I am new to this site and new to dance. I am late 60's widow and in good shape, for my age. I've had bad luck my first few visits to dancing. My first visit to group lessons produced a very nice lady who was 76 and knew how to dance; however, three dances later she had difficulty breathing and went to the rest room. I called the next day to be sure she survived. I was reasured that she was ok. The next week, I went and the power was out in the city. cancelled. The next week the dance was held on a Friday, not a Saturday. The next week I missed the half hour lesson and now all the regulars were performing, I did not want to associate with the wall flower group. I left. Last weekend, I was going but it was eat or pay the $10 feel. I chose food. that is my history but what I have been doing since I have lots of time on my hands, or rather my feet is for the first time in decades I am listening to music. haven't been for personal reasons. I just move around in my house, I call it really good dancing. You will have another description for it I am sure. I do it for the exercise and for maintaining contact with the world. I am determined to take lessons but what I really want to know is. Are there exercises to strengthen feet, legs and body? I do lots of exercises, I seem to have really reawakened some inactive muscles and it has helped my balance. I would just like a few tips to assist me. Thanks in advance.

Ridgrrunner. Support yourself and slowely raise and lower your heels from the floor. Go to your full height with your knees straight but never locked. Start with the knees and lower, then through the feet. After the heel touches the floor continue to bend the knees forward of your body which stays balanced. Dont lift your shoulders. Let the feet and knees do the work. This is very much like the raising and lowering in the Waltz. The knees should bend to about 45 degrees. Other than that excercise you can simpley raise and lower the heels to the floor. Just be carefull at first. don't want to pull any muscles. This excercise should be done every day for ever. Can be done at the kitchen sink. Also a type of push up can be done, again whilst waiting for the jug to boil using the sink. Any kind of excercise will help. Walking briskly will also help with your dancing. Don't start pushing those ladies about with you new found energy.
If you find a regular partner you might suggest that as you go forward you are the engine.When she is moving forward she is to do an equall share of the work. The man should not have to pull the lady nor she him. Each will do an equall amount of work. At the second half of a Reverse Turn in the Waltz when teaching . I always say to a beginner lady. You know where you want to finish, then go there. Don' t wait for me to push or pull you. Hope this helps. Keep Dancing.

"This excercise should be done every day for ever. "

Actually, you should never do strenght exercises on an every-day basis.

Srengthening muscles is accomplished by damaging them (hopefully only slightly) and letting them heal to be stronger.

If you beat them up every day, they won't get a chance to recover. Anyone doing serious strenght training knows this - they work a muscle group one day, then let it rest for a few while working others.

Keep in mind I'm not saying don't dance every day - if you can that is great - but don't do strength exercises every day, as your body needs a few days in between those to heal.

Interesting.Our feet and legs where designed to be used all day and every day. i think what you mean is don' t do the excercise and use extra weight at the same time.

"Interesting.Our feet and legs where designed to be used all day and every day. i think what you mean is don' t do the excercise and use extra weight at the same time."

There is a difference between using a muscle group in an ordinary way, and doing a strength-building exercise.

Our legs are intended for daily normal use. With training they become suitable for daily dancing use.

But no matter how trained your body is, you should not be doing strengh exercise on a daily basis, as that is very counterproductive. If a strength exercise is having any effect on you, then the muscles involved are going to need recovery time before you do the same exercise again. If you do it daily, you will just be abusing your body and never giving it a chance to gain strength in the way it would if you trained it intelligently.

Obviously a drill that might constitute a strength exercise of a new dancer might scarcely compare to the actions of ordinary dancing as performed by a competitor in tip-top shape, but that isn't what is important.

What is important is that an exercise difficult enough to constitute a meaningful strenght-building exercise for the body doing it MUST NOT BE DONE ON A DAILY BASIS. Lighter exercise, which merely uses muscles without trying to strenghten them, can be done daily.

I would add another important point for ridgerunner.
It's very easy to damage ligaments, tendons and joints if you embark upon new exercises, putting them through new ranges of motions and forces, especially at a mature age (i'm sorry, i absolutely hate to mention the age thing, but unfortunately, it is a fact of life). Muscles mend quickly, but joints and tendons can take months (i know from much experience).
So take extra care. Don't do anything extreme too soon, even if it feels easy. Step by step is the solution

Thanks for all your suggestions. I see that a few things that I am doing are helping. I raise up on my toes, been doing that for a month or so. I hadn'thought about bending my knees but I will, now. I don't hold on to anything. I am trying to improve my balance, also. Mostly I am just trying to wake up my muscles or training my muscles and brain to work together.

I stand on one foot and hold my balance, I'm doing ok with that, but closing my eyes and doing it, well that needs some more work. I'm working at getting some of the kinks out of my body. I have a lot more to do and much less to work with than a lot of you.

My daughter and my nephew have two huge yards with a ton of leaves, actually about three tons. I have been raking about two hours a day for the past month, I finished up Sunday. My arms are doing pretty good now but I'll have to find something else to keep them going.

I now live alone and don't like it, not at all. I have gotten on some sort of nutritional diet, Life style change really. I eat only healthy foods. I mean only healthy. I have lost a lot of weight but my goal is to loose about 6 1/2 more pounds. I want to weigh 170, I am six feet tall, so my body mass index is good, now. I think what is makeing the weight loss difficult is that I am converting a lot of fat into muscle, which is good but not for the scales, so now I am just measuring my waist as a means of determining my progress or lack of.

The one time I went to a danc, I observed some of the others and I looked at a few of the males and saw that they didn't look graceful at all. That is why I am doing exercises etc. but one thing I noticed most of them all doing that was the same. They were dancing on their heals more than their toes. I immediately began working on that. So far so good.

My older brother is a dancer, also. He goes to the dances and dances every dance. That motivates me. Course, if y'all had any sense, you would search him out and banish him from ever showing up. You had to see how he danced all his life. You know the Western movies where the bad guys make the good wimps dance by shooting around their feet. Those guys were wonderfuld and graceful compared to my brother, Now he is an instructer. I'm not sure if this industry will survive.

RR

Another excercise to perform daily is to lean against a door ,back straight, come onto the toes and bend the knees to about 45 degrees and stay there for as long as you wish. At first just a couple of minutes. It is a sort of a Isometric where one muscle is pitted against the other. It will do wonders for you, especially if you analize what is happening, centre of balance for instance.Arms in ballroom , head touching the door. Now tip your head forward very slightly . It doesn' t take much to destroy your balance does it. Neither will it when you are dancing.Good luck.

Exercise, thanks for the exercise. Lets. see If I understand what you are saying. The door is open and swinging free, when I do this? I place my back against the door. How far out from the door are my heals, just before going to my toes? Sounds like a good balance exercise. I want to work on that. rr