How to Warm-Up Before a Dance Practice

Practicing your dance without a warmup will cause you some injuries. Your muscles are still cold and sudden activity can trigger pain and inflammation. Not to mention, your practice quality is ruined because you easily get exhausted. The reason for this is your body spent too much time and energy while simultaneously moving and warming up.

Professional dancers know how important it is to warm up before a practice. In dance prep clinics you’ll be taught some warm-up techniques. And since some of these clinics aren’t available yet or are far from where you live, I have compiled some warmup exercises for pre-dance practice for aspiring pro cheerleaders like you.

1. Jogging in place then around the area

Start by standing.
Slowly alternate in raising and lowering your left and right heels.
Gradually increase your alternating heel raises by picking your feet completely off the floor.
Incorporate some full arm circles to really get your blood flowing.
As your body feels warmer, jog in circles on where you started or around the area.

2. Shoulder rolls

Lift both of your shoulders up and down.
Then move your shoulders forward and backward.
Spin your shoulders in a frontward circle then reverse.

3. Leg swings

First, hold onto a chair while standing.
Keep your legs straight.
Lift and swing your left leg from the front to the back.
Do 10 swings before switching to the right leg.

4. Toe touches

While standing, bend at the waist and touch your toes.
Keep your knees straight.
While gaining flexibility of bending forward, grab the back of your lower legs with your hands.
Hold your bent position for 10 to 15 seconds.

5. Split stretches

It would be better to have an assistant if you’re new to splits.
Start in a lunging position on a mat with your right leg forward.
Keeping your toes on your right foot pointed forward and your knee above your ankle.
Straighten your leg behind you with your kneecap and top of your foot pointing downward.
Point our left toes backward.
Hold your front ankle for 20-30 seconds.
Sit back on your back leg.
Slowly straighten your front leg.
Bend forward on your waist and not your low back to maximize the stretch.
Hold the position for 20-30 seconds.
Go back to your starting lunge.
With your right hand, reach back and grab your back ankle.
Pull it up towards your butt
Hold the position for 20-30 seconds.

6. Ankle circles

Sit on a mat with your legs extended on our front
Stretch your toes inward towards you.
Stretch your toes outward.
Move your toes towards each other then outward from your center.
Circle your ankles through their full range of motion while keeping your heels glued to the mat.
Slowly make your circles bigger for each turn.
Repeat 10 times for both ankles.

7. Leg stretches

Lie on your back with legs out straight on the floor.
Raise one leg and gently pull the leg toward your face with your hands.
Hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

8. Spinal flexion and extension

Sit on a chair
Then bend your head forward and downward to your knees. This will flex your spine.
Bend your head backward to articulate your spine into extension.
Repeat forward and backward bending with 5 times for each direction.

9. Thigh Stretch

Start from a lunging position with your right leg at the front and your left leg straight at the back.
Slowly engage your glutes.
Move down into a deeper lunge to stretch your thighs.
Keep your arms raised above your head while lunging.
Repeat 5-10 times then switch to your left leg at front.
Do 5-10 repetitions for your left leg lunge.

After doing your warm-ups, cool yourself down then get ready to practice dancing. After your dance practice, repeat all the warm-up techniques you have found above as a cooldown phase. But this time, do it in a more slow manner and focus on your breathing.

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