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Using this knowledge to prepare for a practical lesson 

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Using this knowledge to prepare for a practical lesson 

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( I’m wearing a white shirt and shorts)

After eating the same greek yoghurt, granola and honey breakfast, I prepared for my Friday dance fitness lesson. In this class, I've been struggling with confidence as it's designed to push us. With the environment already being out of my comfort zone, I need to feel comfortable in the other elements I can control.

I was able to start my day feeling good and felt energised in my first lesson. As I started my day today at 11:15, the break before my next class which would usually be lunch was only 15mins. This was an adjustment from my previous Fridays as I normally get an hour where I eat at the beginning, giving as much time as possible for my food to go down.

By the time the class finishes, it would have been around 5 hours since I last ate. I know my body and I knew that that would be too long with such a physical class to go without food especially as my body clock to eat lunch is around 1. For me, food is a huge part of my mental stability so it was important to eat before the lesson. I planned ahead and brought some different options depending on how I would feel. This week was the fitness test so I had some idea of what we would be doing. I decided to eat a banana during the break and it ended up giving me peace of mind that I would make it through the class as well as not bothering me in the more intense cardio at the end by being heavy in my stomach.

From listening to my body along with the knowledge I've gained about nutrition, I was able to feel alert and concentrated on the tasks given. if I hadn't eaten before I don't think I would have gotten as much out of the class or improved on some of my scores from last time achieving some new PBs. My cardio went from around 80 reps to 104 which for me was a great achievement. I was part of the last 3 standing and when 2 of us dropped we went back in and supported our last classmate standing and the rest of the class joined in till he made the full 130 reps. My positive mindset allowed me to rejoin and I think that mindset was possible from my preparation for class. I enjoyed a peanut butter and jam sandwich after to get some sugar back into my body which was a delicious reward!

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(I am wearing navy bottoms and a black short sleeve top.)

This video here shows a 3:30 pm class in ground-based. I learnt the phrase in this lesson and as you can see, although there are moments which are clear I haven't quite managed to get the choreography. This is something I struggle with and find that these 3 elements I have decided to focus on have a considerate effect.

Considering the time of day and the other 3 practical lessons I had had that day, for me I was happy with how I picked it up. I always like to arrive 20-30 minutes before my ground-based classes to warm up, revise movement and mentally prepare. It's clear this benefited me on this day as my performance showed the potential of play with the movement and awareness of my peers.

I feel that I'm able to get a similar result in dance fitness with the same preparation.

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KEY:
green- warm up cool down
blue- sleep and rest
orange- nutrition

read from top to bottom of each column

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'Periodization training is the deliberate manipulation of training variables to optimize performance for competition, prevent overtraining, and progress performance.' (T. Edwards, Healthline, 2021)

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From putting everything I've learnt this term into practice I have noticed a development in my training. My understanding of different external factors like what and when to eat benefits me and allows me to make the most of every day. Changing my sleeping pattern and 'busting myths' has given me a new outlook on rest, especially discovering the difference between rest and sleep; as well as a crucial realisation that food is not good or bad, just nutritious or non-nutritious.

I can take all these skills into my future training and apply them to work after my degree. I'm excited to keep improving each unit and expanding my understanding on all these topics.

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Here are some entries from class on different days. I also use this as a part of my cool down to reflect on what I've learnt. These help me in future lessons as a quick recap and I often read them in my warm-ups.

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Warm up:

It's essential for all physical classes and personally very important for my mindset when beginning a class. Following RAMP (Raise pulse, Activate, Mobilse, Potentiate) allows for the most effective warm up and is beneficial for any class. Other elements like a yoga flow, dynamic stretches or recapping movement also benefit in preparation for certain classes. It's important for ‘the body's circulation, breathing and energy production (aerobic system)’ (One Dance UK, Helen Laws, Caroline Marsh and Professor Matthew Wyon, 2012).

Cool down:

It is important to cool down as it can speed up recovery time and help with the buildup of lactic acid. ‘the muscles get tired and may not be able to contract as effectively’ (Very Well Fit, Natalie Rizzo, August 2021). It also gives time for reflection to process the class. This helps retain the information just learnt rather than moving straight onto the next class.

If these aspects were not take seriously it could lead to a higher risk of injury. ‘The purpose of the cool down is to return your heart rate close to resting. Stopping quickly without a cool down can result in light-headedness, dizziness and/or fainting’ (Riverview Health, Shawna Reed, March 2018)

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After some basic stretches and a short reflection at school, I did some additional calming exercises with my housemates. I learnt these in Pilates and Improvisation. Using a yoga ball to release the weight of the head and sections of the spine and rolling my legs on a foam roller. That evening, there was a noticeable difference in how my body felt before bed. I was much more rested and would describe the feeling as ‘soft’ throughout.

