Strength Training for Dancers: Benefits, Exercises + Workout

Strength Training for Dancers – Introduction

Strength Training for Dancers: Benefits, Exercises + Workout

All forms of dance are very physically demanding.

Challenging movements must be performed with precision and apparent ease, not once or twice but many times during a performance.

Learning and perfecting those movements usually requires long, frequent practices, which can be draining and even lead to injury, especially if you become tired.

Increasing your strength will make even the hardest movements easier to perform, less tiring, and reduce your risk of injury.

And yet, despite the apparent benefits, a lot of dancers avoid strength training, as they’re worried it will make them bulky or immobile.

This is old-fashioned thinking!

Lifting weights won’t automatically turn you into a beefy bodybuilder.

Instead, it will complement your dance training and enhance your figure or physique.

This article reveals the benefits of strength training for dancers, discusses the best exercises, and provides you with a simple workout to follow.

The Benefits of Strength Training for Dancers

Dancing and strength training might seem like unusual bedfellows, but they actually go well together, and lifting weights could enhance your performance.

The benefits of strength training for dancers include:

#1. Increased strength

It should be no surprise that strength training makes you stronger.

Dancing requires a lot of strength, especially when working with a partner or trying to make very difficult movements look effortless.

Dancers need upper body, lower body, and core strength.

Examples of strength in dancing include lifts, jumps, and single-leg balances.

#2. Increased stability

Many dance movements put your limbs in mechanically disadvantageous positions.

Anything on one leg is an excellent example of this.

Strength isn’t just crucial for movement; it’s also required to stabilize your joints.

Lifting weights will strengthen the small muscles around your joints, enhancing your ability to hold them steady.

#3. Better balance

Believe it or not, strength can enhance your balance.

Leading on from the point above, strength leads to increased stability, and more stability makes it easier to maintain your balance.

The further you move your limbs beyond your base of support, the harder it is to keep your balance and the more strength you’ll need.

#4. Increased jump height and endurance

Most forms of dance involve lots of jumps and leaps.

The stronger your legs, the higher and more impressive your jumps will be, and the more jumps you’ll be able to perform before you get tired.

Also, what goes up must come down, and the stronger your muscles are, the better you’ll be able to control your landings.

#5. Fewer injuries

Injuries are all too common in dance.

Pushing your body to its limits will overtax muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

Strength training builds tissue resilience and a strength reserve, making those movements less taxing and, therefore, less likely to cause injury.

Think of strength training as a way to bulletproof your muscle and joints against the rigors of dance.

The Best Strength Training Exercises for Dancers

Ultimately, most strength training exercises are suitable for dancers.

A general strength training workout will work wonders!

That said, there are a few exercises that more closely mimic the movements of dance and deserve a place in your strength and conditioning workouts.

#1. Plie goblet squat

Target muscles: Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, adductors, core.

All dancers should be familiar with the plie position!

Doing squats with your feet far apart and toes turned out will hit all your major leg muscles, including your inner thighs.

This is also a good exercise for hip mobility and core strength.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet about 1½ shoulder-widths apart, toes turned out.
2. Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest, just below your chin.
3. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Bend your legs, push your knees outward, and descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.
5. Keep your chest up and back straight.
6. Stand back up and repeat.
7. Add an extra dance-specific movement to this exercise by rising up onto your toes at the end of each rep.

#2. Single-leg Romanian deadlift

Target muscles: Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, adductors, core.

The balletic exercise will improve your balance and stability as it strengthens your posterior chain.

This is also a good movement for improving hip mobility and knee stability.

Done with weights, this exercise can help injury-proof your lower back and hamstrings.

How to do it:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet together.
2. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your core.
3. Shift your weight over onto one leg.
4. Bend your knee slightly for balance and support.
5. Hinging from your hips, lean forward on one leg, extending your other leg out behind you as a counterbalance.
6. Lower the weights down toward the floor.
7. Stand back up and repeat.
8. Rest a moment, switch legs, and do the same number of reps on the other side.

#3. Renegade row and push-up

Muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, deltoids, pectoralis major, biceps, triceps, trapezius, rhomboids, core, quadriceps, gluteus maximus.

Dance is a full-body activity.

You need complete control over your arms, legs, and core.

Any weakness or lack of muscle tension will ruin your lines and even prevent you from performing the movements correctly.

