UNIT 2

Elements of Dance Aerobic Workout

Dance aerobics is a fun and effective way to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance,
and flexibility while enjoying rhythmic movement to music. To maximize benefits and avoid
injuries, it is important to follow the key elements of a structured aerobic dance session.

➢ PHASES OF A DANCE AEROBIC

A complete dance aerobic workout is divided into five important phases:

1. Warm-up

• Purpose: Prepares the body for exercise by gradually increasing heart rate, circulation,
and muscle temperature.
• Activities: Light marching, side steps, shoulder rolls, or easy dance moves.
• Importance: Reduces the risk of injuries by loosening joints and muscles.

2. Cardio Segment

• Purpose: Provides the main aerobic workout by keeping the heart rate in the target zone.
• Activities: Continuous dance steps, combinations, and routines to upbeat music.
• Benefits: Improves cardiovascular endurance, burns calories, and enhances
coordination.

3. Strength and Toning Segment

• Purpose: Develops muscle strength and endurance.

• Activities: Bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, planks), use of resistance bands or
light weights integrated with dance moves.
• Benefits: Shapes and tones muscles while supporting overall fitness.

4. Cool Down

• Purpose: Allows the body to return gradually to a resting state by lowering heart rate.
• Activities: Slower, less intense movements such as walking in place or gentle swaying to
soft music.
• Importance: Prevents dizziness, lightheadedness, or blood pooling in the legs.

5. Final Stretch

• Purpose: Improves flexibility, reduces muscle tension, and aids in recovery.

• Activities: Static stretching focusing on major muscle groups used in the workout
(hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, arms, and back).
• Importance: Promotes relaxation and prevents post-workout stiffness.
➢ FITT PRINCIPLE

The FITT principles are an exercise prescription to help participants understand how long
and how hard they should exercise. It is commonly agreed that students need to be empowered
to construct and tailor workouts to meet their individual health-related fitness needs.
Each component of health-related fitness is important to teach even very young students. This
approach will help combat today’s media, which emphasizes the need for outward appearance
over health and wellness.

Overload and progression are two basic training principles. Overload refers to the amount
of load or resistance, providing a greater
stress, or load, on the body than it is normally accustomed to, to increase fitness. Progression is
the way in which an individual
should increase the load. It is a gradual increase either in frequency, intensity, or time, or a
combination of all three components.

What is F.I.T.T.?

To understand the F.I.T.T. principle, you must know the meaning of each letter. This
principle helps you toward reaching
your own goals effectively. These are the elements that you need to learn to create a routine that
suits your fitness goals.

The FITT Principle describes how to safely apply the principles of overload and progression:

• Frequency- how often you exercise.

✓ The first thing to do in setting up a workout plan is frequency. Your frequency
oftentimes depends on a variety of factors in considering the type of workout you
are about to do, how hard you are working for it, your fitness level, and your
exercise goals.
✓ For each component of health-related fitness, a safe frequency is three to five
times a week.

• Intensity- how hard you exercise.

✓ Intensity has to do with how hard you exert effort during exercise. How you can
change the intensity depends on the type of workout you are doing.
✓ Intensity can be measured in different ways, depending on the related health-
related component. For example, monitoring heart rate is one way to gauge
intensity during aerobic endurance activities, but it does not indicate intensity
during flexibility activities
 • Time- how long you exercise.
✓ The next element is how long your workout should be each session. There isn`t
one set rule for how long you should be doing your workout routines, and it will
typically depend on your fitness level.
✓ As with the other aspects of the FITT principle, time varies depending on the
health-related fitness component targeted. For example, flexibility or stretching
may take 10-30 seconds for each stretch, while the minimum time for performing
aerobic activity is 20 minutes of continuous activity.
• Type- what kind of exercise you do.
✓ The last part of the F.I.T.T. principle is the type of exercise you do, which is the
easiest to manipulate to avoid overuse injuries or weight loss.
✓ For example, an individual wishing to increase arm strength must exercise the
triceps and biceps, while an individual wishing to increase aerobic endurance
needs to jog, run, swim, or perform some other aerobically challenging activity.

