The Fit and Healthy Dancer [Paperback]

Regardless of the grace of their movement, dancers experience injuries more often than the lugs bucking heads on the rugby field or in the boxing ring. On average, dancers are only marginally fitter than the average person on the street, smoke far too much, and do not eat properly, yet still stretch their bodies to extreme levels in the name of performance, and not surprisingly suffer a litany of injuries. This book examines the impact of a variety of dance forms, and puts forth a program for improving training, building stamina, and reducing the risk of injury.Fuel for Dance: Energy and Energy Production.

Energy Cost of Different Forms of Dance.

Nutrition to Fuel Dance.

The Human Body: Body Composition and its Assessment.

Somatotyping.

Anatomy and Function of Bones and Skeleton.

Skeleton Muscle and Muscle Fibre Characteristics (Slow and FastMuscle Fibres, Different Types of Muscle Contraction).

Fit for Dance: Aspects Affecting General Physical Performance andFitness.

The Definition, Assessment and Training of Muscle Strength, MusclePower, Muscle Aerobic and Anaerobic Endurance.

Training for Speed, Power and Endurance.

Training for Strength.

Mobility, Flexibility.

Muscle Fatigue.

Recovery from Exercise.

The Importance of Warm-up and Cool-down.

Medical and Health Aspects of Dance: Energy Balance and WeightBalance.

The Effects of Reduced Body Weight in Dancers: Bone Density,Osteoporsis, Amenorrhoea.

The Most Common Injuries in Dancers.

The Causes of Injuries.

Overtraining.

Exercise Induced Asthma.

Physiological/Anatomical Sex Differenclc*