5 Things I Don’t Leave my House Without: Nationals Practice
Everyone knows that one girl that carries around her dance backpack that looks like it’s about to burst at the seams – I am that girl! Succeeding for nationals means excelling in practices, and in order to excel in practices, being prepared to take care of yourself throughout two-a-days is extremely vital. Being a 4th year member on the Texas Aggie Dance Team, I have equipped myself with a few items that have carried me through many challenging practices, and now I don’t leave for practice without them!
Water and Snacks
Two-a-days can be very tasking and long – sometimes lasting up to 12 hours! Whether you are standing, leaping, turning, tumbling, or whatever the case may be, you are expending a lot of energy. In order to keep your body functioning optimally, fueling your body with plenty electrolytes and healthy foods/snacks is crucial!
You can always find protein bars, trail mix, applesauce, and electrolyte packets in my dance bag. The Aggie Dance Team even has what we call our “snack wagon”, which is a wagon that has boxes of goodies for when we need the extra fuel! I also always have my refillable water bottle with me, making sure that I stay well hydrated throughout the day.
Apolla™ Socks
I have been dancing since I was 7 years old and have gone through countless pairs of shoes throughout my dance career. Out of all of the dance shoes that I have ever tried or owned, the Apolla™ half-sole with traction is by far my favorite!
I wear them for every practice and performance, including nationals competitions. Having arch support and compression is extremely helpful for injury prevention and longevity, especially when I am on my feet all day. The traction on the sole of the sock allows for just enough friction to turn for days while not slipping around uncontrollably.
My favorite aspect of the sock is that it is machine-washable and even when the sock loses traction overtime, you can just apply spray adhesive in order to maintain your preferred level of traction!
Recovery: Ibuprofen/Lacrosse Ball
Learning new dances can lead to overuse of repetitive movements and exerting your body during practice which can certainly cause an uncomfortable level of soreness.
Soreness indicates microscopic tears in the muscle fibers, causing an inflammatory response in the body, which is the body’s natural healing response. With this however, dancers must still recover quickly and work through the discomfort in order to remain productive.
While this can be challenging, I have found that maintaining an ibuprofen regimen and rolling out helps me to recover quicker. My favorite tool that I have acquired since joining the Aggie Dance Team has been rolling out with a lacrosse ball. It is compact which makes it easy to pack for travel, and it is also very dense allowing for easy use to roll out the muscle fascia. Releasing tight muscle fascia increases joint range of motion, muscle performance, as well as decreases fatigue and soreness.
There are always other randoms things that I keep with me during work weeks, like jazz shoes, wrist weights, extra clothes, etc. but the three things I listed above are things that I could not live without! Two-a-days are so much easier now that I have found my favorite necessities, and I hope they helps you out too!
