Good Morning Kossacks and Welcome to Morning Open Thread
We're here every morning between 6:30 and 7:00. Feel free to volunteer to take a day - permanent or just once in awhile. With the autopublish feature you can set it and forget it. Quite often the diarist de jour shows up much later, that's the beauty of Open Thread...it carries on without you! Just let us know in the comments.
Although I've not watched it, Dancing with the Stars is a highly rated and popular show that has spotlighted many professional athletes - here are a few:
Boxers Evander Holyfield and Floyd Maywether, Jr.
NFL players Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith
NBA player Clyde Drexler
Olympic skaters Apolo Anton Ohno and Kristi Yamaguchi
Indy driver Helio Castroneves
Tennis great Monica Seles
Do athletes make great dancers? Do dancers make great athletes? We may as well ask which came first, the chicken or the egg.
Can Athletes Dance Their Way to Agility?
Agility is an attribute that is crucial for virtually all sports performance. Runners of all speeds can also benefit from improved agility, because the ‘lighter’ the athlete is on their feet the better their ground contact, reaction and propulsion will be. Field sports players will be off the pace if they cannot turn, react, spin, step, and start and stop as effectively as possible.
Football players have used ballet since the 70's to enhance their performance on the field. Perhaps more importantly many of the ballet positions strengthens smaller, more injury-prone muscles and adds flexibility.
Dance training is good for the non sporting older population for its improvement in balance, which leads directly to less falls and broken bones.
Does Dance Help Health & Fitness? You betcha ::wink wink::.
Dancing is a weight-bearing exercise, which helps maintain bone health and prevent osteoporosis. Aerobic dancing also strengthens the heart and lungs, lowers cholesterol, boosts cardiopulmonary efficiency, enhances circulation, and eases stress. In a study published in the July-August 2005 issue of "Cancer Nursing," researchers at cancer centers in Connecticut found that those breast cancer survivors who took a 12-week dance therapy and exercise class showed improvement in quality of life. Positive effects included improved range of motion and self-esteem, and pain reduction, compared to study participants who did not take the class.
Dance can incorporate physical, mental and social fitness for Holistic well being.
Here is an excellent video demonstrating the evolution of dance: