Nutrition for the Competitive Ballroom Dancer (Part 1: Pre-Competition/Training)

As a professional ballroom dancer and a Registered DietitianI have explored personally and professionally the importance of nutrition inperforming your best as a competitive ballroom dancer, whether you are astudent, a teacher, a professional or an amateur competitor. While you cantrain hard and/or be a naturally talented or passionate dancer, withoutproperly fueling your body, you are doing yourself a disservice in the long runin your ability to reach your maximum potential. So many times we fall in tofad diets, eat quick fast food choices or skip meals because of a busyschedule, or try something extreme just to look good in our competition dressor pants and, while you may achieve a physique you have desired, you do nothave the mental or physical energy to put into your performance on thefloor.   In this three part blog series I am going todiscuss nutrition tips for pre- competition and training, at competition, andpost competition/recovery nutrition for all levels of competitive ballroomdancers to help you feel your best and perform at your maximum potential.

Pre-Competition/Training:

1. General Tips:
   • Fuel your body with balanced meals- 3 meals/3 snacks every 3-4 hours ensuring you include carbohydrates (more whole grain/high fiber/fruit/starchy vegetables over refined or sugary choices), lean proteins (animal or plant based), healthy fats (avocado, olive oils, seeds, nuts, certains fish sources), and non starchy vegetables. At each meal you should try and include something from all of these groups and at each snack you should include at least a carbohydrate and a protein.
   • Fueling pre-practice- about an hour before practice or your lesson (depending on time of the day) you should ensure you have a meal or snack. Make sure the meal or snack isn’t too heavy (high fat, super high fiber, or fried food), but rather a balanced choice that is a bit lighter on the system- eg chicken (or beans), rice, avocado, and veggies or for a snack nut butter with a piece of fruit or toast, Greek yogurt with fruit, carrots and hummus, whole grain crackers and cheese, nuts and dried fruit, or a low added sugar protein bar (orgain, lara, rx bars) if you are in a rush. If you eat too heavy of a meal before practice or you skip eating before practice or a lesson, this can result in a lack of ability to learn and focus, feeling faint or light headed, feeling bloated and heavy, or feeling like you are too fatigued to put in enough energy.
   • Fueling post practice- If you have had a strenuous practice where you are working consistently, doing rounds, working on technique (eg not a practice/lesson) consistent of mostly talking, you should plan to have a recovery meal or snack. If you had a meal prior to your lesson, plan for a recovery snack or if you had a snack prior to practice, plan for a recovery meal. A snack such as a protein shake, fruit and veggie smoothie, chocolate milk, or any of the pre-practice snacks provide a good balance for recovery. If it is time for a meal, options mentioned pre-practice or choices such as a spinach salad with quinoa, salmon, and pumpkin seeds; pita with hummus, falafel and veggies, whole grain pasta with chicken broccoli and low fat cheese, or even a wrap with turkey, guacamole, and veggies could all be good options. Ensuring proper fueling after practice is crucial in proper recovery to ensure you minimize muscle cramps, soreness, and overall fatigue post practice and to ensure you are ready to go the next day!
   • Hydration- ensuring you consume a minimum of a 8 glasses of water a day is a must! Dehydration can lead to fainting, low energy, headaches and an inability to focus during practice. If you are sweating significantly during your lesson or practice add an extra 8 oz of water for each hour of dancing; during intense practices or lessons lasting over an hour, consider adding an electrolyte source to your water to ensure you can maintain your energy and performance without muscle cramps.
   • Alcohol- Alcohol provides a significant a significant amount of empty calories and can lead to the unwanted “beer belly” if consumed too frequently. You should limit your alcohol as much as possible, but if you are still going to consume it, limit your alcohol consumption to 1-2 drinks per week with an absolute maximum of one drink a day for women and 2 for men. If you are drinking, stay away from sugary mixers, heavy beers or super sweet white wine. Red wine is the most recommended alcohol or a small serving or hard liquor (if you choose to drink).
   • Smoking- Smoking can put extra strain on your lungs and your blood vessels as well as decrease your absorption of certain nutrients. While both alcohol and smoking can be a source of stress management for many dancers, it is highly recommended that other sources of stress relief are utilized e.g. meditation, drawing, massage, listening to podcasts or playlists, or taking a yoga class/some other form of stress relieving exercise.
   • Additional Exercise- While dancing is a fantastic form of exercise, especially as a student, it is recommended that some weight bearing, cardio, and stability and flexibility exercise is included within your training to ensure your optimal performance in your dancing and to help prevent injury. Doing pilates/yoga, boxing or jump rope, or a light body weight work, and stretching are all good options. Make sure you treat your additional exercises as you would your dancing when it comes to nutrition and eating recommendations.
   • Don’t forget to sleep! If you can get 7-8 hours of sleep your body will heal more effectively and metabolism will function more efficiently.

