Please, stop believing (and saying) that running is bad for dancers!

Dancers, especially those who take ballet, often hear that they should NEVER run as a form of exercise because it will do many horrible things to the body from a dance perspective. While injures can happen when you run, they can also happen while swimming, biking, dancing, riding in a car, walking in a shopping mall, getting out of bed, showering, or going up or down the stairs.

Most of the “reasons” why running is bad for you as a dancer have no basis of truth and some of them, quite frankly, just don’t make any sense. The vehemence with which dance teachers and some dancers argue against running is baffling.

"Running increases muscle size and will make my legs 'too bulky' for the stage"

Let’s really think about this one: picture what you think of when someone says, “I’m going to go for a run.” Do you picture them sprinting or running for a mile or more? A mile or more, you say? That’s referred to as Distance Running. Now, let’s picture what distance runners tend to look like. We’re talking cross-country runners, triathletes, marathoners. Not very big and bulky, are they? So why are dancers buying into this concept that running will make them bulk up?

Compare the muscle size of these US Olympic Marathoners to some dancers you may have heard of: Merrill Ashley and Mikhail Baryshnikov

Remember, hypertrophy (building muscle) only happens when you’ve got high enough levels of testosterone in your body and when you train within very specific load and duration parameters. Running long distance does not meet these parameters, because it does not involve a high enough amount of force production from individual muscles and it lasts for too long.

"Reasons" on Online Forums

The following are actual responses that are currently on online forums. These comments are on two different internet forums in response to users seeking advice about exercising outside of dance. One question even specifically asked why running is bad for dancers (since this was something that the asker had heard from the dance community).

• “Running is the worst thing to do for ballet. It bulks your muscles, reduces flexibility and messes with your turnout. … You will be building muscles in a opposing ways [SIC].”
• “Running, obviously, is not based on abduction, but its opposite (a term we won't even mention.). … (Running is) greatly frowned upon … (by dance) teachers. …” And, in quoting a friend who is also a dancer, “Running is for people who have never danced.”
• “…running causes shin splints and such.”
• “Has something to do with muscles and tendons, (the poster’s girlfriend) wasn't very good at explaining (why running is “bad” for dancers) though.”
• “(poster’s friend who is a dancer doesn’t run because she) doesn't want to have massive calves.”
• “Running tightens your leg muscles and is very stressful to your joints and tendons…”
• “running messes up knees like the tendons in them or something”

Common Themes

Looking through these responses on online forums, some common ideas start to emerge in the “reasons” why running is bad for dancers.

Bulks muscles ("massive calves")

The reasons this thinking is wrong have already been discussed at the beginning of this article.

Reduces flexibility; Tightens leg muscles

In a previous article discussing the non-running based myths about working out for dancers, there was an entire section about why cross-training doesn’t necessarily lead to a reduction in flexibility. These reasons apply to running, as well (because running is technically something that falls into the category of cross-training for dancers). As long as any cross-training session includes a segment dedicated to improving long-term flexibility (like stretching), dancers will not lose flexibility due to their cross-training.

"Messes with" turnout

While “messes with your turnout” is rather vague, the reasons why cross-training (which includes running) does not make you lose turnout that were discussed in a previous article likely refute whatever it was that this person was trying to say. Most often, people who feel that cross-training causes ballet dancers to lose their turnout are actually referring to the effects of strengthening the muscles that protect the hip joint by restricting the ability of the leg to flop into full external rotation (turnout) when at rest. [This position is closely related to hip subluxations (small dislocations that eventually put themselves back in place). So, strengthening the muscles that prevent this can help reduce the dancer’s risk of developing hip joint pain.] Since this really only happens at rest, and not during active turnout, this is not going to affect the appearance of a dancer’s turnout while dancing.

Running may feel awkward for ballet dancers who reside in an externally-rotated position (you have duck feet and the outsides of your feet fall to the floor when you lay on your back and relax) because they rarely spend any time in any position other than a turned out one, but this does not mean that dancers who run will lose their turnout ability or that running will ‘mess with’ their turnout.

