Hello
there!
How
have you been doing? Yesterday I couldn’t post because I forgot the
most important item of the post: the tutu. Today I tried it and sadly
I can’t really show what I wanted to because of the color of my
tutu but tomorrow I’ll be able to get a friend’s tutu that needs
to be fixed and I know it will work out much better so stay tuned to
know how to fix a messy tutu!
Today
I’m coming with a short post that I think all dancers that train in
hot countries or that are going through summertime time now will
appreciate: tips and tricks to get through class when it’s
extremely hot!
One of the hottest times I've danced in: IBStage 2016
So, as
you all know, I’m from Barcelona which is a wonderful place to live
in but unfortunately it’s very well known for having humid and very
hot summers. Not the two best companions for dancers! Now that I'm in Germany I thought the problem was solved but oh, man... I was very wrong.
Of
course there’s a lot of advantages when training in summer: you
warm up much faster, you have less risk to get injured and you might
feel more energized and can start the class with more power than
usual. But, as I said, there’s some inconveniences. Not to worry,
dancers still survive to these situations!
1.-
Drink a lot of water!
Yes,
you might’ve probably heard this a million times but believe me, it
can really make a difference when going through a rehearsal day at 35
degrees Celsius. If you’re able to, try to drink as many times as
you can throughout the class in little sips. If you try to drink half
a liter in one sit you might feel dizzy and kind of overwhelmed for
the excessive hydration after a long period of dehydration. Little
sips will keep you nice and fresh throughout the lesson and you might
probably feel how your body reacts better to movement.
Love water as much as this model does ;)
Cool
tip! Try to get a metal bottle that will keep your water cooler as
sometimes a very refreshing sip of water can be a life saver when
having a rough rehearsal.
2.-
Keep a dry towel and a humid towel with you
If you
can’t drink water after every exercise (for example in an exam or
during a long performance) keeping a dry towel and a wet one will
make a big difference.
The dry
one is obviously to get rid of excess sweat that can be annoying and
let’s be real, no one likes to turn and have everyone else grabbing
an umbrella to cover from the fountain you’ve formed. But the wet
one is the game changer.
Having
a slightly humidified towel with you will make you feel a tiny bit
more hydrated when you breath into it. Like a humidifier for babies,
the towel makes you breath a bit more of a humid and fresher air
which can help to calm your breathing when finishing a very tough
variation or in the middle of a very hard ballet. My current teacher
told me this trick and through exam season it has helped me a lot,
specially on the long and exhausting ballet exam.
3.-
Have another drink that helps you recover apart from water
What
does this mean? I’m not saying go for a Powerade, but if that’s
your thing, go for it! Muscles will get really tired and because of
the excessive sweat you will lose electrolytes which are essential to
keep your body working properly.
One of
the highly recommended natural drinks to recover electrolytes is
coconut water, but I must say that I’m not the biggest fan of the
taste. You can find coconut water with several flavors but I would
say, why not trying to do your own?
A very
simple one (but it’s pretty disgusting as well) is water with salt.
You should take it after the training which for me it’s not ideal
but again, this is a very individual thing and everyone must find
what works best for them.
For me,
water with lemon, lime, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of agave syrup
works wonderfully. Also, I really enjoy having a mix of coconut
water, regular water, a couple or three strawberries and a pinch of
salt.
Anyhow,
I think it’s important to keep our muscles ready and avoid any kind
of extreme tiredness that can lead us to make a bad movement that can
damage our performance and our bodies. Find what works best for you!
You can also do it with orange if you don't like lemon and lime as much
4.-
When needing a quick recovery, go straight for glucose.
When
you need to recover fast because heat can be really tough to fight
against sometimes, go straight to a glucose tablet. In here I’m not
saying get a packet of white sugar because I think that will give you
a kick for two minutes and then you’ll drop down again.
Again,
find what works best for you but for me I have two options:
Glucosport or Dextro Energy or any other brand you might like and see
that’s targeted for high impact sports or a piece of fruit. The
best fruits for me would be a banana or a mix of berries. They’re
sweet and have enough glucose to get you into a fast recovery that
will last you longer than plain sugar for sure.
There's many types of glucose tablets with different flavours and extras such as vitamins or magnesium.
But don't forget fruit is a natural source of glucose as well :)
5.- If
you need to breath for a second, lay down and put your legs up
This is
another classic but it’s an important one that sometimes we forget.
Listening to our bodies is extremely important in these cases as
sometimes we can reach our limits and get ourselves into dangerous
situations and no one wants that!
Laying
down and putting your legs up against a wall and have a moment to
relax your breathing and let the blood circulation come back to the
regular flow can actually be really useful and takes no more than
five minutes. Shake a bit your legs if you need and if you have
enough time, roll out your muscles even if you don’t feel tight. It
will help you keep mobile and as relaxed as possible.
And
those are some of my tips and tricks to survive to this weather that
sometimes can be hard to cope with. What other tricks do you have?
Let me know down below!
I hope
you have a lovely evening and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Love,
Muriel
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