WARMING UP AND COOLING DOWN QUESTION

Briefly describe what happens to a dancers body In a warm up and cool down. 

Discuss the benefits of warm up and cool down, providing specific examples of appropriate activities which can be used - 20 marks. 

Warming up is vital to a dancers body, as it goes through many changes until the body is safe to dance. There are three different stages to a successful warm up these are cardiovascular, mobilsation of the joints and dynamic stretching. All of these stages are needed to prepare the body for dance. Each stage helps the body mentally prepare for moving, this is because the body goes through different stages of movement before it starts dancing so that you are fully aware of what you are going to be doing. This allows the body to be less likely to hurt the body by not being aware. 

The cardiovascular stage of a warm up should last about 5-10 minutes and included things such as jogging, jumping and travelling exercises. When warming up a dancers core body temperature should raise, this is important as when the body is warm nerve impulses travel faster and therefore the muscles become less stiff and they are able to release and contact more easily, compare to whether the body temperature is cold. This happens in the first stage of the warmup, the cardio stage, this is also needed to raise the heart rate, this is needed so that the blood flow is increased and therefore the muscles are able to loosen up and work more efficiently as there is more oxygen available to them.   

The mobilisation stage of a warm up, includes head, shoulder and ankle rolls, this is needed to help protect the major joints because this section of the warm up increases the supply of synovial fluid, this is good for the body as it helps lubricate the joints so they are able move more easily and therefore reduce friction, so that they are damaged when dancing.  This stage also helps the body release adrenalin as the body had began moving and therefore the body is able to move around safely as the muscles and joints are less stiff and there can move more easily.  

The third stage of warming up is dynamic stretching, this is where the body is constantly moving and not held in a position there is no bouncing and lots of repetition, it is important that when doing this the dancer uses breath to complete the stretches. This stage is also important as it increases the elasticity and flexibility in the muscles. It is important that this is the final stage of warming up as it is dangerous to stretch cold muscles as they can tear and cause injury, and is not beneficial to the body.
  

After dancing it is vital that the body is appropriately cooled down after dancing, it is needed to bring back down the heart rate and stretch out the muscles that had been used. This allows the body to get rid of the lactic acid that it may have built up which may cause the muscles and joints to seize up. As well as this because the lactic acid prevents aches and pains in the body. The core temperature is also brought down as well as the heart rate as the body prepares to stop constantly moving. 

In conclusion it is important that the body undertakes an efficient warm up and cool down so that it can complete different changes such as core body temperature, blood flow and preparing the body mentally for movement.