Summer is officially here! And, if you are anything like me, you have a little break from your usual, hectic schedule for a couple months. Whether your companies are in their off-season, school is out for the year, or you have vacations and weekend getaways on tap during these summer months, you suddenly find yourself with this rarely known concept in the dance world - unstructured free time. Awesome, right?!
It's awesome at first, until you start to panic and don't know what to do with yourself. Not to mention, your mental demons start whispering this little fear louder and louder each day, "Watch out, if you slack off and break from your usual routine, you'll lose all the hard-earned progress you gained during the year."
Nasty demons. But, they do have a point here. While it is vitally important to give your body and mind a break from all the stress you inflict on them during your busy season, you don't want to take so much time off that you start to backslide and dig yourself into a deep hole. When your companies or school start up again, you will need to be conditioned and ready to go. Otherwise, you'll put yourself at risk for not just the emotional distress of being out of shape but for physical injuries, as well.
Of course in the dance world, summer is synonymous with summer ballet intensives. So, you always have that route to keep you in dancing shape. Whether you are scheduled to attend one (or a few!), these can be great opportunities to travel, meet new people, learn new sets of skills, and familiarize yourself with the styles of different companies and studios.
But, what about the rest of your downtime?
This is where the value of cross-training comes in. The whole point behind cross-training is to give your body a break from its usual activity to decrease stress and repetitive motion injuries while increasing your fitness level with different types of movements and challenges. These slower summer months can be an awesome opportunity to focus on your cross-training. Instead of just taking the same open ballet classes over and over again, you can give your body a break from the studio for a few weeks (which is what it is most likely craving!) but still optimize your fitness level with a new cross-training program.
Think of it as a "cross-training intensive." One of my favorite ways to do this is with my KEY TO YOUR CORE program. It is designed as a 6-week intensive for your core, so it's perfect for a time like this when you have a break from your usual routine. So, in those weeks between your ballet intensives or while you are waiting for your new season to start, you can keep yourself focused and progressing with this solid plan of action. Since this program doesn't involve any equipment (just your bodyweight), it is awesome to take with you on vacation, too! Each workout is only about 15 minutes and done 3 times per week, but it requires an intense, full-body concentration that will have you feeling like you are leveling up from week to week.
Because your core is such a vital part to your dancing, I want to make it easier for you to take advantage of this program. From now until June 30, 2018, get lifetime access to this workout program for just $97 ($30 savings)! Simply type in the code in the Promo Code box at the checkout to get your savings!
Discount Code:
summer2018
Hurry, summer is already flying by. Don't wait to get started! Use this summer to optimize your core strength for your season ahead!
Photo credit: Steve Vaccariello