I could feel that it was strengthening my muscles and that every single muscle in my body was working. I was more and more determined to hold each position as I knew that these are the things I need to go through if I want to be a professional dancer. If I keep giving in in exercises then I will never improve.
When muscle actions occur, it generates tensions in the muscle that helps them contract and activate various skeletal muscle. There are two types of muscle fibres that help this process of keeping a muscle activated; Fast-twitch and Slow-twitch. Slow-twitch fibres are more suitable for prolonged exercises or actions due to being more intense on the muscle. Fast-twitch fibres are more suitable for short bursts of activities, as fatigue occurs quicker than slow-twitch fibres.
When performing a plie in 1st position, the Rectus Femoris (Quadriceps) and Hamstrings are contracting. This involves slow-twitch fibres when we held the pile as the muscle needed to fight to stay there. Plantarflexion occurred in the gastrocnemius as the heels and achilles tendon were extended. Here are some pictures of the movements we held:
Here you can see that the quadriceps were active throughout the whole exercise, and we held each position for 10-15 seconds. The muscles have a heavy workload.
These exercises required the maximum effort possible produced by the muscles. Breathing into these muscles helped to hold and also move from one movement to the next. Varying the muscle actions would help the transition of the upper half of the body move more fluent. These consisted of eccentric, concentric and isometric contractions.
If I repeated this every other day, then I my muscles would increase in strength and would recognise the routine they are going through, so it is easier the next time you attempt the exercise due to muscle build up.
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