I hit a plateau!

[Guest dancer'sheart]

Ok, so after overworking to meet deadlines for Christmas I started hitting a plateau and it's getting worse! My extensions are not that high anymore and my jumps are a lot lower now. I used to feel that I was flying through the air before but now everything seems to be grounded. I do pointes 6 times a week for an hour on top of technique classes. This is after work by the way.

 

The doctors think that I'm overworking myself (he and she are both not ballet oriented) and one advised me to stop ballet for a while and cut down on work and the other one advised me to cut down on both work and dancing and get a lot of rest. I love both my work and dancing so I'm really hesitant to stop or cut down.

 

I have not gone back to the studio since but I still do pointe and technique at home. I just can't resist it!

 

If any of you have had this experience please share how you dealt with it. And of course any advice is welcomed.

 

dancer'sheart

[Mel Johnson]

Boy, that does sound like overwork setting in. If there is a way to lighten up the physical side of the "day job", then by all means do that. I would also reduce pointe to 3x/week.

[Guest dancer'sheart]

Thanks for the advice Mel, will cut down work on my day job too. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry... I read somewhere that overwork can lead to injuries. Whether that's true or not, it's still better to be on the safe side.

 

Thanks again

[Guest sally-mandy]

I got overenthusiastic about practicing at home just before the holidays. The combination of different floor, no instructor, and just plain doing it too much resulted in an injury--not serious, but put me out for a few weeks. Good for you for slowing down BEFORE you get injured. It was a mental bummer as well as physical.

[Guest dancer'sheart]

sally-mandy, oh it's so sad to hear that. i hope you can dance soon. yeah i guess i have to slow down before getting injured. but it's still a bummer cutting my pointe classes in half . though i'm not complaining about cutting down on work

[Garyecht]

In just about all activities that one takes seriously, there are plateaus in development. In that sense it is natural. Often the plateau is mental rather than physical. Yes, it feels as if you have no extension or jump, but whether this is true is very hard to determine. Nevertheless, you feel that is the case, which is really the problem.

 

What to do? People take different approaches. If you have added new stresses to your life (classes, training, and performing are stresses as well as the usual work and family related stresses), clearly reducing the stresses is an idea. Another trick people use is to completely change their routines. Sometimes just a change of scenery can bring one out of the mental doldrums. Yet another trick is to take on another activity (but at a level that doesn’t diminish the time you have for what you are trying to improve).

 

I think the immediate need is to recognize the normality of the situation and to realize that with time, you’ll be fine. Then start thinking of what you are going to change.

[spinbug]

Gee, just the fact that you can take that many classes is enviable. As in all good things, though, you can take it too far. Balance is everything.

 

Did you know most injuries from ski accidents happen in the late afternoon? Getting that one last run in for the day when you're tired is an injury waiting to happen.

 

Candi

[Guest sally-mandy]

sally-mandy, oh it's so sad to hear that. i hope you can dance soon.

 

thanks, I'm back at it again.

[Guest dancer'sheart]

Thanks for all your advice and responses! Thinking back now I think I might have pushed myself too much. I have intense concentration for my work, as a painter doing portraits and my own style and also as a bag designer. So aside from being mentally exhausted I'm also physically exhausted especially when doing large paintings. Yeah, I guess I have to accept I'm human after all