2. Special Tips Based on the Type of Competitor You Are:

• Professional Competitor- As many of youexperience, your training and practice schedules involve long hours of practice5-7 days a week as well as cross training and teaching or working another job.Your nutrition is especially crucial to your ability to commit fully topractice on a day to day basis, maintain your relationship with your dancepartner (not getting as easily grumpy or irritable), recovering more easily,and having the mental capacity to remain creative, improve and makechanges. 
  • In addition to the general tips above, it isimportant that for focused practices over 2 or 3 hours, you are stayinghydrated and have a drink with electrolytes available if you have a high energypractice.
  • Having a snack available for after practice orpart of the way through a long practice is also beneficial (this can be assimple as a protein bar or a handful of trail mix).
  • If you are doing a full day of coaching sessionsnot to neglect your meals or snacks. Even though you may be staying busy anddon’t have time for a full meal break, ensure you have snacks or supplementdrinks available to keep you going and on top of your game for these longdays. 
  • Looking good in your competition outfits willcome from combining all these tips, not restricting foods and binge eating onjunk food after competitions. If you want to get a little extra push prior tocompetitions make sure you eliminate the sugary beverages and sweets andminimize the highly processed foods/sugary/high sodium/deep fried choices. Bydoing this you wont only look good in your competition clothes, but you won’tfeel physically drained or irritable either.
• Pro-AM student-
  • Even though dancing is your hobby, feelinggreat, practicing, and feeling good in your body are still important factors.
  • Make sure to fuel your body adequately asdiscussed in the general tips, and if you are a go-getting student who trainshard outside of lessons as well, refer to the pro-dancer tips for properfueling your body pre, post, and during practice tips.
  • Body image- competitive students range in allages, shapes, sizes, and ability levels. Be confident in your own skin. Focuson feeling your best physically through proper eating habits, additionalexercise to help promote your balance, stability, and mobility in dancing, andgetting enough sleep. An outfit/dress can always be made to suit your bodytype. If you are doing your best to be healthy and feel good, choosing anoutfit that looks best on you, whether you are beautifully lean or wonderfullycurvaceous, is important to feeling great in your dancing, dress to feel yourbest not to mimic a dancer of another body type who you feel you should looklike.

• Amateur Competitor- Many of the tipsthat apply to professional dancers also apply to competitive amateur couples.If you are training equivalent or more than that of a professional couple referto the tips above.
  • The main difference is that you are likely to begoing to school or working a non-dance teaching related job. This being said,you may not require as much fuel nutritionally as someone who is activelyteaching all day (if you are an adult). Following a well-scheduled, balancedeating plan  throughout the day whilestructuring food around practice times as well for proper performance andrecovery.
  • If you are still a kid or a young adult, yourportion sizes may be significantly bigger than what is needed for youradult/professional couple friends. Keep this in mind as you need food topromote growing as well as your dance performance.
• Teacher-    Many times teachers, especially those who donot also compete professionally can have a difficult balance between learninghow much energy they are actually exerting and exercise they are gainingthroughout the day to balance out with their eating behaviors, which cansometimes lead to weight gain or choices of not the most healthy foods due toconvenience.
  • If you are working with a lot of couples orstudents where you are not exerting extra energy, ensuring you are consuminghealthy, balanced meals and snacks throughout the day is crucial, making sureyour portion sizes are planned for low to moderate activity rather than highintensity activity level unless you have a significant number of high intensitystudents that you are actively dancing with throughout the day.
  • It can also be easy to skip meals when teachinga full day of lessons. Keep in mind that to give your students the best, yourbrain needs energy and having something quick, easy and healthy to eat on handcan be helpful. Additionally, if you go too long without eating, this canactually cause your metabolism to begin to slow down which has more of adetrimental effect then balanced meals and snacks throughout the day.
  • Meal prepping can be great for busy teachers asthis allows you to have food or snacks available so when you get home late fromwork or have a short break in your teaching day you can choose somethinghealthy over fast food or skipping a meal. Meal prepping can also save a bunchof money over getting multiple meals or snacks out every day.

Many of these tips from each category can cross over beendifferent types of competitive ballroom dancers based on your trainingfrequency, your age, and your overall health. Overall these tips provide abasic guideline to help you train and prepare for competition at your best whenit comes to your health and wellness as an individual and a dancer. Keep inmind as well that everyone is different and the exact needs and requirementsfrom person to person can vary. Therefore, if you are struggling or feel likeyou need more guidance on your health or nutrition please contact me or anotherregistered dietitian to help develop recommendations personalized to you as anindividual.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and would love to hear yourquestions, feedback, or any other nutrition tips that you have found useful asa competitive ballroom dancer!

Keep an eye out in the next week or two for Part 2 of ourNutrition for the Competitive Ballroom dancer blog post discussing nutrition tipsfor when you are at competition!

If you are looking for extra help with your nutrition andhealth and health goals for your life in general or as a competitive ballroomdancer, CONTACTUS today and SCHEDULEyour first appointment toward taking control of your health and performance!

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Wishing you a week filled with dance, passion, health, andwellness,

-Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN

Denver’s Dancing Dietitian

A Taste of Health, LLC

“Improving Quality of life one bite at a time”

www.denversdancingdietitian.com