Cardiorespiratory responses to ballet exercise and the VO2max of elite ballet dancers

Physiologic responses to ballet exercise and VO2max during treadmill running were studied in elite professional ballet dancers (7 men, 8 women; age 20-30 yr) from American Ballet Theatre. Ten dancer were studied during standard 1-h ballet classes consisting of 28 min of barre and 32 min of center floor exercise. Eight dancers performed maximal treadmill running tests yielding VO2max values (ml . min-1 . kg-1) of 48.2 (range 43.8-51.9) for men and 43.7 (range 40.9-50.1) for women. Mean VO2 (ml . min-1 . kg-1) during barre exercise was 18.5 (38% VO2max) for men and 16.5 (38% VO2max) for women; during center floor exercise 26.3 (55% VO2max) for men and 20.1 (46% VO2max) for women, with a peak of 77% VO2max for a male dancer. Mean caloric output values (kcal . kg-1 . min-1) during barre exercise were 0.09 and 0.08 for men and women, respectively, and during center floor exercise 0.13 for men and 0.10 for women, with a peak of 0.18 for one male dancer. Estimated net caloric outputs for the entire ballet class averaged 200 kcal . h-1 for women and 300 kcal . h-1 for men. During barre exercise, HR was below the training sensitive zone (70% HR max) for significant periods of time. Peak HR (beats . min-1) was relatively high during allegro center floor exercise, averaging 178 (92% HR max) and 158 (85% HR max) for men and women, respectively. However, these were maintained for only brief durations similar to sprint or burst activities. We conclude that these physiologic data obtained during ballet class represent only a relatively modest stimulus for augmenting aerobic (VO2max). In conjunction with the strong isometric component in ballet exercise, along with the sprint or burst component of ballet exercise, these factors would produce in elite ballet dancers VO2max values in the range of non-endurance athletes.