flexibility

[dance7rlm]

ok, i posted a while back about how my flexibility was going away at the beginning of the year. well it is finally starting to come back (yay!) and i have the splits on the right again and almost on the left and center, but the problem is that it seems throughout the day it goes. for example, i take junior classes before my senior classes, for junior we have a bit of floor barre before barre work oin mondays and i get nice and stretched out so i do very well flexibility-wise in that class, but by the time the class is over and i start the senior class at the barre, it seems that i am too sore or something to get my leg up to where i know it can go (obviously because it was higher in the class before). so is this kind of like when you stretch strenuously and wake up the next day sore, or is my body perhaps still not used to the schedule yet? i guess my nose just misses my leg being able to stay up there =(

[Victoria Leigh]

Not sure, rlm. It would seem to me that you should be better and more flexible in the second class, especially with the nice stretches on the floor in the first class. Is there a long break between them?

[dance7rlm]

no, that's why i'm so confused. i thought because of being warm i would be better stretched in the senior class because i don't have a break at all...from 4:30-10:00 i get maybe 5 minutes while i am waiting for everyone to get in the classroom and everything. also...it's not like i only work hard at the barre, throughout the class i work every muscle i can.

 

do you think there is anything i could do about this?

[Victoria Leigh]

That time span is quite long for a student dancer who is also in school. Sounds now like you might be just doing too much.

[dance7rlm]

i just need the extra classes because i am behind, but do you think this is affecting my flexibility? maybe i could just semi-stretch in the first class and save that for the later class so that i can just work on my technique and placement during the junior class? not quite being lethargic and not trying...just not pushing myself to stretch.

[Victoria Leigh]

That really doesn't quite make sense to me, rlm. Sorry. I think you need to try and figure out the reason that you are stiffening up between classes. Perhaps the second class barre is very slow and tedious, and long? I don't know, but it really should not happen. However, I am not a great believer in a young dancer taking two classes in a row on a regular basis.

[Henrik]

Just my two cents:

I were also doing two calsses in a row last year, and had somwhat the same - not quite but: My muscles were stiffer the second class, and then more flexible again after longer break and relaxation. I think for me it was just too much - The muscles cant loose the (ok, I dont know the proper word in english) acid and the tension that builds up by working hard because you dont let them - by not resting.

For me, I improve faster and better by taking just one class (by class I mean full class, 2 hour with Barre and center, full with adagio, jumps, petit and grand allegro etc.) and then having some time, not too long, but maybe 15-20 min or such, to just let the legs recover. Then you will be able to have more calsses, like repertoire or capacity development or whatever is on your schedule, without "sacrificing" your flexibility.

Also I think, when you are getting "stiffer" during the day, you have to work harder just to maintain the same shape ad flexibility, and improvement will be slower.

 

Im no teacher, but I say - try giving it a short rest.

And if you dont have time, try just realaxing them just before class - lay on the floor and just breathe, or you can learn the pilates "daily program" - a relaxation program ment to be done before stressing the mscles by working, like for example ballet

[Mel Johnson]

The muscles cant loose the (ok, I dont know the proper word in english) acid and the tension that builds up by working hard because you dont let them - by not resting.

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That word is "lactic". The overall condition is described as "oxygen debt". Oxygenated blood washes out and chemically changes built-up lactic acid in the muscles. That's why massage works nicely in giving relief for cramping muscles.