What NOT to do:

1. DON’T – Sit in long sustained stretches when you are cold. Over the holiday period, often dancers spend more time stretching than actually dancing. And then, usually because you are feeling a bit tight, you will sit in a stretch whenever hanging out on the floor... Sound familiar? Well the problem with this is that when we hold a muscle on a sustained stretch, the load is often taken at the weakest part of the muscle, putting it at risk of injury. Instead; try the Sun Salutations in the Front Splits Fast Program, or the Fascial Mobility exercises.

2. DON’T - Do long stretches, and then start dancing. Sometimes, if you know that you are about to get active, you will sit into a stretch for a sustained period of time. Remember that if a muscle has been on a long stretch the muscle fibres will not actually be able to generate as much force as normal for about 20 – 30 mins until after you come out of a stretch. Always remember to ‘wake up’ you muscles before going from stretching into dancing to ensure that you are using all of the muscle.