Who's More Fit? Dancers or Athletes

If you think athletes are more fit; you're wrong.

Here is the explanation.

Michael Leslie, physical therapist for the San Franciso Ballet, says that the specificity of dancer's training probably plays a big part in this adaptability. Athletes focus principally on their sport and train primarily with that in mind. Dancers, on the other hand, are taught a variety of skills. We have to balance on one leg while turning and go from moving very quickly to being completely still. This type of "cross-training" gives us, in Leslie's words, "the ability to do advanced things with a huge range of motion and extraordinary dexterity," which many athletes lack.

You can read more about this in September's issue of DanceSpirit; How Fit Are You? by Peter Brandenhoff.