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I created a recovery day for dancers that is intended to broaden their perspectives on what recovery looks like outside of the active quadrants.
Nearly every aspect of AHHPSL2 held an aha moment, but the most powerful for me was the understanding of how to metabolize (any) stress by shifting to the parasympathetic system. So simple. So complex.
I would say the transformation is nearly total. I’m taking some “train the trainer training” with a few American Ballet Theatre principle dancers, and it’s rough. There’s no adequate warm up, no balance, no science, just non-stop endurance training at intensities *just* below threshold. I forgot how that felt over the past year (since AHHPSL1), and can very clearly see now how/why I felt awful by nearly every metric. Thanks as ever for your incredible programming and invaluable feedback!
I created this GPR/GAR session for an executive at the hotel where I work who needs to stay in a room at work for weeks or longer at times. The work/life boundary is difficult to delineate at a certain point, so I have designed an environment that envelops her in nature sounds so that she can feel comfortable getting some movement in the morning and sleeping at night. I’m also getting her out of the hotel for a walk, but she dislikes the cold, so actual immersion in nature will need to wait for Spring/Summer. We’re in Sun Peaks, BC, and the weather is chilly.
Global Active and Passive Recovery Hotel Stay Experience for HL
I’ve created this LPR recovery day for a colleague who experiences chronic localized pain that at times interferes with his capacity to enjoy his time at work. He works in a very high stress managerial position, which compounds the issue. The job itself is highly physical with periods of executive office work, both aspects causing unfavourable postural adaptations and a high cognitive demand. I’m giving as many strategies and options as possible, broken into AM, at work/home, practitioner-led, and PM slots so that he doesn’t have to worry about how to organize the protocols.
My personal lockdown dance program, which is 50% MetCon, 50% recovery. Diiiiiaaaaaling down the intensity 😀 https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/program/wxwr213v/
My favourite recovery is laughter therapy – clearly a fan of the somewhat inappropriate comedy: https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/activity/5x8kqngx/
This is a general program for Back of House or culinary professionals who work in fairly high stress environments and are typically progressively deconditioned as they rise in rank. I’m planning to build more of a cardio base onto the SISS/NM sessions due to the existing foundation of intermittent heavy lifting in the HIIT zone, deadlifting, plus daily repetitive tasks performed at work. I’m aiming for a feeling of success + results early on in the program because these folks do not typically have a lot of time.
Hello All!
I’ve been busy trying then converting the 4Q MetCon workout concepts to dance, with a HISS WBI Tabata workout for advanced dancers as possibly my favourite so far. The workout is organized in 3 Tabata supersets, with a flowy floor set sandwiched in between two African dance supersets…Again, video is outsourced, which should be resolved shortly – or whenever our current mandates let up. The W/R ratio is just over 1:1, arranged in the classic Tabata 20s on -> 10s off, but with a 30s rest after the 4th set in each series, apart from the last, which prescribes 1 minute of rest before going into the cool down. Got to keep folks hydrated and healthy.
Hello All,
I chose a WBI HIIT advanced dance choreography with 30 minutes of alternating each 5 minute bout of HIIT or HISS choreography with a 5 minute bout of SISS choreo, sandwiched between an activation and mobility warm up and a predominantly self-massage cool down. We are approaching lockdown again in BC, and I have had a brief window of access to a studio over the past few years, so unfortunately my own videos will come on their own time.
Hello Folks!
We’re nearing another lockdown in BC right now, and I’m self-isolating, so my level of creativity is at a low. I’m submitting an altered little to no equipment version of DP’s L2 PHA SIIT which I’ll be testing on myself this week. I’ve got some dance SIIT sessions, but they’re difficult to translate to the program manager without videos. That’s to come.