Based on adduction (which is bad, apparently)

Running is not, in fact, “based on adduction” in the sense that it causes you to use your adductors significantly more than other muscle groups in the thigh. Running should be done in parallel because it leads to injury (and looking ridiculous) if you try to run with your legs turned out. When using correct mechanics, running is not done in adduction. If it was, runners would be crossing their feet over in front of each other. Even in this (absurd) instance, you would still be using your hip flexor muscle group as much as your adductors because you would need to bring your leg and foot forward to get in front of your body and your other leg.

Additionally, the implication that training your adductors is bad is not correct, either. The adductor muscle group helps stabilize and protect the hip and knee joints, supports and stabilizes the pelvis during lower body movements, stabilizes the body during single-leg positions, and can even help give you a nice long, clean line in the inside thigh.

Causes shin splints; Messes up (the tendons in) knees

While it’s true that you can develop lower extremity injuries from running, it’s also true that you can develop these same injuries from dancing, doing plyometric (jumping) training, playing basketball or soccer, or doing stair workouts. If you take care to plan your workout routine correctly, you can avoid the injuries that are associated with overuse or sudden increases in training loads (like shin splints, stress fractures, and tendinitis). Other injuries affiliated with running can be fixed with the use of properly fitted orthotics; supportive, properly-fitting shoes; and/or fixing bad mechanics (like running with your feet turned out or pounding your feet on the ground when you run – aka running loudly).

Some pain and injuries associated with running can even be caused by the running surface. People who run on crowned streets (the center of the street is slightly higher than the sides to help with water drainage – many neighborhood streets are like this) may develop injuries in the ankle, knee, hip, or low back because the street actually makes them run with one foot slightly higher than the other and their feet hit the ground at a slight angle with every step. To change this, loop runners need to run on both sides of the street (you could alternate sides of the street on the days you run) while out-and-back runners need to stay on the same side of the street when they make their return trip (this doesn’t mean that you need to stay on your right when you’re running, it means that you shouldn’t cross to the other side of the street when you turn around).

Has something to do with muscles and tendons

Greatly frowned upon

For people who have never danced

These statements are vague and/or are entirely based on opinion, and some of them even sound like the dreaded Mom-answer of “because I said so.” This can make them hard to factually refute, and it is for this reason that they are very difficult to get away from in the dance world. Most older teachers and performers heard them constantly when they were growing up in the dance world and they took these beliefs to be fact, because they weren’t being told anything different. Unfortunately, these people are continuing to perpetuate these incorrect, unfounded ideas within the dancing community when they try to help advise younger dancers looking to train outside of dance.

Final Word

Like any form of physical activity, running has its risks for injury. And, like any form of physical activity, many of these risks can be avoided if a running workout is planned and executed correctly. Start with a proper warm-up, don’t try to set a World Record on your first day running (or really the first several weeks of running), use correct form, wear supportive shoes, use orthotics if you need them (follow the break-in schedule recommended by the manufacturer!), increase your running distance in small increments on a weekly basis – not a daily one, cool down adequately, and stretch after your run. Dancers can reap great fitness and performance benefits from running as a part of their cross-training routine.



Author’s Note: I became physically anxious, agitated, and even angry while researching and subsequently writing this article due to the plethora of uninformed and unsupported “knowledge” that is being presented on internet forums as fact, thus perpetuating all of the incorrect beliefs that are discussed above. There is a reason why professional organizations such as the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science, the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries exist! PLEASE utilize the expert resources available to you. If you have a question about performer health or fitness, these organizations have resources available to help you. PLEASE do not simply go to an online forum and seek answers from strangers who may or may not know what they’re talking about. If you’re seeking help on the internet anyway, use the resources available to contact an expert. That’s one of the reasons why experts exist!


Be sure to debunk the myths of exercising and read about the most common myths of working out for dancers.