New Year Resolutions on Health and Fitness

Here's some health and fitness tips which will complement your hectic dance schedule.

To become a well-rounded dancer, you have to consider other factors, such as your eating habits, workout schedule, etc. I am not an expert in these fields, but I've learned that if you are determined to achieve certain goals, take time to consult the experts in various fields, and listen to your body's signals (which is explained more fully in this article), then you will come up with a plan that works for you.

We all obsess about our weight, looks, body type, and women especially, are never satisfied. To maintain optimum mental and physical performance, try to remember these golden rules:

A. Have at least 6-8 hours sleep/night on a consistent basis. If that's not possible, then train your body to a schedule that works for you with catnaps or a day to sleep in on the weekend.

B. Work out at a gym, in sports or at home at least 3 times a week on strength training, cardio and be sure to include stretch/yoga.

C. Try to maintain a balanced diet for optimum performance.

Regarding sleep, Caryl Cuizon sent me an email stating, "Even an hour less sleep each night over a week's time can leave you feeling fatigued and less able to cope effectively with minor inconveniences. With even less sleep, you may feel more depressed, overwhelmed, irritable and indecisive. Other effects of sleep deprivation include loss of pleasure, loss of motivation, problems with concentration, a significant drop in infection-fighting cells and an increase in blood-pressure-raising stress hormones"; and when I analyzed how I was reacting to certain situations, I realized how true that was. To a certain degree, you can "train" your mind and body to operate on less sleep, but at some point, it will always catch up with you. It's just a matter of how long it takes for you!

Regarding workouts, you need to set aside a time schedule that works for you. Dancing as a workout is not enough as it is anaerobic (you stop and start over a long period of time), plus it only exercises certain muscle groups.

For myself, I find it easier to concentrate while working out in a gym, plus I have no excuse as it is across the street and I can go either at lunchtime or after work. Ideally, the gym I chose has some great classes for those days when I'm too lazy to motivate myself for weights. If you're excuse is that it's too expensive, well if you take the average weekly cost of gym fees and divide it over 3-5 days of use, I think you'll find it will cost you less than $5 per visit and I'm sure you can find a way to cut back on some other expenses to put your health first.

In the gym I belong to, I'm lucky that they have a stretch and relax class which I highly recommend for men and women. If you want to have the flexibility for splits -- this is the class for you. But that's not the only benefit, these are the best exercises for flexibility and to ensure your muscles are not tight. It's also a great class for those of you who work many hours in front of a computer. There are many neck and chest stretches to loosen up that area and can be used at any time, not just in the gym. She also plays a variety of soothing music which helps ward off a stressful day. They also offer a Figure Formula class which is geared towards the abs and general toning of arms and legs -- perfect for dancers who don't want to add bulk from weights. These two classes are offered by "Martha" who was a former dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Another bonus is the steam room which is great for the skin and another great way to elongate your muscles.

Regarding eating habits, it's one of the most difficult habits to change since you need to unlearn possibly bad habits you've had all your life. Over the last few years, I've tried to revamp my eating habits to the ideal principles of:

1. Drinking at least 8-10 cups of water a day.
2. Eat 6 small meals a day, every 2-3 hours.
3. Eating lean protein, such as grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast. If you're single, the George Forman grill is a great way to cook meat as you don't have to add any oil as it uses the natural fat from the meat.
4. Have more vegetables instead of carbohydrates. For lunch, I would cut up some veggies (such as cucumber, mushrooms, and a tomato, and have a can of tuna with it. It sounds plain, but it's a great energy booster and you won't have cravings after.
5. Cut back on fat, i.e. not eating the fat off of steak or chicken skin.
6. Having at least 2 cups of milk a day.
7. If you have to drink coffee or tea, cut down or eliminate sugar and cream.
8. Try to have some fruit and fibre every day.
9. If you have a busy, erratic lifestyle and don't always have time to eat properly, take a multi-vitamin every day to ensure you're getting enough vitamins.

Tip: Need an energy boost, then blend together orange juice, a banana and some frozen fresh fruit into a smoothie for a quick pick-me-up. It's also a great way to use up fruit that might be too ripe or buy some PC 5-Fruit Berry Blend which is cheaper than buying fresh strawberries or blueberries in the winter.

Finally, to actually achieve all these goals is not easy as you can always find an excuse not to. But the sooner you start to adapt these principles, the less chance you'll have to worry about gaining weight, heart attacks or osteoporosis. Also, you will be amazed at how much extra energy you will have and that your body will crave a workout if you haven't had one for a few days, or crave fresh vegetables if you had too many fattening meals.

And finally, always remember it's never too late to start...