muscle

[Guest ilive2dance]

i have heard that if you can tense the chest area, you can tone this area, making your breasts effectively get smaller and become toned. is this true to any extent??

[Victoria Leigh]

I seriously doubt it.

[Guest ilive2dance]

so how come ballet dancers are so toned in this area to start with!?

[Victoria Leigh]

I don't know for sure, but I think basically because they are generally in better shape and have lower body fat than most people to begin with. It may also have something to do with intensive training from a very young age and especially through the years when the breasts normally develop. I don't believe there are any facts on this, but there have been some studies. Most dancers are of a body type which tends not to develop large breasts, and the low body fat ratio that they maintain probably relates to this too. I have of course seen some exceptions to this, but most dancers who have trained from a very young age and who have a long, lean type of build just do not tend to develop large chests. Those who do usually have a different body type and genetic predisposition to this kind of development.

[Guest tigger_fan_ann]

Miss Leigh, I've heard that dancers who are properly trained do not develop big muscles in the tigh and calf and stuff. My muscles in my calves are big... but not really big. Does this mean I am poorly trained?

[Victoria Leigh]

A dancer should have a strong and well-defined calf muscle. Too big would be if it is totally out of proportion to your size and to the rest of your leg. Most dancers have what might look to be a slightly larger calf muscle than people who are not athletic.