P90X For Dancers

Everybody knows I'm a huge advocate of P90X. It's a very well rounded program and it can be an extremely beneficial tool for dancers who are looking to increase their fitness level. I modified the program to suit my needs as a dancer because I wasn't sure how my body was going to respond or what was included in the program.

I started P90X in August of last year after seeing the infomercial and hearing about it from friends. All of my dancer friends wanted to try the program, but we were all afraid of getting bulky and how that would affect flexibility. I was still under the impression that bulk would limit mobility since that is what every single dance teacher I've ever had told me. It isn't true. I decided to be the guinea pig of the group and I ordered the program and have had amazing results from it. I'm still just as flexible, if not even a little bit more, but I'm much stronger and that has helped me with my dancing.

I didn't do the pull ups since I was afraid that it would limit shoulder mobility. I'm still not sure if this would happen, but the next round I do I'm going to try them and see what happens. Other than that I kept the program exactly the same. I always tell my students to cross train with either yoga or Pilates, so Yoga X was perfect for me. It helps build stabilizer muscles and that definitely helps with barre work (if you're a ballet dancer). Pilates does the same thing, but, it was much more convenient with yoga built right into the program.

I also substituted X-Stretch with my own stretching regimen. It's a great DVD for the average person, but I was taking a nap the whole time, and I think most dancers would probably feel the same way.

The cardio workouts are great to obviously build stamina. As dancers, we only really need the stamina for short bursts at a time while either moving across the floor or during a performance. Nobody needs to see a huffing and puffing cygnet in "Swan Lake", so the cardio workouts make class, and life, a lot easier.


Let's face it, dancers are changing. Dance is changing. We're able to do more now than we ever have before because of advances in pointe shoes, or even technique in general. We have to be strong and not waif-like. Most professional dancers now are getting to be very bulky to keep up with the demands of the choreographers. Try out the program, and if you aren't jumping higher after doing Plyometrics, either you were some kind of Superman before, or you're doing something wrong, because I'm jumping even higher than some men that I know. I'm not getting winded at all (far from it). I'm stronger and more confident and that, in turn, makes my dancing that much better.

Just My Two Cents

So, I'm sitting here at the dance studio and no one has shown up for my 6:00 class, so I have an hour to kill. It's fine, girls. We don't have recitals in three weeks or anything...With my hour to kill I've decided to write this blog because I've had a lot of people asking me about my stance on this issue, so, here it is:

There's a video that's been going around of 7 year olds dancing very provocatively at a dance competition. They're very scantily clad and most of the moves look like they came out of Carmen Electra's Strip Aerobics videos. I'm not going to post the video, but you can easily look it up for yourself. I'm not posting it because I think it's disgusting. Girls that age SHOULD NOT be dressed like that or dancing like that.

I've gotten into several debates with other dance teachers about this video and it seems that half of us hate it, but the other half seem to think it's OK. As a competition dance teacher, I can tell you that I wouldn't let my girls do that unless they were 18 and even then I'd be extremely hesitant.

Yes, their technique and level of dancing at that young of an age is nothing short of incredible, so I'll at least give it that, but let them be children. I understand the nature of competitions, but that got taken WAY too far. Then I was concerned at how much these girls are probably training and they'll have incredibly short dance careers because of it.

In conclusion, let kids be kids. My 7 year olds dance to Disney songs, The Andrews Sisters, or other songs that have absolutely nothing provocative in them. Call me old fashioned.

My dance playlist

I have a lot of people asking me how I'm dealing with my current situation. Simple answer: dance. I'm about to head into the studio early so I can get some alone time in and dance out either my rage, sadness, whatever I'm feeling that day. Is it kind of weird? Possibly. I figure I can either let this destroy me or I can do what I can to be positive and come out of this a better person. It would be way easier to start restricting or purging, but I can't go back to that and I won't. After that explanation, the second most popular question is "What do you dance to?" Well, here is a list of my current songs that usually describe my mood perfectly. I like to call this my "Divorcee List." Enjoy:


"Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette
"Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects (I've really been favoring this lately)
"Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne
"Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" by Beyonce
"Diva" by Beyonce
"Survivor" by Destiny's Child
"Mercy" by Duffy
"My Immortal" by Evanescence
"Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry
"Bossy" by Keilis
"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson
"Bad Romance" by Lady GaGa
"Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige
"My Friends Over You" by New Found Glory
"Tore My Heart" by Oona
"So What" by Pink
"Ordinary Day" by Vanessa Carlton

Those are just some of the songs on that playlist. Either they're angry sounding or they just put me in a good mood.

Frustrating...

OK. For some reason I have to repeat this speech over and over again, and I'm going to put it here and copy and paste the link from now on because this is getting to be ridiculous...


For those of you who are under the impression that if you do several workouts in a day because you think you'll get to your weight loss goal faster, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, you're incorrect in your thinking. Yeah, theoretically more workouts = more calories burned = weight loss seems to make sense, but you're going the wrong way in your logic. Let me steer you in the right direction.