Hello All,
I designed this SISS workout for myself during our current gym and dance restrictions. The equipment is minimal, and I alternated band, bodyweight, and G2S exercises (which are the most difficult for me). https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/session/zvqjrwqx/share/
I have a question about the below Barre session buried in my program: Have I classified this session properly as SITT ->SISS then HIIT -> HISS with some PHA ->WBI? Or does it just become HISS once you engage all of the acronyms? 😀
Penelope’s Barre Class Choreo 1: SITT ->SISS & HIIT -> HISS PHA ->WBI
Hello All!
I’ve rolled my actual workout plan for the month (which = testing/finessing Johnny’s awesome L2 Hypertrophy program + my own dance classes + my crushing work/study schedule so that I don’t lose any threads). I’m in the process of developing some work-ins for bartending, serving, kitchen, office, and housekeeping staff at the resort I’m working at, in addition to recording progress I’ve made on converting the 4Q MetCon models to dance. Some of that work is included here, but it’s all in progress. Feedback on that is especially welcome. Thanks!
Hey All! It’s great to be back. Looking forward to learning more from IoM so that I can apply it to my new dance/hockey research project with the local Junior team. Very exciting to have an opportunity to put these concepts to work. Level 1 clarified a great deal on terms of career path for me, and I’m exploring corrective exercise certifications.
Like most dancers, I tend to live in the HISS/SISS Qs. But I’m not opposed to the others, as long as the material is engaging. I am also with Chris (above): jogging is a hard sell.
A general dance activation for foot and ankle: https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/block/zvqg4dqx/
Hey All! It has been such a pleasure learning from and with you all. This program has already been profoundly life-changing for my peers/clients who have been testing the material I’ve developed here. This has also been my experience! I’m so excited to return for round 2.
I’m usually in the 1:many Q at a gym, community centre, or dance school. Or in a 1:1 capacity at resorts and spas. I designed a 1:1 package that meshes Pilates/Movement with RMT massage as a series of integrated care sessions where both practitioners share key info. Spa clients *love* it, and I wish there were more of this model in the marketplace. I now think there are ways to move this concept online with very high quality personalized programming.
If I spend some time perfecting these new program design skills, I can deliver dance and self-care streams that create enormous value for a broader range of clients than I ever thought possible. My big goal is to pitch national dance schools and university level dance programs, so the material needs to be really well tested. The marketing campaigns and pitches pretty much sorted themselves out once I realized that I’m now headed into dance/movement coaching territory. It’s a relief to have clarity around coaching + teaching + consulting as distinct skills to draw on as needed by the client, as opposed to conflicting cultural identities to be stuck in.
Thank you so much for the feedback, John! It is a lot of repetition, which I think is one of the main stumbling blocks for those rare dancers in the fitness industry. Another is the 7 day/week habit. Ultimately my goal is to interrupt traditional dance programming designed to train intense, short term career performers who are meant to go directly to teaching after injury or burn out. But I only considered this after publishing the program, so there’s clearly internal work to do.
I took away one of the Work-In days, and batched some micro-doses of UMT Barre choreography in with Week 1 & 2 G2S, for 2 Endurance Strength days/week. The 2 cardio days are spent with mentors, and don’t really change until that phase is complete. Even with the YMCA’s amazing standardized process, the choreography will likely be repeated +/-100x before the instructor is ready to teach. But once that’s committed to memory, and the body begins to change to accommodate the movements, the workload decreases significantly. Realistically, I would (will) refine and pitch the G2S + Power days as classes with rotating content tying into dance programming at my local YMCA.
Hey All! I chose the YMCA Barre instructor base who are bridging the Fitness and Dance worlds as my target client. This is a general sample program created for a dedicated client with a well-designed basic cardio & weight training instructor education, who is crossing over from an almost infinite range of fitness programs, and are being mentored through a rigid Barre instructor certification process. This video for context – skip to 6:00 for the best music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pMXTTAJ3I4 It’s a finicky style with oddly specific tolerances around the Big 3. This 28 day program addresses these unnatural positions with aspects of functional strength that dancers typically become weak in. I’ve included progressions of G2S Dead Strength to Agile/Pre-Position strength; LLT/LMT Aerobic Accelleration to LLT/LMT Anaerobic Acceleration, to more complex 4Q Accel/Decel; Habit Forming Work-Ins to Cardio Work-Ins with Pilates. The 2 cardio days are open to the Client’s discretion, with a total of 2 – 4 Barre classes and 2 – 4 Pilates classes introduced progressively. This is also the program I would have wanted each time I returned from injury or maternity leave.