Examples of F.I.T.T.
Incorporating the FITT principle into your life can be simple. Here’s how you can use it with cardio
and strength training.

1. FITT Example for Weight Loss

If your goal is to lose weight, your fitness plan might look like this:
Frequency Get your heart rate up for 3 to 6 days of the week.
Intensity This will depend on your current fitness level. For a high-intensity workout, aim
to reach 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Time Aim for around 20 to 30 minutes per workout. You can increase the workout
length as your endurance builds.
Type Any type of cardiovascular training, such as dancing, walking, running, rowing,
jogging, hiking, cycling, swimming, etc.

2. FITT Example for Cardiovascular exercises

Frequency 4 days a week
Intensity moderate, 60 to 70 percent heart rate
Time 30 minutes
Type jog

3. FITT Example to Increase Strength

Frequency 4 days a week
Intensity intermediate, 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Time 45 to 60 minutes
Type could be various leg exercises, such as deadlifts, hamstring curls, squats,
standing calf raises, leg extensions, and leg press, or alternatives.
➢ ENJOYING A SAFE WORKOUT

Guidelines for a Safe Workout

• Wear comfortable clothing and supportive shoes.

• Stay hydrated before, during, and after exercise.
• Perform each phase (warm-up, cardio, cool down, stretch) properly.
• Progress gradually—avoid sudden increases in intensity or duration.
• Listen to your body and rest when needed.

What to Wear for Dance Workouts?

In general, there aren’t many rules about what you should wear for dance workouts. “What’s
beautiful about dance is that it’s about feeling confident and free to express yourself,”
MacDonald says. That said, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind when selecting your
dance workout attire:

• Bottoms: Wear what you feel comfortable in, whether that’s leggings, basketball shorts,
or an embellished skirt. For high-intensity classes, however, MacDonald recommends
bottoms made of moisture-wicking fabric (such as polyester, nylon, or spandex) in darker
colors. “Sweat from up top can collect at the top of your pant legs,” he says, “and let’s
just say, gray cotton doesn’t stay gray for long.”
• Tops: Again, choose a top that suits your personal preferences. MacDonald likes loose
shirts with flow, but any cut in a moisture-wicking fabric will be a good bet. “Don’t be
afraid to go bold with color,” MacDonald says. And if you have breasts, a supportive
sports bra will be really important.
• Shoes: Most dance fitness classes require shoes. “Aim to select a shoe with a smooth
sole and great ankle support,” MacDonald says. If you’re not sure whether you’ll need
shoes, check with the gym or studio before you show up for class. 2
• Hair Accessories: If your hair is long enough, tie it back to keep it out of your face
during class. Bandanas, headbands, and hats are also great options to keep sweat from
dripping into your eyes, MacDonald says.

Safety and Injury-Prevention Tips for Beginners

As with other types of exercise, dance workouts can be risky if you’re not careful. Use these
expert tips to stay safe:

• Check with your healthcare provider. Visit your healthcare provider before starting
dance classes if you have an underlying health condition, in particular if you have high
blood pressure (hypertension) or heart-related issues, says Samantha Amway, a board-
certified orthopedic clinical specialist and physical therapist in sports medicine at The
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Lewis Center, Ohio. It’s also a good
 idea to consult with a physical therapist if you’ve had musculoskeletal injuries in the past,
she says.
• Stay hydrated. Don’t let dehydration spoil your fun. Stay ahead of fluid losses by
drinking an extra 16 to 20 ounces of water roughly two hours before you start dancing,
says Kelly Jones, RD, a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics and the owner of
Student Athlete Nutrition in Philadelphia. Then take at least three to four gulps of water
every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout.
• Take out the jump when needed. Don’t be afraid to modify jumping movements if you
suffer from urinary incontinence or joint pain, or simply aren’t ready to jump. “The way to
make it low impact is to walk out the movements,” says Megan Roup, a former
professional dancer and ACE-certified personal trainer based in Los Angeles, and the
founder of The Sculpt Society, a dance cardio workout app. Instead of jumping jacks,
simply step your foot out to the side.
• Use your whole foot. “A common mistake a lot of people make is they jump on the balls
of their feet the whole time,” Roup says. Landing on the balls of your feet is hard on the
calves and shins, which can lead to soreness, pain, or injury. “You should be rolling
through the entire foot when you dance,” Roup says. Bending your knees when you
land, as opposed to landing with your knees locked, is also important. That, and having
supportive shoes, will help you avoid calf pain and shin splints, per Roup.

