Read this post before you watch!
Winning-London’s Workout!
Welcome to a series of videos chronicling my daily practice routine, as requested by some followers! We’ll start at the very beginning (a very good place to start! Oh I can hear Julie Andrews now! anyway…) with the warm-up. You can follow this series on the irish dance tag, the winning-london tag, or my tag just for these videos: “winning-london workout”
A good cardiovascular warm up should be the very first thing you do when you come into the studio or go to practice. A good warm-up lasts about 10 minutes and should get you sweating. I’ve only demonstrated each exercise since you guys don’t need to see me sweating for 10 whole minutes.
This is not the only way to warm up, but this is what I’ve found works for me. Some of these exercises have been borrowed from college warm-ups, guest teachers’ warm ups, or through personal research. I’ve demonstrated the various exercises in this video and have some ideas of how you can put them together below!
Running/Jogging: pretty self explanatory, but try to pick your feet all the way up to your bum and point your toes in the back. You can start with a jog and then build up to a run. I usually run in a circle around the perimeter of the room/studio/stage.
High Knees: make sure your thigh is coming up at least as high as your hip (or so that your thigh is completely perpendicular to your body). Move your feet quickly off the floor and use your core to help keep your body upright. Point your toes as your feet come off the floor.
Side Kicks: because some sideward motion is good for us Irish dancers every once in awhile! Keeping your feet low and legs straight, swing your legs from side to side and touch them together in the middle. Use your core to keep your body straight and still.
Jumping jacks/Star jumps: I’m sure everyone knows how to do jumping jacks, so don’t go half-heartedly! Move those arms and bounce!
Sprints: Fast feet! You can lean forward since these are pretty awkward to do on the spot standing straight up. Squeeze your core and move your feet as fast as you can. Surprisingly a killer when done for long periods of time!
Aerobics: This particular movement is part of Breandan de Gallai’s warm-up and is a fusion of a jumping jack and a run, sort of? Any move that you’ve ever learned in an aerobics or Body Attack or Zumba class goes perfectly in a warm up! Breaks up the monotony with some more fun moves too J
Straight jumps and tuck jumps: Use your core strength and leg strength to get the highest vertical jump possible. Alternate between straight and tuck jumps or choose one or the other (all straight = easier, all tuck = very difficult).
Single leg jumps: To build or maintain leg strength. Using just your feet and leg, push through your foot and jump off one leg for a desired number of jumps. As easy and tempting as it is to use your shoulders or arms to help lift you, concentrate on using pushing through your feet to avoid it. When you get a high enough vertical jump, point your foot in the air.
Hip flexor stretch: Keep your back leg as straight as possible and lower down into a lunge. I’ve motioned awkwardly at where you should feel the stretch. Demonstrated from frontish and side views. In a warm up you only need to hold for about 10 seconds each side. In a flexibility session you’d hold for 25-30 seconds each side.
Quad stretch: Everyone probably already knows this one. Keep your knees together and lift your foot up as high as you can. Demonstrated from front and side. Hold 10 seconds each side in a warm up, 25-30 seconds in flexibility session.
Leg throws/Leg swings: Keeping your foot flexed (gives a deeper stretch) swing or throw your leg up as high as you can. I do this in a warm up to make sure my hamstrings are really well stretched and warmed up before I start doing any clicks or kicks. I don’t worry about my back knee until the next exercise.
Kicks: Now worry about your back knee, posture, arms, etc. I do 1,2 1,2 step kick for each one trying to keep good posture, keep my back knee straight, and point my foot (as best as I can in sneakers).
Calf raises: Can be done in first position or in parallel (feet straight forward). Squeeze every muscle from your stomach down (core, bum, thighs, calves) when raising, holding, and lowering.
Creating your own warm-up routine:
Now that you’ve seen some warm-up exercises, here’s some ideas on putting them together to make it to that 10 minute mark. I alternate between any three of these plus an all-aerobic warm up depending on my mood. All 3 take me about 3 4-minute tracks to complete.
I’ve posted this one before as it’s a great warm-up that doubles as a base-line fitness builder.
1 min jumping jacks or aerobics
1 min straight and tuck jumps
—Rest, die, or get a drink—
10 second stretches using the hip, quad, and hamstring stretches
Don’t have the motivation for 10 minutes of hell like in number one? I don’t blame you. Here’s a more gentle warm-up that can be used at the start of a new season, coming back from injury, or when your motivation is at a low.
5 minutes jump rope (with a real or fake rope)
10 second stretches as above
A mix of 1 and 2, this warm up gets you moving (and jumping) fast. If you’re not sweating by the end of this then you must be really fit. I wouldn’t advise this warm-up for anyone really suffering with shin splints as it’s pretty brutal on the legs.
16 straight and tuck jumps
16 straight and tuck jumps
15 single leg jumps R leg
15 single leg jumps L leg
15 single leg jumps R leg
15 single leg jumps L leg
10 single leg jumps R leg
10 single leg jumps L leg
10 single leg jumps R leg
10 single leg jumps L leg
10 second stretches described above
Next up: Light shoe practice
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