Today is the first day of the rest of your dance life, so take the challenge and make things happen for yourself!

Ellen G Walker TCRG - owner of Target Training - shared this challenge with IDM readers in September 2018. With restrictions in place limiting your studio time, we thought it was the perfect time to share again!

What if I told you that by stabilizing and strengthening one muscle group, you could reduce your risk of injury, improve your balance, and promote proper alignment? That is all possible by developing the muscles in your core!

Your core is comprised of bones, muscles and ligaments in your shoulder girdle, trunk, pelvis and hip. The superficial trunk muscles (muscles closer to the skin) and deep trunk muscles (further from the skin) are responsible for providing stability within your core. Your core is the center of your gravity in your body and when developed properly, improves your balance, power, and stability. This is important to Irish Dancers who are frequently leaping, turning, and moving quickly across the floor.

The 30-Day Core Challenge
To jumpstart your core training, we’ve developed an easy-to-follow yet challenging, 30 Day Core Challenge. Follow along with the exercises below and add modifications to them as you need to. Couple notes for the challenge:

Exercise Form
Always make sure that you are performing each exercise with proper form. Follow along with the photos and guidelines in this article to help you.

Modifications
For all the exercises, we give recommendations to make them more challenging by changing the exercise slightly or changing the tempo (how quickly you’re doing each movement). By changing the tempo, this will force your muscles to focus on developing while it is lengthened and shortened (eccentric vs. concentric contractions).

Breathing during Movements
It’s important to always remember to breathe during your exercises. Below each exercise description are suggestions for when to inhale and exhale.