One Hour Study
Examining the Benefits of a Proper Cardio Warm-Up for Dancers
For my One Hour Study project I observed dancers in the dance department and their heart rate after warm-ups. I was interested in noticing the difference between the warm-ups we do in technique class versus a cardio work-out. I also was interested in examining different dancers and how well they perform dance technique after a cardio based warm-up and how their feelings are toward it. My hypothesis for my project was that a cardio warm-up increased someone’s heart rate much more than the warm-ups we do in technique classes and that dancers who do not perform outside cardio work-out activity would find the cardio warm-up challenging. In order for this project to be accurate, I needed to use a pulse watch. I had many different dancers wear the pulse watch during different dance styles, during their usual warm-up. I asked dancers that do cardio on a daily basis outside of dance and dancers that rely on dance for their exercise. I compared the pulse rate to the pulse rate of a full cardio warm-up. I then on my own, figured out the proper work-out and time spent warming up in order to find the pulse rate of a full cardio work-out. Then I asked the same dancers to be a part of my one-hour study. During the one-hour study I gave them a cardio warm-up. I had them document how they felt after the warm-up, whether they feel too tired to move or whether they feel like their body was fully prepared and ready to perform a full dance class. I then gave the dancers a short dance combination and they documented how they felt after the combination. I wanted to acknowledge if they felt like their performance improved and was more efficient or if it was lacking energy from the full cardio warm up. I determined if the dancers are surprised by how out of shape or in shape they are due to their everyday cardio.
In my data I found surprising outcomes, concerning the heart-rate comparison. My assumption of was that the heart rate of a cardio warm-up would be significantly greater than the heart rate of a dance warm-up. I found that the dance warm-ups we perform in the department are closely related to one of a cardio warm-up jus performing different activity. My hypothesis was based off of experience in dance technique classes, although they are rigorous, I did not expect them to be comparable to cardio. The participates I tested heart rate on were myself, Zoe Papa, Alexis Hargrave and Lindsey Shly. I chose these dancers due to the amount of cardio activity they do outside of dance classes.
Zoe Papa: No outside cardio
Lindsey Shly: Approx. 4 days a week cardio work-out
Alexis Hargrave: Approx. 7 days a week cardio work-out
Zoey Sloane: Approx. 7 days a week cardio.
The dance technique classes I examined were Crystal Fuller’s Afro-Horton contemporary, Josh Manculich’s jazz class, and Valerie William’s ballet class.
Zoey Sloane heart rate Crystal Fuller’s contemporary class:
Prior- 63 BPM
After warm-up: Ranged from 143-159 BPM
Crystal Fuller’s Afro-Horton contemporary class’s warm-up includes laterals, flat backs, deep lunged, abdominal work-out series and tendus.
Zoe Papa heart rate Josh Manculich’s jazz class:
After warm-up- 160 BPM
Josh Manculich’s jazz technique class’s warm-up includes hamstring stretching, plies, arm swings, running in place, deep second position chugs and hip rolls.
Alexis Hargrave heart rate Valerie William’s ballet class:
Prior- 63 BPM
After- 94 BPM
After my one-hour study I found that the heart rates of the cardio warm-up were not significantly higher than those of a dance technique warm-up.
One Hour Study Heart-Rate results:
Lindsey Shly
Heart Rate before my cardio warm-up: 85 BPM
Heart Rate after:143 BPM
Alexis Hargrave
Heart Rate before my cardio warm-up: 64 BPM
Heart Rate after: 146 BPM
Zoe Papa
Heart Rate before my cardio warm-up: 65 BPM
Heart Rate after cardio: 110 BPM
Zoey Sloane
Heart Rate before my cardio warm-up: 74 BPM
Heart rate after: 153 BPM
After comparing heart rates, I examined the dancer’s feeling physically and mentally after the cardio warm-up. I asked the dancer’s numerus questions throughout the study.
Questions I asked the dancer’s:
The questions asked before the exercise:
How much cardio activity do you do daily?
Do you work out outside of dance class?
Questions after warm-up:
Do you feel too tired to participate in dance activity?
Do you feel more energized than usual to participate in dance activity?
Was the exercise unusually hard for you or easy for you?
How do you feel physically along with mentally?
Questions after dance:
How did you feel during the dance combination after the cardio warm-up?
Do you prefer cardio or another style of warm-up? If so, what?
After doing the cardio warm-up, do you think you will add more cardio to your daily routine or remain the same?
Results I found after reflecting on questions:
Perspective of a dancer who performs cardio work-out approximately four days a week.
Mentally ready to dance
Physically warmer than usual
Felt like cardio warm-up is equivalent to one of a ballet class
More realization of muscles and using this for the ability to move through space efficiently
Perspective of a dancer who does not perform outside cardio work-out
Felt the cardio work-out was challenging
Thinks it may be beneficial to add more outside cardio
Feels if they performed more cardio exercise their stamina would be better
Much more prepared to move
Perspective of a dancer who performs cardio work-out approximately seven days a week.
Feels properly prepared to move
Did not think the warm-up was difficult
Body feels better prior to warm-up
May add even more cardio to everyday routine
Feels energized and warm
The presentation of my project went smoothly and I was able to learn more from others and continue research as I presented. I presented my project with a poster concerning all of my data and a slight description of my project. I did a lot of verbal presenting because I wanted to hear other perspectives on cardio during dance warm-ups. I found that a hand full of people prefer a more direct warm-up including plies and tendus in order to find a better sense of alignment, balance and focus. Others preferred a cardio based warm-up to get their blood flowing and mentally energized for a performance. It was interesting to hear people’s insight and also see how many dancers perform outside cardio and how many dancers depend on dance technique classes for their exercise. It is a preference based question whether or not someone thinks cardio warm-ups benefit you as a performer and that is the main point I discovered. I enjoyed hearing so many perspectives on a topic that I am very interested in and passionate towards.
