If you’re a creative ribbon dancer or a rhythmic gymnast you need to make sure your warm-up includes these essential elements to prepare your body for athletic movement. Because ribbons are fun and simplistic, we often overlook the vital components necessary prior to beginning ribbon work
Table of Contents
- Warming Up vs. Exercising
- Cardio
- Abdominals
- Back
- Neck
- Shoulders
- Ankles, Wrist, Finger Tips
- Other Considerations
- Conclusion
Warming Up Overview
Warming up is an element of exercise programming. It can be confusing to determine what movement is considered a warm-up and what movement constitutes full-fledged exercises. In general, your warm-up should be progressive, slow-building, and have “rehearsal movements.” Rehearsal movements are precursors exercises that prepare the mind and body for working in your full range of motion. Rehearsal moves are performed slower and with a smaller range of motion.
Element #1 – Cardio
What is cardio?
“Cardio” is an abbreviation for “cardiovascular exercise.” Cardiovascular exercise is any form of exercise intended to (safely) increase your heart rate and respiration. A cardio warm-up refers to exercises that to gradually increase your heart rate which improves circulation to your large muscles, thus preparing your body for the demands of physical fitness.
Why is cardio an important element of a ribbon dance warm-up?
It’s important to incorporate elements of cardiovascular exercises in your warm-up because ribbon dance requires vast flexibility – it can be unsafe to immediately perform large stretches if your muscles have not been given the proper time to warm up, which can result in injury.
What are 3 popular cardio warm-up exercises?
- Jumping Jacks
- High Knees
- Basic Footwork
Element #2 – Abdominals
What are your abdominals?
Your abdominals muscles refer to the muscles the compose your abdominal wall.
- Internal Oblique
- External Oblique
- Rectus Abdominis
- Transverse Abdominis
Why is cardio an important element of a ribbon dance warm-up?
Your abdominal muscles are apart of your core muscles, your core muscles act as your “powerhouse.” We perform abdominal activating exercise’s in our ribbon dance warm-up to prepare our “powerhouse” for high powered dancing.
What are 3 popular abdominal exercises?
- Situps/Cruches
- Bicycles
- Hollow Body Holds
Element #3 – Back
What is your back?
Your back refers to the muscles that compose the posterior side of your torso and up extremity. Because our back is on the backside of our body, it can be easy to neglect training your back. Weak back muscles are the culprit of common ailments.
Why is it important to warm up your back before ribbon dancing?
We warm up our back muscles before ribbon dancing to make sure our spine is prepared for impressive movements such as backbends and scorpions. It is also our goal to warm up our scapular and muscles around the scapulas to support proper arm and shoulder blade movement patterns.
What are 3 popular back warm-up exercises?
- Cat-cow
- Superman Hold
- Reverse Fly (Theraband)
Element #4 – Neck
What is your neck?
Your neck connects your head to the rest of your body.
Why is cardio an important element to warm up your neck before ribbon dancing?
Your neck is composed of muscle, that like the rest of your body, needs to be prepared for physical activity. Failing to properly warm up your neck can lead to neck injuries. In ribbon dance, we use our neck to allow a skill referred to as “eye tracking” to be performed safely, which is the root of other skills such as ribbon tossing and passe turns.
What are 3 popular neck exercises?
- Head Rotation
- Side Neck Bend Stretch
- Neck Flexion Stretch
Element #5 – Shoulders
What are the shoulders?
Your shoulders connect your arms to your back and body.
Why sit important to warm up your shoulders prior to ribbon dancing?
Your shoulders allow you to use your handheld ribbon. The manner in which you hold your ribbon will directly affect how your ribbon acts and looks. Ribbon dance require small fine movement and large robust movement. Warming up your shoulders can reduce the risk of shoulder injuries and impairment.
What are 3 popular shoulder exercises?
- Arm Circles
- Downward Dog
- Overhead Tricep Stretch
Element # 6 – Ankles, Wrist, Fingers
What are your ankles, wrist, and fingers?
Your ankles and wrist refer to the joining that connects your hand and feet to the rest of your extremities. Your fingers allow you to use your hands to touch, feel, and utilize your dance ribbon with greater refinement and ease.
Why is this element an important element of a ribbon dance warm-up?
We warmup or fingers to increase the mobility required to perform fine motor skills with your dance ribbon. Your wrist and ankles need to be warmed up to properly participate in the kinetic chain. The kinetic chain allows you to have efficient stability and mobility throughout different parts of your body.
What are 3 popular exercises?
- Wrist and Ankle Rotations
- Fist to Hi- 5 Open (Stretch)
- Foot Pedaling
Other Considerations
Hydration – Proper hydration is essential prior to exercise to prevent muscle cramps and spasms. You should properly hydrate throughout the day to prepare in advance for your exercise training.
The Mind – Warm up the mind with visualization and relaxation exercises before ribbon dance. It’s proven that visualization exercises
Respect – Ribbon dance uses a handheld tool that can, unfortunately, be used to inflict harm on ourselves or others. Flexing your respect muscles before dancing is beneficial to make sure you are in a positive/healthy headspace to move efficiently and safely.
Conclusion
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