This exercise involves working all your major muscles simultaneously, making it very dance-specific.

How to do it:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Squat down and place the weights on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
3. Walk your feet out and back into the classic push-up position with your arms and legs straight.
4. Brace your core, and tense your legs and glutes.
5. Bend your left arm and row the weight up and into your ribs.
6. Place it back on the floor and repeat on the right side.
7. Next, bend your arms and lower your chest down toward the floor.
8. Extend your arms – that’s one rep. 
9. Continue the left row/right row/push-up sequence for the prescribed number of reps.

#4. Barbell hip thrust

Target muscles: Gluteus maximus, hamstrings.

The glutes and hamstrings are the dancer’s engine room.

Almost every movement you perform is initiated by these muscles.

Strong hips will help you jump and kick higher and ensure you continue to do so for your entire performance.

The barbell hip thrust is one of the best ways to target these muscles.

How to do it:

1. Sit on the floor with your upper back leaning against a sturdy bench.
2. Rest and hold a barbell across your hips.
3. Bend your legs and plant your feet firmly on the floor.
4. Drive your feet into the floor and lift your hips up to form a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
5. Lower your butt back to the floor and repeat.
6. Make this exercise more glute-centric by wearing a booty band around your knees.

#5. Pull-ups

Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, biceps, core, trapezius, rhomboids.

The pull-up develops all your upper body pulling muscles.

It’s a relative strength exercise, which means it tests and builds strength in relation to your body weight.

Dancers need a high degree of relative strength, as they must be comfortable lifting and controlling their bodies.

Male AND female dancers should be able to do pull-ups.

How to do it:

1. Hang from an overhead bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Your arms should be straight, feet above the floor.
3. Bend your legs slightly if necessary.
4. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your abs.
5. Bend your arms and pull your upper chest up toward the bar.
6. Drive your elbows down and back as you ascend.
7. Come down under control and repeat.
8. You can also do this exercise with an underhand, shoulder-width grip – chin-ups – which some people find slightly easier.

#6. Single-arm overhead dumbbell press

Target muscles: Deltoids, triceps, core.

Overhead presses replicate the demands of lifting a partner or doing a handstand.

Doing this exercise with one dumbbell increases core activation and makes the load harder to control and stabilize.

This all adds up to a much more functional movement than regular overhead presses.

How to do it:

1. Raise a dumbbell to shoulder height, palms facing your ear.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and brace your core.
3. Make sure your torso is upright and your shoulders and hips are level.
4. Without jerking with your legs, press the weight up and overhead to arms’ length.
5. Lower it back to your shoulder and repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
6. Rest a moment, swap sides, and do the same number of reps with the other arm.

#7. Hollow holds

Target muscles: Rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominus, quadriceps.

Dancers need strong core muscles.

Located around your waist, the core helps stabilize your spine so your legs and arms can generate maximum force without your midsection collapsing.

The hollow hold is a more intense version of planks.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight.
2. Press your lower back into the floor and lift your feet a few inches.
3. Extend your arms overhead, so your hands are the same height above the floor.
4. Contract your abs and lift your head and shoulders.
5. Hold this position (but not your breath!) for as long as you can keep your lower back pressed into the floor.
6. Relax, rest a moment, and repeat.

Strength Training Program for Dancers

Do the following workout 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday and Thursday, or Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

But, before you begin, warm up with 5-10 minutes of easy cardio followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for your major joints and muscles.

Take each set to within 1-3 reps of failure, and try to do more reps or lift heavier weights every week or so to ensure that you keep getting stronger.

However, never sacrifice good form for more weight or reps, as doing so could result in injury. 

Strength Training Program for Dancers – Copyright Fit Apprentice®

AMRAP = As Many Reps as Possible

ALAP = As Long as Possible

Strength Training for Dancers – Wrapping Up

Strength training could make you a better dancer.

It will make your jumps and lifts more impressive and reduce your risk of injury, so you miss fewer practices and performances.

It will enhance your balance and stability and give you a lean, attractive shape.

However, strength training will not make you big and bulky, especially if you stick to compound exercises like those listed in this article and limit your workouts to just 2-3 times per week.

Also, most dancers tend to stay in a caloric deficit to maintain a lean figure or physique, further reducing the potential for unwanted muscle growth.

So, whatever dance style you practice, add strength training to your weekly schedule.

Even an hour or so a week will have a very positive impact on your performance.

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