The Cross-Training Benefits of Ballet

For years, we've all heard stories of how professional athletes, like football pros in the NFL and heavyweight wrestlers, have enrolled in dance classes in order to improve their athletic performances in their respective sports.  These athletes frequently leave ballet classes feeling the benefits of their newfound skills.  As a dance studio in Apopka, 3D Motion Dance offers ballet classes to a wide array of students, ranging from strictly ballet dancers to athletes engaged in multiple sports.  Ballet offers many cross-training benefits that do not go unnoticed.  

Improves Balance

Our ballet dancers spend a lot of their focus in class on their balance.  Many common ballet moves require a stillness about them, which requires a strong balance and focus on the techniques.  Ballet involves holding moves for a period of time, which helps to increase core strength.  Core strength has many benefits in itself, including an improved posture, strengthened hips, and proper back alignment.  

Improves Mental Focus

Because of the focus required to master ballet moves, most ballet dancers have laser mental coordination.  They spend a lot of time concentrating on the intricacies of the movements and positions they are learning.  This poses a challenge for those who are entertaining ballet for cross-training benefits, because it encourages a new way of thinking and it introduces a new way to challenge their physical body.  It also relieves stress by redirected your energies to your physical movements instead of to the mental challenges you may be facing externally.  

Improves Strength and Speed

Many athletes rave about the strength and speed benefits of ballet.  Because ballet emulates the acceleration and deceleration involved in many common sports, like football, baseball, and tennis, many people see an increase in their agility and their ease of movement.  Ballet also focuses on strengthening and elongating muscles, especially those that are frequently used in running and other agility exercises.  This provides your muscles with many restorative benefits and aides in their strength over time.

Prevents Injury

Perhaps the most important benefit of ballet for cross-training athletes is the prevention of injury.  Because ballet will encourage athletes to engage their muscles in slightly different ways than they're used to, it will prevent overuse injuries.  Muscles that are typically left neglected or underused in their daily athletic performance will also be engaged in ballet, which will help prevent injuries like pulled or strained muscles once those muscles are engaged.  By engaging in regular stretching of the muscles, ballet dancers have improved muscle function all around, which helps to keep them in shape and avoid injuries.

There are many cross-training benefits to enrolling in ballet classes.  As a dance studio in Apopka, 3D Motion Dance aims to help athletes of all shapes and sizes improve their ballet skills and increase their athletic performance.  Call or visit our studio today to enroll.