Once the end-of-year dance concert and term wrap up for the year it is important to take a break. Both physical and mental rest are important and taking a few weeks off can help your body repair and have a mental break from dance.

If your mind and body are in need of an extended break (such as more than a few weeks), then it’s more than OK to take longer off, especially if you are training at a competitive or pre-professional level.

There is benefit in enjoying other aspects of your life outside of dance such as spending time with family, friends and enjoying hobbies.

A safe, fulfilling dancing life

Creating meaning and value in life outside of dance and expanding sense of self can make it easier to lean into other aspects when experiencing change or difficult times during dance training such as being injured.

Taking an extended break from dance training will, however, mean losing some fitness and physical capacity. When you return to dance your body will take time to return to full capacity again.

Approaches such as being “whipped back into shape” can promote sudden spikes in training load (hours and intensity of training) which can increase the risk of injury. It is advised to gradually and progressively increase training load over time to allow the body to adapt and return to full capacity safely.

A four-to-six week period of gradually progressing training load and introducing jumping has been suggested in dance settings.

For dancers wanting to maintain fitness over the summer holidays, a great place to start is focusing on building a physical foundation.

Building a physical foundation means focusing on targeted areas of fitness such as full body strength, cardiovascular fitness or stamina (such as skipping, cycling walking, running, swimming), flexibility, and some dance-specific conditioning (for example, calf rises for ballet).

A good physical foundation will mean an improved capacity and fitness level so your body is ready to take on more challenging dance movements and routines once you return to the studio.

Building full body strength at home or at the park

A great place to start is by choosing movements that require your muscles to work to support your own body weight.

Fundamental movements such as crawling (moving on the floor on hands and feet) and locomotion (travelling movements such as lunging, hopping, sliding) are great for developing body control, arm and leg stability and coordinated movement patterns.

Below is a sequence that can be used as a warm up and even as a workout itself. The ten minute sequence is based on gross motor and fundamental movement patterns. It includes exercises that work through a range of joint movements and in multiple planes (forwards, sideways, rotating).

Once feeling comfortable with the above fundamental movements, it is time to introduce body weight resistance exercises.

Body weight resistance exercises can be beneficial for developing a strong foundation for dance movements such as jumping, landing, floorwork, partnering and aerial work.

Exercises from the above sequence can be used to form a safe and effective neuromuscular warm up.

Aim to include one exercise from each of the below movement categories (squat, horizontal push etc) to build your own workout.

Aim to complete two to three sets (or rounds) of each exercise with about one minute rest between sets. An alternative is to complete one set of each exercise with minimal rest between, then complete a second or third time.

If training with friends, you could set a timer and do each exercise for up to 50 seconds (instead of counting reps) and take ten seconds to transition to the next exercise.

Depending on your level of strength you may need to do fewer repetitions and build up sets and repetitions overtime. After you have completed the body weight exercises complete a cool down including stretches for the upper and lower body muscles. Be sure to use a sturdy bar (such as an outdoor fitness station) for horizontal row and overhead hold.

Exercises may need to be modified depending on fitness level and physical limitations such as injury.

How often should I train?

A common misconception in dance is that “more is better”. This belief can lead to dancers training long hours on most or all days of the week which can lead to overtraining, plateauing and increased risk of injury.

Our bodies require sufficient time between training sessions to adapt and get stronger and fitter. The time between sessions is when our muscles and tissues repair and training gains are made.

By incorporating adequate recovery (including sleep and downtime) and including rest days throughout the week, our bodies can gain the most benefits from training.

Muscles can take up to 48–72 hours to recover from most types of strength-based exercises (the more intense the longer they’ll need to recover).

Aerobic activity at low intensity, such as a brisk walk, can be done most days (24-hour recovery) while high stress anaerobic exercise such as high intensity intervals or sprints can take three days or more to recover from.

Aim to spread training sessions out over the week and allow time to recover between sessions.

Below is an example weekly schedule based on incorporating adequate recovery between sessions, and incorporating polarised training where some days are harder and others are easier.

Seek guidance from your healthcare provider and/or an exercise professional prior to undertaking a new exercise program.

Joanna Nicholas, Lecturer in Dance and Performance Science, Edith Cowan University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

It’s a shock when we realise our parents aren’t managing well at home.