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Thinking about how different foods affect my body differently has given me the resources to fuel productively and consider the role it has in my training. By making minor adjustments to my diet I believe I’m better equipped to perform at my best. I've learnt that carbohydrates can benefit me in a class like dance fitness by supplying me with energy and help with recovery once paired with protein. ‘After a period of dancing, the muscles require an adequate supply of carbohydrates to replenish the muscle glycogen stores’ (Ausdance, June 2012).

Including a sufficient amount of macronutrients is important for muscle repair and bones. These are especially important in dance fitness as we're looking to exceed our comfort zone. ‘Deficiency of these vitamins can impair performance. Vitamins A (beta carotene), C and E function as antioxidants that are necessary for the repair of over-stressed muscles and are needed to help muscles recover from strenuous activity. Vitamin D is important in bone formation.’ (Ausdance, June 2012)

To optimise energy levels throughout this class, I eat a low GI carbohydrate to release energy over a period of time with an element of protein to assist in building muscle for breakfast. In the future, I will integrate a high-GI carbohydrate snack or some juice after class to boost energy for the next class before lunch. ‘Simple carbs lack fiber and therefore, digest quickly. As a result, a quicker dose of energy is provided to your working muscles.’ (Rachel Fine, Dance Nutrition, March 2020)

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Writing reflections during the day gave me an insight into how sleep and nutrition can affect each other. When I'm tired, I become hungry quicker and crave high GI (glucose index) foods. My conclusion for this, although it might not be scientific, is due to fatigue I believe I can get energy from food but end up feeling lethargic due to being tired and not fueling correctly. I will correct this by preparing efficiently- this could look like meal prepping or having an array of snacks from juice to a banana with me.

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EXPLORING THE EFFECT OF SLEEP, NUTRITION, WARM UP AND COOL DOWN ON MY DANCE FITNESS LESSON.

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EXPLORING THE EFFECT OF SLEEP, NUTRITION, WARM UP AND COOL DOWN ON MY DANCE FITNESS LESSON.

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Today I ate breakfast (same as every day- Greek yogurt, banana, honey, granola) at 7:30 after a well rested nights sleep. I felt energised and focused during my first lesson, composition. It’s now 11:10 and I’m starting to feel hungry. I have Cunningham now so will see how my energy levels are effected.

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Today I ate the same breakfast at the same time as yesterday but I hadn't slept as well for as long. I felt pretty good during my first lesson hunger-wise but noticed after I definetly felt quite low in energy and hungry. The change was sleeping so maybe the lack of sleep effected my energy levels causing me to crave an energy boost from food. I do experince a dip in energy in my second lesson but its not as noticable when I've slept consistantly.

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From understanding the cycles of sleep in Lucie's psychology classes, I can set a sustainable sleep time and wake time. I've found 9 hours of sleep allows me to get the most out of my day and maintain a certain level of focus even in my classes later in the day. ‘sleep itself has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential for learning new information.’ (Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dec 2007).

To prepare for an active morning I sleep with my technology downstairs to not be interrupted and leave time for my food to digest before sleep. This allows me to be present first thing in the morning and have time to arrive early to safely warm up.

an important factor that I've learnt about sleep is that it's not the same as rest. Instead, rest gives time for recovery and as we have learnt with Lucie, this can look like refilling our 7 buckets. It is a great visual representation of checking in and figuring out the most beneficial way to rest. Learning that rest ‘is not a chore, not something to earn and is a right’ which is something that Lucie said in one of our lessons, has supported me mentally and I can take this into my future training. This leaves less room for burnout and a reduced risk of injury. Some ways that I enjoy resting include: taking a bath, reading or catching up with friends.

I have noticed the effect of periodisation as I'm able to get more out of the term than I have previously when training elsewhere. I have noticed this in my motivation and have a more sustained level of energy throughout the term. The only negative side to this style of training is the short weeks. I feel as if I'm not able to fully rest with a break of only a couple extra days added to the weekend but I'm still working out what kind of rest would work best for me. I will work on using the time more efficiently and trial different methods of rest.

The green, amber, and red structure for the intensity of our classes (green being a simpler, slower class with frequent breaks and red being a higher intensity class with very short water breaks.) was an effective way of structuring the week informed by a micro periodisation cycle.  "Another example incorporates block training [microcycle], which consists of very hard workouts for two or three consecutive days followed by an equal amount of recovery." (T. Holmes, TrainingPeaks, 2022).

having 3 busier days in the centre of our week, Tuesday to Thursday is like having a microcycle of periodisation. Monday and Friday have fewer classes which are normally less intense or practical. I think this is an effective way of incorporating periodisation on an academic scale that has to fit with a typical school year and a typical 7-day week.