Week 1:
- Days 1 & 5 are a G2S progressions to unloaded Turkish Get Up + Warm Up and Cool Down, because this style of dance is notoriously hard on the pelvis, and offers nothing in the way of of dead strength. I was surprised to learn that G2S is my weakest skill, even though I played Capoeira at a fairly high level
- Days 2 & 6 are Habit Forming Work-Ins to begin building tolerance to demi-pointe (standing on balls of feet), extensions in external rotation of the hips, deep bending at the knee, unnatural arm positions, and jumping/leaping in turnout
- Days 3 & 7 are Cardio Days where Barre is scheduled, and Pilates is recommended to build core and odd-position strength + excellent postural habits. The client is instructed to add their favourite cardio if desired, as feels good. I added a more focused 7-Step Prep for Barre, as the Work-In activation and mobility are geared to developing overall strength for ballet technique as a whole
- Day 4 is an intro to Power via LLT/LMT Aerobic Agile Strength/Acceleration drills to get those Type 2 muscles fired up, and prepare for Deceleration
Week 2:
- Days 8 & 12 are the same G2S progressions to unloaded Turkish Get Up + Warm Up and Cool Down, as this session is expected to be awkward. The same habit-forming warm ups and cool downs are used. This is a gentle workout for home or gym, with 3 sets of 4 exercises.
- Days 9 & 13 are the same Habit Forming Work-Ins as programmed in Week 1
- Days 10 & 14 are Cardio Days where Barre and Pilates are scheduled to build core and odd-position strength + excellent postural habits. The client is instructed to add their favourite cardio if desired, as feels good
- Day 11 is a gentle Power progression with LLT/LMT Anaerobic Agile Strength/Acceleration contrast drills to offer more of a challenge, and prepare for next week’s 4Q Acceleration challenge.
Week 3:
- Days 15 & 19 are a G2S progression to unloaded Turkish Get Up + Pre-Position Agile Strength, Warm Up, and Cool Down, because this style of dance is notoriously hard on the pelvis, and offers nothing in the way of of dead strength. I was surprised to learn that G2S is my weakest skill, even though I played Capoeira at a fairly high level
- Days 16 & 20 are the same Habit Forming Work-Ins as prescribed in Week 1 & 2, plus an additional Barre class to build endurance. We’re now calling this a Cardio Work-In to mark the progression
- Days 17 & 21 are the same freeform Barre/Pilates + optional Cardio Days as in Week 2. We are trying to build momentum and focus, as the Barre mentorship can often take 6 months or more. I think we might be able to nail it in 1 or 2 months.
- Day 18 is an intro to 4Q Acceleration and Deceleration drills to build on those Type 2 muscles, explore putting on the brakes, and prepare for next month’s addition of Plyometrics. I really love these drills for the way that they feel. They’re familiar enough in intent, and also address this complimentary movement that is missing in dance training. The Split Stance Drop and Catch is pretty much kryptonite, so it’s peppered in small doses throughout the program to address turnout’s effects on L4 – S1
Week 4:
- Days 22 & 26 are the same G2S progression to lightly loaded Turkish Get Up + Pre-Position Agile Strength as Week 3. We want these skills to stick. I would evaluate at this point to see is I could switch the G2S block up, or move to LLT/LMT dead strength drills
- Days 23 & 27 are the same freeform Cardio Work-In as above, built on the Habit Forming Work-Ins as prescribed in Week 1 & 2. I’m keeping the language empowering, and offering agency, which becomes an important consideration when approaching the harshly authoritarian boundaries of dance
- Days 24 & 28 are the same freeform Barre/Pilates + optional Cardio Days as in Week 2. We are at 4 days of Cardio, trying to build momentum and focus, as the Barre mentorship can often take 6 months or more. I think we might be able to nail it in 1 or 2 months. We’ve got an opportunity to evaluate the 7 day/week model, and refine as needed for next month
- Day 25 is the exact intro to 4Q Acceleration and Deceleration drills in Week 3 to foster a sense of familiarity and accomplishment
Thank you so much for the feedback, John! You are so correct here. I switched that Plyo from 3rd to 1st because I felt it wasn’t enough for me in my own personal workout, but that wasn’t enough prep, and the overall workload had me recovering for 4 days instead of 1. I really struggle with the G2S portion, so I could focus on that + power 1x/week for a few months, and cut the rest of the strength out.