"But if I do a P90X workout in the morning and then an Insanity workout in the evening I'll be SUPER ripped in half the time!" Why not just do one or the other? Why both? There is absolutely NOW WAY your body can recover from that. Both of those programs are very demanding on your body and are stand alone programs. Your muscles need to restore glycogen. If you keep using it up, they can't restore it, and then you're not really getting anywhere because your muscles are drained of their fuel. Also, there's the HUGE risk of overtraining and injury. Why risk it? Do one program, move on to the next, and then do a hybrid if you so choose.


The End.

Beachbody Coach Summit 2010

I've been meaning to blog about this as soon as I got home, but I've had a lot going on including moving everything from my house to my mom's house. This past weekend was a very emotional one for me. I had a lot of ups and downs and moments where I cried, laughed, made others laugh, was angry, and had the time of my life. I wouldn't change a thing this weekend. Well, I would, but, I won't get into it...


Thursday when I arrived at LAX (which is a VERY confusing airport, by the way), I walked outside and took some deep breaths and I felt more calm and at peace than I think I ever have in my entire life. I felt home. I had only been there for not even five minutes when I came to that realization. It was something about the vibe and the energy there that I really liked. Everybody seems very friendly there. While I was on the plane I had about five people ask me if I was a movie star or a model. I never get compliments like that, so I was happy to hear that! My coach and CA mom Lisa picked me up. There was some confusion at first because I had somehow found my way to the departures and not arrivals so we weren't even in the same place. It took about 20 minutes before I figured this out. I swear the theme some from "Benny Hill" should be playing behind me all the time. After getting to meet her, we went to Trader Joe's to get more food for the week. She underestimated how much I eat. Silly Lisa...After that we got lost on our way back to the airport and we picked up her friend Tina, who is also from Michigan. We hit it off immediately! We checked into the hotel and it was absolutely beautiful! We met up with Sandy and Debbie and waited for Celia to get there. We went out to do some sightseeing and we went to the City Walk, which was a blast! I walked around in amazement. I felt like a little kid. I was taking pictures of everything and walking around in pure awe of the place. I have never seen anything like that before. Since my body was three hours ahead of everybody, I was very tired by this point. We ate dinner at about 9. My body is not used to eating that late, so I felt like crap. After we got back to the room, I crashed.

Friday I had to be up and about quite early to get to the Team Genesis meeting. We listened to some speakers and it was extremely informative and motivating. This was the beginning of what was to be hours upon hours of sitting that I'd be doing over the next few days. There was also a massive group workout where we got to work out with a lot of the trainers. It was extremely chaotic! I was in the second row, and I did what I could, but it was hard! There was absolutely no room to move, it was hot, I was kicked, stepped on, you name it. I was covered in sweat by the end, but I loved it! Later on Friday night, Lisa and Tina were getting ready to go to the Diamond reception. I started having a dance party all by myself because I'm a dork, but then I got a text from Denis saying he was there and to go downstairs. I was severely under dressed because I had no idea I was going into the reception itself. I spend most of my days talking with either kids or teenagers, so it was nice to have an adult conversation for a change. (Not adult themed, get your minds out of the gutter.) After that, I again, went up to my room and crashed.

Saturday was kind of a blur. It was seminar after seminar after seminar and my blood sugar was super low so I was either going to go to sleep or pass out. It was all good information, but I was just too hungry and VERY dehydrated. I got ready to go to the gala event, which I was running late for because getting ready takes me a while. The finished product that you see doesn't just happen, it takes time! It was a decent party. I crashed again afterward.

Sunday was the last day of the Summit and it was, again, more sitting around. Carl's speech to close out the events was incredibly inspiring that it brought tears to my eyes. Lisa took everybody out to the Santa Monica Pier. It was so beautiful. I had yet to see the Pacific ocean, and there it was. I could have stayed there all day, but, there was other things Lisa wanted to show us. We went to the Hollywood and Vine area to see the usual tourist places. We were stuck in traffic on an overpass and I seemed to be the only person who was excited by this because I got to be stuck in L.A. traffic. (It's the little things in life.) I absolutely loved to see things I've only seen in movies or on TV. I had to take a picture of Marilyn Monroe's hand prints (of course). There were so many stars there that I've grown up watching that it was so overwhelming. We walked up and down the street so I can see the stars on the sidewalk. Again, I got overwhelmed because I saw so many people who have inspired me through the years: Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Doris Day, I could go on. I went into dance because of people like MJ and Fred Astaire. I know it's silly to ramble on and on about a piece of cement, but I can't help it. That night in the hotel room, I was depressed that I had to leave the next day. I wanted to stay for as long as I could.

Monday rolled around and I had to leave. I was at the airport sitting by myself, drinking a coffee, and crying. Everybody walking by me probably thought I was crazy, but, I'm used to that! :) I didn't want to leave. I thought somebody would have to drag me on that plane while I was kicking and screaming. I also found out that morning that Chris is kind of already with somebody else. I've been replaced already. He had been calling me and texting me all weekend just to get on my nerves, but I refused to let it. Now that I was going home, everything set in and I was depressed. I guess I'm completely dispensable. I thought I meant more, but I don't. He even brought her to the airport to pick me up. Yeah...THAT wasn't awkward...

I'm not good at expressing myself, but that's the best that I can sum up my weekend. It was completely life changing. The people, the place, everything had changed my life. I came back a better person because of this trip and I want to go back. I wish I never had to come home.