulate arm motions, and so anything that tones shoulders/arms/wrists without over-developing the muscles is good. There's an aesthetic there as well, personally I'm agnostic but look at others whose "look" you want to emulate. As I've said above, you generally don't want to bulk up too much for ballroom, latin or smooth.
Finally, don't overlook cardio. Especially if you're interested in lots of social dancing or in competition, you'd be well served to be able to put out maximum effort for 2-3 minutes, rest 30 second, and repeat - up to 10 or 20 times! Cardio is where I'd suggest most people focus their extracurricular time, at least enough to not be winded by dancing hard for a full song. Which (as you probably know) is much harder than it looks! Good luck!