I am genuinely surprised at how bouncy I am in all of the dance forms. I’m also able to grab onto deep, active pliés with a mastery I’ve never had (in some 40 years, give or take 4 kids). I think at this point I can confidently make a case for (dancers in general) pulling back the workload by 50%, adding 2 days/week for rest/recovery, and adding appropriate doses of strength. Exciting!!
I built this program for myself, and included one power session, an odd-strength, and a hypertrophy session, plus two days of choreography. I want to test the possibility of creating in-studio power sessions with explosive movements isolated from other dance forms. Cross-training multiple dance styles + strength/power training on top of a 7 day schedule is totally unsustainable, so I’m looking for ways to lighten that load. Not every dancer needs cross-training to boost their performance, but it’s a powerful way to grow as an artist and an athlete.
Again, I straight up snatched Johnny’s awesome programming in the recovery days. I’ve noticed that my own mobility and capacity to work through historic injuries is improving since working through this material. https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/program/qe7kml0x/
I would love that, Johnny! Power is the gateway to luring dancers into strength training in my experience. It’s got a similar feel to it, the concepts are similar, and there’s a complexity that is missing elsewhere. It’s way easier to reach those dramatic impresario heights with it as well. But after this week, I’m realizing the most probable attraction is going to be the intention aspect. Dance is 100% projection through the body of a central intention in a storyline. This is the same language.
This Acceleration, Deceleration, Plyo session is for an average working dancer, any focus. Power is my favourite “secret weapon” for dance. In the mid-90s I was the executive director of a dance company, and taught Russian Olympic style (ULT/UMT) power to our performers, who hated it. The only reason they came was they were required to to get paid! But it was so effective for us all. The only thing I would change if I had it all to do again is the 90s rest periods. This kind of rest is just not built into the culture at all, and that the concept exists is frankly mind-blowing to me even today ? https://platform.instituteofmotion.com/library/session/lx409jwe/
Hello All! This program is for my 19 year old daughter who has a sedentary lifestyle with random intermittent bouts of farm work. She lives in a remote island community with unreliable wifi, has access to a gym 2 days/week but no gym experience, however was competing as a triathlete in the past. She has joint hypermobility, but is cleared for exercises. I’m keeping it simple with low reps/weights, and limited range of motion until we can review and adjust as required. Her goals are: to be “muscley” and “less squishy”; to hike a moderate mountain trail to the top; to prep for more complex ranch work. I’ll be available to coach her through the recovery sessions, as there is wifi coverage at her home, and expect to adjust the programming substantially as we go.
Edit@: I fixed it! That was the dance culture talking, not the desired outcomes. Thank you!!
Oh my…That would be the Royal Academy of Dance + every Brazilian choerographer I’ve ever had yell “My grandmother can do better than that!” in all seriousness at me. I might need to drastically reexamine my perception of high intensity ASAP. ?
Thank you so much for this feedback!