Common Dance Injuries and Prevention

Dance may look ecstatic and effortless, but it requires a lot of effort, strength, flexibility,
and stamina. Given the circumstances, a person should be aware of avoiding the injuries
that may occur while engaging in such activities.

The following are some of the common dance injuries and how to avoid them.

1. Ankle Sprain

Ankle sprains are the most common traumatic (or acute) injury in dancers.
Most dancers will experience their first sprain by age 13. This injury is caused by
any movement that forces the ankle outside of the normal range of motion,
resulting in overstretching or in tears of the ligaments of the ankle.

2. Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendon in the back of the ankle

that connects the prime mover for pointing to your foot. As the Achilles is active
during relevé (raise) and pointing the foot, this overuse injury is quite common in
dancers, especially those utilizing improper technique or participating in excessive
training.
3. Trigger Toe (Flexor Hallucis Longus Tenosynovitis)

Trigger toe is another overuse injury that causes inflammation and damage
to the muscle that is active during pointing the big toe.

4. Ankle Impingement

Ankle impingement is the pinching of tissues at the ankle (tibia and talus)
at either the front or the back of the ankle

5. Hip Impingement

Hip impingement can be caused by many different factors, from arthritis,

labral tear, stress fracture, muscle strain, snapping hip syndrome, sacroiliac joint
dysfunction, to piriformis syndrome. It is extremely common in dancers due to the
imbalance between the amount of external rotation (turnout) they have compared
to the amount of internal rotation (turn in).
 Basic Dance Terms in Dance Aerobics: Warm-up

TERMS DESCRIPTION PICTURE

1. March in • Stepping alternately on the right
Place and left foot while pumping the
arms.
• Prepares the heart and lungs for
activity and increases blood
circulation.

2. Step Touch • Step to one side with one foot,

then bring the other foot to touch
beside it.
• Often combined with arm
movements for coordination.

3. Grapevine • Step to the side, cross the

opposite foot behind, step to the
side again, and close with the
other foot.
• Builds rhythm and warms up the
lower body.

4. Knee Lifts • Alternately lifting knees toward the

chest while engaging the core.
• Increases hip mobility and heart
rate.
5. Heel Dig • Extending one heel forward with
the toes up, alternating feet.
• Warms up the calves and
hamstrings.

6. Side Step • Step to the side while reaching one

with Arm or both arms overhead or outward.
Reach • Warms up the shoulders along
with the lower body.

7. Shoulder • Circular movements of the

Rolls shoulders forward and backward.
• Relieves tension in the upper
body.

8. Hip Circles • Rotating hips in circular motions.

• Prepares the core and lower back
for activity.
9. Head Rolls • Slowly rolling the head side-to-side
or in semi-circles.
• Loosens the neck muscles (done
gently to avoid strain).

10. Calf Raises • Raise your heels slowly, keeping

your knees extended (but not
locked).
• Pause for one second when you're
standing as much on the tips of
your toes as you can.
• Lower your heels back to the
ground, returning to the starting
position.

11. Kickbacks • Bend your right knee and kick

your heel up toward your
glutes (buttocks).
• Lower your right foot back
down.
• Repeat with your left leg,
alternating in a rhythmic
pattern.

