About the correct leg pressing method for ballet beginners

Leg flexibility training is one of the four thigh exercises and is a must for dancers. If you want to specialize in leg techniques, It is even more necessary to practice it diligently. The following is the correct leg press method for ballet beginners that I searched and compiled. Welcome to read it for reference. I hope it will be helpful to you.

Leg flexibility training can make the leg ligaments, tendons and muscles highly stretchable, and can also increase the range of motion of the hip, knee, and ankle joints; In actual combat, the leg technique can be made flexible and changeable, the attack range can be wide, and the power of the leg attack can be fully demonstrated. When practicing in this area, beginners often injure their ligaments and tendons and suffer unbearable pain, thus giving up training and ultimately finding it difficult to become a master. The main reason is that he failed to truly understand the training methods.

There are many methods of leg flexibility training, but generally they can be divided into active training and passive training. Active training is when practitioners rely on their own strength to perform exercises. The specific methods include: leg press (front leg press, side leg press, back leg press, step leg press); split leg (horizontal split, vertical split); leg consumption ( Front kick, side kick, kissing boot); kicking (forward kick, oblique kick, side kick, inside leg, outside swing leg), etc. Passive training is when practitioners practice with the help of others or with the help of external force. The specific methods are: leg lifting (front leg lifting, side leg lifting, rear leg lifting); hanging leg (front leg lifting, side leg lifting).

Among the several methods of leg pressing, positive leg pressing is the foundation, and it is also the method that beginners find difficult. Beginners often have the following problems: lowering their heads, bending over, rushing to touch their heads with their feet, a big gap appearing between their chest and legs, some standing unsteadily, as if they are about to fall backward, or even having leg ligament injuries. How can beginners master the correct method of leg press?

1. Standardize the movements and perform them step by step

(1) When starting to practice, it is not advisable to do very intense exercises. . Put your legs on an object at the same height as your waist, sit back on your hips, keep your buttocks flat, support your legs perpendicular to the ground, straighten your knees, raise the toes of the pressed leg upward and consciously hook it back, and move your upper body forward with force. Keep the pressed leg in a straight line. Hooking the toes back can help lengthen the ligaments, tendons, and muscles of the legs. Moving the upper body forward can lengthen the trunk, especially the spine. After holding one leg for a few minutes, switch to the other leg. After a few days, when the leg muscles become soft and elastic, you can proceed to the next step.

(2) Keep the pressed leg and supporting leg straight, press the knee of the pressed leg with both hands, retract the hips and bend the body forward as much as possible to enhance the stretch of the socket muscles behind the knee joint.

(3) Press the knee of the pressed leg with both hands, sit back on the hip, push the upper body forward and down, and try to put the abdomen against the thigh. After this step is completed, you can proceed to the next exercise;

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(4) Hold the pressed leg and calf with both hands from the bottom, push the upper body forward and down, try to put the abdomen against the thigh and the chest against the knee. After completing this step, you can proceed to the next step of practice.

(5) Keep the pressed leg and the supporting leg straight, hold the soles of the feet with both hands, put the abdomen against the thighs, and the chest against the knees, and try to touch the toes with your forehead. After completing this step, you can proceed to the next step of practice.

(6) Hold the soles of your feet with both hands, put your abdomen against your thighs, and your chest against your knees, and try to touch your toes with your mouth. After this step is completed, proceed to the next step.

(7) Hold the soles of the feet with both hands, follow the above method, and touch the toes with the lower jaw. After this step is completed, it means that the positive leg press is completed.

Only by practicing step by step in this way, so that the trunk and legs form a one-to-one correspondence, such as the abdomen and thighs, chest and knees, head and toes, can we avoid the problems between the trunk and legs. Konger.

2. From light to heavy, from low to high

When pressing the legs, the body exerts pressure on the ligaments, tendons and muscles of the legs. When you first practice, the force should be light. After practicing for a period of time, you can gradually increase the pressure. If you apply gravity at the beginning, you may be able to persist for a day or two. I am afraid that it will be difficult to even walk on the third or fourth day.

The height of the legs goes from low to high. Place your legs at the same height as your waist. When your lower chin touches your toes, you can place your legs on an object at the same height as your chest. When your lower chin touches your toes, you can place your legs on something as high as your shoulders. on an object until your feet are on an object at head height.

3. Pull first and then press, from near to far

When you first practice leg pressing, because the leg ligaments, tendons, and muscles have poor stretchability, suddenly stretching them with force will not only be in vain, but It can also cause ligament damage. Therefore, when you first practice, you should first lengthen the leg ligaments, tendons, muscles and spine, and then apply vibration pressure; the vibration pressure should also be carried out step by step, and do not rush for success.

When pressing the legs, you should also pay attention to the contact between the trunk and the legs from near to far. The order of contact between the trunk and the corresponding parts of the legs is: trunk: abdomen? chest? head

Don’t touch your toes with your head without scruples at the beginning.

4. Be strong-willed and persevere

Leg flexibility exercises are indeed boring, especially when you practice them to a certain level, you will feel soreness in your legs and hips. This is the "fatigue period" that occurs for practitioners, similar to that of long-distance runners. The most important thing at this time is that you must have a strong will, a perseverance, and never stop. Because compared with other qualities of leg strength, the flexibility quality of leg strength is easy to develop and fade away. At this time, you should be good at self-adjustment, appropriately reduce the intensity and amplitude of the downward pressure, reduce the time of leg pressing, or perform kicking exercises, combine with pressing and kicking, etc. As long as you persist, the soreness will gradually disappear, and you will be excited about your achievements.

5. Do preparatory activities before pressing

Before practicing, you can do some preparatory activities for the waist, hips, knees, ankle joints, and leg muscles. Because the stretchability of muscles and ligaments is related to the temperature of the muscles, preparatory activities can increase the warmth of the muscles and reduce the viscosity inside the muscles, which is beneficial to leg flexibility exercises.