In Irish Dancing class, I'm sure you've heard your teacher yelling and screaming about stamina.  "Your stamina needs to improve", "oh no, your stamina is not good enough".  Does that sound familiar?

I'm sure it does.  Every Irish Dancer has to work really hard to build their stamina and even harder to maintain it.

What is stamina?  Stamina is your ability to end your dance the way that you start it, basically it is your energy level and your endurance!!!

How does an Irish Dancer improve their endurance or stamina?

Firstly, nothing keeps you fit for dancing, the way dancing does.  What I mean is, you have to dance the actual dances over and over again.  When you practise, rather than dancing a step, you need to dance the whole dance twice through to build up your stamina and endurance.  The more you dance the easier it will become.

Getting involved in other energetic activities will also help, that is, activities that make you huff and puff.  Now summer's here add Cycling, swimming, running, tennis, football and activities like these into your daily routine and you'll be fit as a fiddle for your Irish Dancing before you know it.

The most efficient way of slowing down a car or bike isn't by riding straight in to a brick wall.  The same way that you gradually slow down either your bike or a car, you need to slow down your body after practising your Irish Dancing.  5-10 minutes of slowed down, easy Irish Dancing steps will go a long way in helping your body recover from your dancing practise.

Your cool down routine can vary from Irish Dance practise to practise.  It should include some easy irish dancing drills and some stretching.  Cooling down and stretching at the end of an Irish Dancing class or a hard practise helps to:

• Slow your heart rate to a normal speed
• return your breathing to its regular pace
• avaid stiffness and soreness of muscles
• reduce any risk of dizziness and lightheadedness
• relax your muscles

Whether you are new to Irish Dancing or have been an Irish Dancer your entire life, adding a good before and after routine to your Irish Dancing Classes and practises will give you the best chance of avoiding injuries and may even help improve your performance.

Stretching properly may reduce muscle injuries and provides these benefits:

• An increase in flexibility
• Correct exercise posture
• Relaxed muscles
• Better coordination for Irish Dancing

Stretching has to be done right to have benefits.  Here are Keeva the Dancing Diva's tips on stretching properly for all Irish Dancers:

STOP IF IT HURTS. Stretching should never hurt.  If it feels painful, you have stretched too far.  Just feel the stretch and hold it.

MAINTAIN EACH STRETCH FOR 30 SECONDS:  Holding a stretch for any less won't sufficiently lengthen the muscle.  Stretch the muscle gradually and don't force it.  Avoid bobbing.  This will just cause problems for your muscle.

REMEMBER TO BREATHE:  Breathing is a necessary part of any workout, including stretching.

PRACTISE EUALITY:  Even if you are a righty, it doesn't mean that you should neglect the left side of your body.  Make sure you stretch both sides equally, so all your muscles are evenly ready for you to do your Irish Dancing.

Irish Dancing is a sport and Irish Dancers and Irish Dancing teachers must make sure that legs are properly stretched before the hard work begins.  Remember to warm up before stretching and do your stretches properly.  You'll see the benefits in a few weeks if you stretch every day.

All Irish Dancers know that in order to dance well you just can't start dancing your hornpipe full out like a maniac.  Irish Dancers must prepare their bodies for these activities so how do we do this.

Keeva the Dancing Diva has all the cold, hard facts on the importance of warming up, stretching and cooling down for Irish Dancers who want to get fitter and more flexible.

The Basics of warming up:

It's imporatnt to warm your body up before any physical activity and Irish Dancing is no different to any other sport.  Warming up goes a long way toward preparing your body for Irish Dancing, both physically and mentally.  It also helps those unwanted injuries.

When you warm up you are literally warming up the temperature of both your body and your muscles.

Warming up also:

• Increases your heart and respiratory (breathing) rate
• boosts the amount of of nutrients and oxygen delivered to your muscles
• Prepares the body for a demanding hour of Irish Dancing practise
• Makes it easier to burn calories
• Allows you to be able to dance for longer without your legs getting really tired.

Types of warm up:

You can use many types of warm up activities to prepare your body for the high impact of Irish Dancing.  Often dancing a few Irish Dancing Steps is a good idea.  Try to isolate specific movements and repeat them over and over, like jumps, hops, cuts (flicks) or points for example.

Only after this light warm up, which should last 5 - 10 minutes, should you attempt to stretch.

Tune in next month with Keeva the Dancing Diva to learn all about the importance of stretching for Irish Dancers.