12. Standing • First, squat down slightly and lean

Donkey Kicks your upper body forward.
• Keeping your back straight, lift one
of your legs so you're standing on
one foot.
• When you're ready, extend your
lifted leg back behind you until it's
parallel to the floor. Lower your leg
and repeat a few more times.
13. Body Roll • Plant your feet about shoulder
width apart, bend your knees
slightly, and begin rotating your
hips and chest.

14. Body Twist • Place your feet about shoulder

width apart and lift your hands
and arms so they are about even
with your chest.
• Then, begin twisting your upper
body from side to side.

15. Standing • Place your hands behind your

Bicycle Crunch head and plant your feet about
shoulder-width apart. When you
are ready, lift your right knee and,
at the same time, crunch your
upper body forward and tap your
right knee with your left elbow.
• Do the same thing on the opposite
side, so that your left knee touches
your right elbow.

16. Arm Reach • While you're standing, swing one

of your legs forward.
• As you swing your leg out in front
of you, reach toward your foot with
your opposite arm.
• Then, bring your leg back down
and repeat with your opposite leg
and arm.
 BASIC DANCE TERMS IN DANCE AEROBICS: COOL-DOWN

TERMS DESCRIPTION PICTURE

1. Breathing • Helps regulate breathing, calm the
Exercises body, and normalize heart rate.
• Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
Inhale deeply through the nose
while slowly raising both arms
overhead. Exhale through the
mouth as you lower the arms back
down.

2. Neck • Relieves tension in the neck and

Stretches upper shoulders.
• Stand upright. Gently tilt your
head to the right (ear toward
shoulder), hold for 8 seconds,
then switch sides. Tilt forward
(chin to chest) and slightly
backward. Optionally, perform
slow half-circle rolls side-to-side.
3. Shoulder • Roll shoulders forward in
Stretch smooth circular motions, then
backward. For a deeper stretch,
pull one arm across the chest
with the opposite hand and hold
for 8 seconds per side.

4. Arm Circles • Increases flexibility and releases

arm tension.
• Extend arms outward at shoulder
height.
• Draw small circles forward,
gradually making them larger
then reverse direction.
5. Side Stretch • Lengthens the side body and
/ Overhead stretches obliques.
Reach • Stand with feet shoulder-width
apart. Raise the right arm
overhead and lean gently to the
left, keeping hips steady. Hold
8 seconds, then switch sides.

6. Torso Twists • Improves spinal mobility and

relaxes the back.
• Stand with feet hip-width apart,
knees slightly bent, arms
extended to the side. Slowly twist
your torso to the right, return to the
center, then twist to the left.

7. Forward • Stretches hamstrings, calves, and

Fold / lower back.
Hamstring • Stand with feet hip-width apart.
Stretch Hinge at the hips and bend
forward, allowing arms and head
to hang toward the floor. Keep
knees soft if needed. Hold for 8
seconds.

8. Lunges • Stretches hip flexors, thighs, and

(Static groin.
Stretch)
• Step the right foot forward into a
lunge, keeping the front knee bent
and the back leg straight. Hold 8
seconds, then switch legs. For a
side lunge, step to the side,
bending one knee while keeping
the other leg straight.
9. Standing • Stretches the front thigh muscles.
Quadriceps
Stretch • Stand tall and bend your right
knee, and bring the heel toward
your glutes. Hold the ankle with
your right hand, keeping your
knees close. Hold 8 seconds per
leg.

10. Reaches and • Promotes body lengthening and

Extensions relaxation.

• Stand with feet hip-width apart.

Extend arms upward, outward, or
diagonally in a smooth, stretching
motion. Hold for 8 seconds.

11. Cool-Down • Helps gradually lower heart rate

Walk / Step and transition to rest.
Touch
(Slow) • Walk slowly in place or take gentle
side-to-side step touches. Keep
arms relaxed and movements
controlled. Continue for 10-20
seconds.