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Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

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Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#161

Post by mtalantikite »

Notatheist wrote: post #154
kukkeliskuu wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have done lots of free-form couples dancing (over 20 years, several times per week, some of it in complex styles like argentine tango) and in my first-hand experience the major difference from other kinds of exercise is that you need to harmonize your movements with your partner and music, and you need to improvise. The complexity of the movement is not it, nor the "exercise". There is lots of other research sugges…

I'm a professional dancer and music and freestyle are the most demanding aspects of dance by far. That said I'm also skeptical. Music and dance are being compared to "bicycle ergometers" and "training with equipment such as barbells and rubber bands". I'm pretty sure only one of these groups was having any fun. Unless the dance group were forced to social dance bachata in which case the misery probably evens out.

And for the exercise only group: > We avoided combined arm and leg movements in order to keep coordinative demands low

I'm skeptical too. You have one group that is doing something that takes full body coordination, with lots of different inputs and improvisation, versus something they attempted to minimize those aspects of. Not to mention the social parts of dancing with others.

But also hey, social dancing bachata is fun! If you're ever in NYC a good friend of mine teaches it at Pearl dance studio.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#162

Post by lukas099 »

laristine wrote: post #58

For a research article, modifiers may be more important in imposing constraints and necessary insights in cause and effect. The full title of this article is "Dance training is superior to repetitive physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity in the elderly ". While the current title on HN is "Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity".

Yes, came here to say that the HN title is misleading.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#163

Post by joncrocks »

kelnos wrote: post #116
_yb2s wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have experience with a few types of dance including salsa and bachata, and also compete as a strength athlete- and find some of the more complex weight lifting moves- such as the push jerk- a lot harder and more technical than anything I’ve learned dancing. If every aspect of your timing and form aren’t perfect, it simply does not work at heavier weights, and can take years of constant practice to perfect. The extr…

I think that's the exception that proves the rule, though, no? The majority of strength and cardio exercises are fairly simple to learn. Getting your form 100% correct is certainly more work, but generally not much. Basic partner dancing can certainly seem fairly simple, but you very quickly move out of that and into the realm of most things being complicated. And even with the basics, if you actually focus on the te…

At lower weights, it's easy to 'have good form'. The muscles can easily compensate for each other and one doesn't have to think too much about which muscles to contract/focus on.

As the weight increases, it requires more focus to ensure that you are keeping your form and positioning and even just to engage your muscles `in the right way`. Form becomes more important/a pre-requisite in a way that ramps up as the weight increases as mistakes become harder to correct on-the-fly. The tolerances decrease and so the technique becomes more important.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#164

Post by harimau777 »

WalterBright wrote: post #67
changing1999 wrote: post #15

I would like to see a comparison with other types of physical exercise that contain an element of continuous learning. Wrestling, BJJ, even boxercise, crossfit and such. Since the argument seems to be specifically about learning new routines and how that impacts neuroplasticity, dance vs other more cognitively challenging workouts would be an interesting comparison.

With dance you are constantly learning new material. Much less so with an exercise routine, even if you "mix it up".

With most martial arts you are constantly learning new material comparable to dance (that's to say nothing of martial arts like Capoeira and Silat which incorporate dance into their training).

It is also quite common for martial artists to add new skills that cover different aspects of combat. E.g. once karate-ka have a solid foundation in unarmed combat they often learn to use weapons. Practitioners of striking oriented martial arts commonly cross train in grappling or throwing oriented arts. Practitioners of Northern Kung Fu (generally focused on long range) might train in Southern Kung Fu (generally focused on short range). Many martial artists also incorporate supplemental practices such as meditation, qigong, or hojo undo.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#166

Post by Anthony-G »

LeonB wrote: post #123
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>chunking objects in memory for better recall // Can you share your source on this? Tangentially related wittering (I have flu, I'm a bit illucid rn): I do karate, I find sequenced moves to be a real mental struggle. But then I couldn't skip until I was a teenager. I blame/describe that as arrhythmia. I can't clap in time either.

The book “Peak” - and other works by that author detail studies related to this. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak:_Secrets_from_the_New_S... > The book was written partly as a response to the misrepresented but increasingly commonplace idea of the "10,000-hour rule," popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 book Outliers and which Gladwell had based on Ericsson's own research.

Thanks for that reference. Having read Outliers years ago, Peak sounds like a useful follow-on and the concept of “deliberate practice” makes sense to me.

I’ve been learning guitar over the past couple of years and I still struggle with many aspects (with good rhythm and timing being the most difficult). I’m mostly self-taught (justinguitar.com) but have recently started a music class to get feedback on my playing. My wife is also learning Mandarin and it sounds like the kind of book that she’d be interested in.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#167

Post by snapcaster »

joncrocks wrote: post #163
kelnos wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's the exception that proves the rule, though, no? The majority of strength and cardio exercises are fairly simple to learn. Getting your form 100% correct is certainly more work, but generally not much. Basic partner dancing can certainly seem fairly simple, but you very quickly move out of that and into the realm of most things being complicated. And even with the basics, if you actually focus on the te…

At lower weights, it's easy to 'have good form'. The muscles can easily compensate for each other and one doesn't have to think too much about which muscles to contract/focus on. As the weight increases, it requires more focus to ensure that you are keeping your form and positioning and even just to engage your muscles `in the right way`. Form becomes more important/a pre-requisite in a way that ramps up as the weigh…

Yeah, still way way easier than even basic dancing though

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#168

Post by changing1999 »

gregors wrote: post #159
changing1999 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is getting regularly choked out in BJJ. You always tap. The goal is not to injure your partner but to learn together. Source: 5 years of BJJ, I have never been choked out, I am not an idiot.

The only reason you'd ever get choked out in BJJ is because you lost the fight with your own ego.

That's a good way to put it. I trained in many gyms across two continents and never saw anyone getting chocked out in class.

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#169

Post by snapcaster »

Nevermark wrote: post #133

For me, exercise with physical-mental integration, it’s Beat Saber. But played with strict adherence to edged weapon form. I must only cut with the “sharp side” of my light saber, and cutting must take the form of contact then pulling back hard to slice (you don’t push a blade through meat). Also, you can’t stand there. The enemy is going to slice you, and avoid your attacks much more easily if you just stand in one…

This sounds so awesome. Beat saber but actually sword fighting seems fun as hell. Surprised now this doesn't already exist

Re: Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

#170

Post by polishdude20 »

potatochup wrote: post #142
polishdude20 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 31. None of my friends are interested. I mainly wanna try swing dancing because I saw a video of a competition and it looked like so much fun. It's really cool seeing people be able to command their body confidently and I see that and think "I wanna do that".

Just do it! Most venues have a beginner class that is specifically designed for people who have never danced (there will likely be others in the same boat as you). I started a few years ago, now I teach it and it's all I do in my spare time. It's also a great hobby because you can either go all in like me, or show up once a week for 1h and still have good time, meet people etc (based on your username), Poland has a g…

I will see if there's places near me! And I'm actually in Vancouver hehe.
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