Healthy Performer

Main food groups:

• fruits and vegetables
• grains, bread, cereals and pasta (carbohydrates)
• milk, yoghurt and cheese (dairy)
• fish, poultry, meat, eggs and nuts (protein)
• fats and oil

Why are fruits and veg important?

They are a good source on vitamins and minerals. They are an excellent source of dietary fibre which can help to maintain a healthy gut, prevent constipation and other digestion problems. It reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and some other types of cancer. Fruits and veg help maintain a healthy, balanced diet. (I got this information from https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/)

Why are carbohydrates important? 

Carbohydrates are all about giving you energy and are found in fruits and vegetables and in dairy products.  Your body uses these foods to make glucose which is a type of sugar that can be used right away or can be stored for later usage (I got this information from https://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/why-carbohydrates-are-important-for-your-diet.aspx)

Why is dairy important?

Milk and dairy products are important for a young child's diet because they contain energy and protein that contribute to a healthy balanced diet. Fats in dairy products can vary so you should check the nutrition information on the label. (I got this information from https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/milk-and-dairy-nutrition/)

Why is protein important?

Protein is very important for tissue building and repair so an athlete . Hair and nails are mostly made up of protein. You also use proteins to make enzymes, hormones and other body chemicals. It is also an important building block of bones, cartilage, muscles, skin and blood. Protein is a macronutrient which means your body needs large amounts of it. (I got this information from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-protein#1 )

Why are fats and oils important?

Dietary fat is important for many body processes. For example it moves some vitamins around the body and helps making hormones. Different dietary fats can have different effects on your blood cholesterol level. Therefore, it's recommended you avoid saturated fats and trans fat so you can maintain a healthy weight. (I got this information from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fats-and-oils )

I kept a food diary for a week . . .

I know my diet isn't as healthy as I would like but now it's written on paper, it's clear that I need to change quite a few things. I consume much more junk food (fats and oils) than I should and I am not getting my 5 a day (fruits and veg). However, to change an unhealthy diet can be very intimidating and difficult - especially if having chocolate and sugary foods has been part of your diet for years. I have a sweet tooth and I am a chocoholic so I struggle with cutting down my sugar intake (it is something I've been trying to do for a long time now). I know from a story my uncle told me, that to reduce your sugar intake drastically, you have to do so gradually so it's not difficult for you. From reading keeping healthy pamphlets over the last few years, I discovered some techniques that could help. For example, replacing unhealthy foods with a healthier option; so instead of having fast food chips, cooking your own sweet potato chips in the oven with very little oil. 

Here is a picture of my food diary written down as just the food groups:

This is a poster I made about safe practice in the dance studio:

I found a slideshow of health and safety in the studio on https://www.slideshare.net/zthomps17/health-and-safety-in-the-studio

30/10/18

Since Halloween is tomorrow, we watched The Skeleton Dance and learnt about the role of the skeleton:

1. Protection - your rib cage protects your lungs and your skull protects your brain
2. Allows movement
3. Helps you stand/ keeps your shape 
4. Reservoir for bone marrow

There are three main bone shapes:

1. Irregular bones (like the vertebrae or clavicle)
2. Regular bones (usually small bones like the ones in your hands)
3. Long bones (like your skull or ribs)

I also learnt about the importance of warming up. It prevents injury, helps you move freely which is helpful when learning more complex choreography and increases blood circulation which means your muscles get the oxygen they need to work. Another piece of extra information which I found interesting was that you have synovial fluid around your knee. It is similar to coconut oil in the sense that when you warm up it becomes less viscous which allows more freedom of movement.

I have to make a 15 minute ballet warm up for the 18/12/18. The warm up should be in the following order: 

• increase heart rate (skips around the room)
• warm up big muscles (back and thigh)
• turnout exercises
• feet/ pointe exercises
• maybe flexibility

Also a few people in the group requested that warm ups during December should be done to Christmas music so I'll search for some classical Christmas music which we can warm up to.

06/11/18
We learnt about the joints in the body. There are three main types of joints in the body:

1. Fibrous - skull
2. Cartilaginous
3. Movable - ball socket, hinge, knees/elbows, saddle

We then had to create a schematic diagram identifying the main types of joints in the body:

13/11/18
Today we were paired to label the names of the skeleton.

We then learnt more about the joints in your body and were given a sheet about it that had an activity to complete:

20/11/18
Movements

Flexion - When opposite ends come together, for example when you bend your elbow/leg
Flexion (lateral) -
Extension - joint action, for example opening your arm from flexion
Hyper-extension - for example if your leg straightens to beyond what is normal
Plantar flexion - pointing your foot
Dorsiflexion - standing in neutral
Abduction - (taking away) lifting your arms to the side
Adduction - bringing your arms in (when they were lifted to the side)
Rotation - you can rotate your shoulders, knees and hips
Pronation - when your feet roll in
Supernation - when your feet roll out
Inversion - when you sickle your foot (pointed inwards)
Eversion - when you foot is winged (pointing outwards/ upwards) like in arabesque in ballet

We then were given a sheet with an activity to complete:

27/11/18
Mandy tested us on the names of the  joints and I couldn't remember what each one meant so I will go and revise that. We then picked names of joint movements out of an envelope and now have to create a performance with it to create a skeleton dance.


22/01/19
I started working on my skeleton dance with Mandy today. I found it difficult to remember what each joint movement was so Mandy helped me and I started working on it. Next lesson, I'll hopefully have a skeleton dance which I can teach everyone.

29/01/19
Today, I started learning each student's skeleton dance. I found my one very complicated and hard to remember but at the moment, it's just a work in progress, so with today's refinement, I'll remember it for next week.

05/02/19
We went over my skeleton dance, perfecting it until each move could flow into the next move. We then staged it in a diagonal line and also thought about the staging for each student's skeleton dance.


30/04/19
We learnt about the six different ways of stretching and were given classwork:

I then lead a ballet warm up for the class:
First, I wanted to increase the heart rate by:

• doing alternating relevés holding the barre
• start picking up feet
• becomes a small jog
• high knees whilst punching the air in front and then above

Then we did turnout exercises where we lie on the floor with our legs up, perpendicular to the floor with our feet flexed - I did two different versions:

1. bend knees, turn out, stretch, turn in
2. turn out, bend knees, stretch, turn in

Afterwards we rolled onto our fronts and went into the downward dog to stretch our calves and walked through our feet. 

Then we sat on the floor with our legs in second and stretched over both legs and then in the middle.

Finally, we did splits exercises: held a lunge for 30 seconds, then pulled back to stretch our hamstring. I planned to then hold the splits for a minute but everyone said it was too much so I took that part out.

Mandy taught me that I need to increase the amount of time (4 minutes) for the initial increasing heart rate part and include mobility (which should take up about 8 minutes). I made stretching the main element in the warm up which I now realise is a bad idea, especially because I didn't spend enough time increasing blood circulation and movement so everyone found the stretching part too much for them. So, the first 12 minutes should be a general warm up and the last 3 minutes should be about the specialised part: ballet. This means focusing on the feet and ankles and perhaps turnout.

Posture
In Healthy Performer, we were put in pairs to test our posture. A string with a weight would be held so that it goes through the middle of the other person's ear. We would then see if the string would pass through the shoulder, the hip, the knees and just past your ankle:

The string does not pass through any of those points except the ankle meaning my posture is at a low standard.