You’ve probably heard before that you need to stretch before engaging in any kind of physical activity—whether it’s a tap combination or running a marathon—but did you know why you need to stretch? Check out these four reasons and get ready to touch your toes next time before you put your dance shoes on.
1. Increases range of motion – With dance, you’re going to be moving around a lot and sometimes you’ll need to move your body in ways that cold muscles aren’t really willing to do. Stretching will help warm your body up and prepare it for a wider range of motion.
2. May help reduce risk of injury – Like our point above, warming up your body with stretches before you dance is helpful in reducing the risk of injury. Ever pulled a muscle? It hurts! By stretching, you can prepare your muscles to move more rapidly and fluidly, which in turn will help decrease the chances you will pull or injure one.
3. Improves posture – Posture isn’t just important when you’re sitting at a fancy dinner with your parents’ friends, it’s also super important while dancing. Stretching before you dance will help the muscles in your lower back, chest, and shoulders maintain better posture, which in turn will help you while dancing.
4. Improves mechanical efficiency – No, you’re not going to turn into a robot by stretching. Mechanical efficiency is the amount of energy your body needs to perform tasks (like a tap routine, etc). Increasing your mechanical efficiency through stretching means that you’ll use less energy while you dance, increasing the amount of time that you can!