Jun 1, 20223 min read

Personal Safety and Health Protocols

Updated: Jun 2, 2022

Healthy and Safe Dancing: How to achieve it?

Dancing as an exercise and recreational activity can genuinely benefit us. With it, we can improve our physical health, develop our brains for the better, and have the opportunity to socialize with other people. Who knows? Dancing might also be one of your future passions as you walk the path of being physically fit. However, just like any activity, safety must come first. To enjoy these recreations to the fullest and avoid any injuries, we should follow necessary personal safety and health protocols such as the ones below

1. OBSERVE PROPER HYGIENE

Always maintain physical cleanliness, such as bathing, washing your hands, and brushing your teeth to stop nasty germs from entering your body. What's more, as we are still in a pandemic, we must observe proper hygiene to protect ourselves from contracting the virus, especially when outdoors to dance.

2. Eat your breakfast

For some of us, it's tempting to skip the first meal of the day when you are in a hurry for something. But do yourself a favor and don't do this. Breakfast is arguably the most important meal. It kick-starts your metabolism for an easier burn of calories and gives you energy for the tasks you have ahead, like dancing and doing physical exercise. Just a side note, you want to avoid pastry or doughnuts and choose foods rich in carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.

3. Observe proper dress code

Wear comfortable clothes and footwear appropriate for dancing and are prescribed by instructors. These may vary on what dance you would do. For example, in jazz dances, tights and leotard are most worn as the tightness of the outfit make it easier to perform certain moves.

4. Be aware of your training space

When we are dancing, we shake our body and make moves that sometimes covers a lot of space. That is why we always see dance studios as empty for us to move freely. So, ensure that you have a wide space for these recreations. When dancing, clear any materials that might get hit and topple over, which can cause injuries. Always be alert to your surroundings, follow correct procedures, and never take shortcuts.

5. Always stay hydrated

Drinking enough water is essential, especially when dancing or working out. After all, staying hydrated regulates body temperature, keeps joints lubricated, prevents infections, delivers nutrients to cells, and keeps organs functioning properly. It's hotter in the Philippines, too, and drinking water is necessary to cool yourself and fight the heatstroke. Experts say you must drink 8-10 glasses a day, but this varies from person to person and may even increase when working out.

6. Always Do Warm-Ups and Cooldowns

While we prepare our minds in our dance or recreation sessions, we should also prepare our body as well by warming up. We can do so by doing lower intensity activities such as stretching exercises, brisk walks, etc. By warming up, our cardiovascular system revs up while muscle soreness and risk of injury may be lessened. Cooldown is also essential for our body to recover and precondition ourselves in a resting state. We can also do so by executing the same low-intensity exercises that we did in the warm-up.

7. Don't Overwork Yourself

We people have our limits. When you feel like you can't continue anymore and you're over exhausted from your recreations, rest in a well-ventilated area and ensure to drink water as well. Continuing while showing high fatigue levels can lead to serious consequences such as chronic injury, muscle soreness, and collapsing in extreme cases.

8. Identify school and community resources in case of injury and emergency

We don't want emergencies and injuries, but these can happen when we least expect them. So, always observe where the clinics are and if the medical personnel are available in these mentioned scenarios. Identify where are the first aid kits and if they are complete with materials such as roller bandages, sterile pads, sticky tape, gloves, cleansing wipes, medicine, etc.

9. Always come prepared

It's always better to be prepared before any recreational sessions start. As such, bring things that might be necessary for you. For example, if you have asthma, always carry an inhaler that is within reach. If the session is long and intense, bring spare clothes and more water with you.

Overall, here are just some of the personal health and safety protocols you are highly recommended to follow whenever you are dancing and working out. With all these guidelines and some that you can add as well, you can ensure healthy dancing while being safe and avoiding any injuries along the way.