Perhaps the house and garden are looking more chaotic, and Mum or Dad are relying more on snacks than nutritious meals. Maybe their grooming or hygiene has declined markedly, they are socially isolated or not doing the things they used to enjoy. They may be losing weight, have had a fall, aren’t managing their medications correctly, and are at risk of getting scammed.

You’re worried and you want them to be safe and healthy. You’ve tried to talk to them about aged care but been met with swift refusal and an indignant declaration “I don’t need help – everything is fine!” Now what?

Here are four things to consider.

1. Start with more help at home

Getting help and support at home can help keep Mum or Dad well and comfortable without them needing to move.

Consider drawing up a roster of family and friends visiting to help with shopping, cleaning and outings. You can also use home aged care services – or a combination of both.

Government subsidised home care services provide from one to 13 hours of care a week. You can get more help if you are a veteran or are able to pay privately. You can take advantage of things like rehabilitation, fall risk-reduction programs, personal alarms, stove automatic switch-offs and other technology aimed at increasing safety.

Call My Aged Care to discuss your options.

2. Be prepared for multiple conversations

Getting Mum or Dad to accept paid help can be tricky. Many families often have multiple conversations around aged care before a decision is made.

Ideally, the older person feels supported rather than attacked during these conversations.

Some families have a meeting, so everyone is coming together to help. In other families, certain family members or friends might be better placed to have these conversations – perhaps the daughter with the health background, or the auntie or GP who Mum trusts more to provide good advice.

Mum or Dad’s main emotional support person should try to maintain their relationship. It’s OK to get someone else (like the GP, the hospital or an adult child) to play “bad cop”, while a different person (such as the older person’s spouse, or a different adult child) plays “good cop”.

3. Understand the options when help at home isn’t enough

If you have maximised home support and it’s not enough, or if the hospital won’t discharge Mum or Dad without extensive supports, then you may be considering a nursing home (also known as residential aged care in Australia).

Every person has a legal right to choose where we live (unless they have lost capacity to make that decision).

This means families can’t put Mum or Dad into residential aged care against their will. Every person also has the right to choose to take risks. People can choose to continue to live at home, even if it means they might not get help immediately if they fall, or eat poorly. We should respect Mum or Dad’s decisions, even if we disagree with them. Researchers call this “dignity of risk”.

It’s important to understand Mum or Dad’s point of view. Listen to them. Try to figure out what they are feeling, and what they are worried might happen (which might not be rational).

Try to understand what’s really important to their quality of life. Is it the dog, having privacy in their safe space, seeing grandchildren and friends, or something else?

Older people are often understandably concerned about losing independence, losing control, and having strangers in their personal space.

Sometimes families prioritise physical health over psychological wellbeing. But we need to consider both when considering nursing home admission.

Research suggests going into a nursing home temporarily increases loneliness, risk of depression and anxiety, and sense of losing control.

Mum and Dad should be involved in the decision-making process about where they live, and when they might move.

Some families start looking “just in case” as it often takes some time to find the right nursing home and there can be a wait.

After you have your top two or three choices, take Mum or Dad to visit them. If this is not possible, take pictures of the rooms, the public areas in the nursing home, the menu and the activities schedule.

We should give Mum or Dad information about their options and risks so they can make informed (and hopefully better) decisions.

For instance, if they visit a nursing home and the manager says they can go on outings whenever they want, this might dispel a belief they are “locked up”.

Having one or two weeks “respite” in a home may let them try it out before making the big decision about staying permanently. And if they find the place unacceptable, they can try another nursing home instead.

4. Understand the options if a parent has lost capacity to make decisions

If Mum or Dad have lost capacity to choose where they live, family may be able to make that decision in their best interests.

If it’s not clear whether a person has capacity to make a particular decision, a medical practitioner can assess for that capacity.

Mum or Dad may have appointed an enduring guardian to make decisions about their health and lifestyle decisions when they are not able to.

An enduring guardian can make the decision that the person should live in residential aged care, if the person no longer has the capacity to make that decision themselves.

If Mum or Dad didn’t appoint an enduring guardian, and have lost capacity, then a court or tribunal can appoint that person a private guardian (usually a family member, close friend or unpaid carer).

If no such person is available to act as private guardian, a public official may be appointed as public guardian.

Deal with your own feelings

Families often feel guilt and grief during the decision-making and transition process.

Families need to act in the best interest of Mum or Dad, but also balance other caring responsibilities, financial priorities and their own wellbeing.

Lee-Fay Low, Professor in Ageing and Health, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.