Staying fit with ballet

In last week's column I covered some health and fitness aspects concerning our kids. For the next few weeks I would like to stay on the theme of keeping our children active and healthy.

There are so many activities for our kids to be involved with. Let's take a look at one you may not have considered for your children. This week I would like to give you some perspective from a young person who has dedicated a great amount of her time doing something that she loves, which is ballet.

Sophia Cruzaedo Wagner is a 14-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School student who considers herself an athlete and a ballerina. Dance in any form is a great way to exercise and be active. Ballet is just one of those forms of dance you could consider getting either your son or daughter into.

Here is Sophia's perspective on ballet as it relates to fitness and being an athlete:

Who says ballerinas aren't athletes?

First of all, what is ballet? I know what you're thinking: A bunch of insanely skinny girls prancing, twirling and jumping around in pink tutus. I want to say this is far from the truth, but it is close to being accurate. Yes, there are girls in ballet that are too-good-to-be-true skinny, but many of us are just average-sized girls (like me!).

As for the prancing, twirling and jumping? Well it may seem easy, but you try jumping up and down 32 times with your shoulders back, chin up, stomach up, butt down, knees straight and pointed toes, while smiling. Let's just say your calves and thighs will be screaming at you. (And unfortunately, the tutus only come around for performance time.)

So by this time, you're probably thinking that maybe ballet isn't at all what you thought it is, because it probably isn't. Ballet is physically demanding, no doubt about it, but if we're not considered athletes, how come football players take classes and afterward have excelled in a particular strength? Athletes have their pains and risks in their sport, and you think ballet doesn't? Why this is considered a debating topic confuses me, and I'm sure, every ballerina.

I was once told that if football was easier, it would be called ballet; many people want to disagree with this, but this is not at all far from the truth. It is common practice for professional football players to cross-train with ballet because it works the muscles better than football does. In football, it is important for a player to have strength, balance, mental focus, endurance, flexibility, speed, and agility. All these traits (and more) can be improved in ballet! How is flexibility important in football you say? John Casteele, a writer, says, "Flexibility helps players to avoid tackles and make catches and can reduce the likelihood of injuries to joints such as the knees and shoulders." And, to end this happy note, Lynn Swann, a former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and an NFL Hall of Famer, credits his graceful performance in games to ballet training and other dance classes. He says that the classes helped him achieve body control, balance and a sense of rhythm and timing.

As you can imagine, ballerinas get the injuries: Pulled muscles, strains and the occasional toenail falling, or ripping, off... just kidding. But we can also get sprains and stress fractures that can drastically limit our careers. A lot of girls will risk it and try to muscle through it, taking it easy yet psyching themselves to believe the pain is only for a short period of time and will eventually fade. This "pain" is usually a sore or pulled muscle, and it will eventually fade; but if it's a strain or stress fracture, sucking it up could just make it worse. And what does that look like? Infection, broken bones, permanent damage, you name it!

To prevent sore and pulled muscles/muscle strains, a cool bath is like an entire ice pack for the body, and stretching can prevent those muscle strain injuries. For stress fractures, rest is essential and for sprains, R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate) is a very helpful (analogy). Blisters, on the other hand, are pains that are attempted to be prevented but if unsuccessful... fighting through the pain can be the only option. Ballerinas' feet are pretty in the pointe shoes, but can be atrocious when not hiding behind them.

Think back to your first idea of ballet, to those girls turning, leaping and sashaying in their tutus. I bet from this day forward, this first thought has turned around. Those people, who say ballerinas aren't athletes, mainly say that because we're also not considered a sport and have no competitive drive. Well as a side-note, I can tell you that there is plenty of competitive drive in ballet, especially in auditions for the next performance."

Ballet is a classical dance employing formalized steps and gestures set in complex, flowing patterns to create expression through movement demanding grace and precision." Maintaining that grace and precision through those complex combinations, is not as easy as you may think. Ballet requires discipline and hard work, yet may it forever be viewed as the elegant work of art it is.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corporation.