Expert: Ryan Hale - 2/3/2010

Question
Hi, I am 19 years old and am a seasoned dancer.  I have always worried about my weight and stressed about keeping it low for dance (mainly ballet).  Currently I am dancing atleast four days a week and teaching two days out of the week.  I am around 5'6 1/2" 112 lbs and bust:32in., waist:24in., hips:32in. and butt:34in.
Some of my fellow dancers say that I am too thin, others say that I can afford to lose a few pounds.
What do you think?

Answer
Jessica- I've worked with numerous female athletes who have the dilemma of weight and performance.  For many, being competitive or performing well means being on the razor's edge of being at a healthy weight.  Also, it is even more problematic for those in sports with arbitrary weight expectations. In basketball, you can look at the scoreboard and see who is winning and losing.  In diving, gymnastics or dance it is difficult to tell if someone won or got a job because they knew the judge, the producer, looked just the right way, or performed better than everyone else.

Most sports have an off season.  That is  a time when the athlete can give their body a rest, maybe do some fitness activities (but not actual training), recover from injury and begin the process of building back up with weight training (at the end of the off season).  Some sports have multiple seasons or have no off season at all (like dance).  It is difficult to figure out a 4-10 week time period in which you can give your body a rest.  It is important to do that though.  Even if you are doing something that is still active, you need to do something that is a little different than your normal activity.  I tell the body builders that it is impossible to be at 2% body fat all year long or the competitive runners that they cannot possibly be at their peak for the entire year.  They need to decide what competitions they need to peak for and plan their training around that.

For you:  The body measurements are helpful in knowing better what your body is like, but you are the best judge.   Are you able to stay at the weight that you are currently at or does it take a ton of work?  Are you able to eat a diet that provides your nutritional needs.  Remember, your food is the fuel for your activity.  Even if all you are eating are salads and fruit, make sure to get a variety and enough calories that you can fuel your dancing.

As for your fellow dancers, be careful who you listen to, sometimes it is difficult to tell their motivation.  Are they telling you to lose a few pounds because they just want to make you feel bad about yourself and get into your head?  I've seen it many times!  Or, are they telling you you are too thin for some reason?  I can't say yes or no lose weight or don't because I just don't know you or know what your body composition is, but I would say you are probably on the knife's edge and don't have a lot of room to lose... but I also understand the need to be as slim as possible for your sport.  Just make sure you are as slim and HEALTHY as possible.  One of the toughest things for the cyclists I work with to deal with is the fact that when they aren't riding 20,000 miles per year and burning 5,000 calories per day, they are going to gain some weight once they retire.  In fact, I remember Lance Armstrong looking in the mirror and saying "I'll never be this fit or lean again in my life," when he retired the first time.  It's true, but he had his body like that for over 15 year career.  And he took up running and lifting after he quit cycling and was still really fit.  When you are done with dance, I expect you will still enjoy being active and likely teach dance?  There is a life after sport and you want to be healthy enough to enjoy it.  

My suggestion would be to work hard to continue dance, but respect your body enough to give it's what it needs (food).  Your body is your instrument: surgeons use a knife, musicians use a musical instrument, you are your instrument so you need to take care of it.