I’m focusing again on dancers, who are weak in the area of deadlifting. Many of my peers come from the classical styles, so they don’t have a lot of access to the more modern or contemporary floor work where ground to standing is standard. I’ve heard from my peers this week that non-dance workouts lack the feeling of flow and momentum, so I snuck some Farmboy Flow in there to keep them interested in the Pre-Position and Agility block. I built both blocks up in intensity to echo the work flow that dancers are conditioned for. Full disclosure: I was very much influenced by Johnny’s last community workout because it had all of the elements I was planning on incorporating here. Johnny, your workouts are awesome, and I love them.
Movement Strength: Odd Position Dead Strength, Pre-Position, and Agility
OK, I know we were tasked to create a 2 body part session, which I did if you consider upper and lower body as 2 parts. 😉 I created this workout for myself to test for rate of hypertrophy in consideration to the aesthetic demands of a practicing dancer. Professional dancers tend to ignore strength and fitness training in general due to the changes in their form, and max/submax strength is not going to appeal, while endurance is something they’re already practicing. I’m looking at general areas of weakness in dancers here – vastus medialis, the glute complex + back body strength, shoulders, pecs, and a specific type of core strength. The warm up is “dynamic”, and follows a format that I’ve found helpful when warming up more than one critical area but not having the time to go through 2 rounds of 7-step prep.
Yes please to a webinar on eye-tracking, All! And nervous system. I have a client who is a clinical therapist that wonders what (if any) link eye tracking may have to EMDR therapies. She advises that the science of why EMDR works is still sketchy and mainly educated guesses, but can confirm that it’s powerful stuff that looks and feels like your stimulation protocol.
This warm up is designed for first responders, but would work for my dance and rodeo clients as well. I’ve been thinking that the activation and mobility sequences would be beneficial for clients experiencing concussion syndrome (who are of course cleared to exercise). Bull riders. I included an alternate activation technique at the end for anyone taking care of their lower back.
Thanks so much for the feedback @DerrickPrice! I found this sequence both incredibly helpful as well as taxing for my SI joint due to all of the internal rotation. If you consider that one of the objectives of ballet as building a foundation of 180 degree turnout at the feet in order to leverage extension through the the femur’s entire ROM through the acetabelum (as I understand it) – the pressure transferred to the SI joint becomes immense over a lifetime.
I’ve pulled supine glute min SMUR activation techniques from Pilates, and added the runner’s hinge, but it isn’t going to be enough for my people. Especially if they’re coming from more African based dance streams, where full rotation or figure 8 rotation of the hip complex is the mainstay.
You guys…Apologies for accidentally posting my block on David Scarborough’s amazing work. Not sure how that happened, but here we are!
This circuit is intended to support dancers engaged in streams that generally warm up with max rep SMUR, deep isolating stretches, going straight into extensions and plies (deep squats with feet, knees, hips positioned in maximum external rotation). It is also intended as a recovery block for dancers working through foot, hip, and thoracolumbar injures due to the above.
I’m missing elements from the ULT quadrant, and could use more glute min support. Suggestions anyone? There are two alternatives for the ViPR PRO SL Rdl to FWD Lunge, or possibly in addition to, depending on the class or client; 1: ViPR PRO Lateral Lunge, Lat DeadShift, and Loaded T-Squat.
Dancers generally don’t get enough internal rotation at the hips, and are prone to labral tears and ACL horrors later in life, so I’m thinking that building this into their daily life might be a proactive alternative to injury. Original videos are next week. I’m discovering/appreciating that IoM’s content is more effective than my own for the retraining/recovery purposes outlined above. So far!
Hello All!
Penelope here, an artist and designer hailing from Vancouver (Canada). My specialty in terms of physicality is dance, martial arts, and Pilates, with some group training. My objective is to develop coursework aimed at rehabilitating dancers and movers with a focus on core and joint stability. Possibly the opposite of the status quo!
I am also a jeweller and designer with a background in environmental and land use management and design….Who operates an arts management and ecommerce training business. This may seem diverse, but I’m really doing one thing in various mediums with an approach that parallels the IoM philosophy of program design.
I’m very excited to have found a program management system that focuses so squarely on holistic thinking. Very much looking forward to creating some innovative Pilates-based goodness
