7 Tips To Wearing High Heels For Dance And More
Putting on a pair of high heels before heading out for a night on the town can make you look and feel amazing. They can add something extra to the outfit that you carefully picked for this occasion. If there's a downside to them, it can be that they make dancing challenging. However, by following the tips below, you can wear those heels to dance and do so much more!
7 Tips For Activity in Wearing High Heels
Stretch Your Feet
Before you even put your heels on, make sure you stretch your feet. This will ensure that they are ready to take on walking and dancing tasks. The stretches you can consider doing for your feet include sitting in a chair and placing your heel on the ground. You'll then lift your toes as high as you can. For a deeper stretch, you can also grab your toes with your hand and pull them toward your shin.
While still seated, you can also roll from your heel onto your toes, pointing them toward the ground. You'll also want to roll them onto each side to stretch all of the muscles in your foot. A few times during the night, you may want to take a break from your fun and do these stretches again to ensure that your feet don't get overly sore.
Stretch Your Legs
Before you head out to go dancing, in addition to stretching your feet, take the time to stretch your legs as well—especially your calf muscles. This will ensure that these muscles don't get fatigued and will keep you on your feet all night.
To stretch your calf muscles, you can either place the ball of your foot on a wall and lean forward or find some stairs. If you are on some stairs, you'll want to drape your heel off the front of the stair and lower it to the ground. For both of these stretches, you should feel a pull in your calf. It shouldn't be painful, but it should help loosen these muscles up.
To stretch your hamstrings, which are the big muscles on the back of your legs, you'll want to stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then, you will bend forward from the waist and try to touch your toes. Hold this stretch for a ten count and then straighten up.
Your quadriceps are the muscles on the front part of your leg. To stretch these, you'll reach behind your back with your hand, bend your leg at the knee, and grab your foot. Your right hand will grab your left foot, and your left hand will grab your right foot. Hold your foot across your butt for a ten count and then release. To help with balance, you might consider holding onto a wall or other stable item.
Have Good Posture
One of the reasons that heels make you look good is because they force you to have good posture. To stay balanced when wearing these shoes, you have to keep your head up, shoulders back, and back straight. If you slouch when you wear heels, you throw off your balance, increasing the chance of falling over.
Thus, throughout the night, even when you start to get tired and hot from dancing, make sure to maintain good posture. This will ensure that you stay balanced and comfortable in your heels.
Engage Your Core
Your core is the centre of your body, right around your stomach area. If you engage this while wearing heels, it will help you keep your balance and maintain your posture. This is also a large part of your body, so if you use this while walking or dancing in heels, it won't tire you out as fast.
Strengthen Your Feet and Ankles
Strengthening your feet and ankles will allow you to do pretty much anything you want in heels. To accomplish this task, you'll need to do some exercises. There are many options to choose from, and some of them can even be fun. One such exercise is placing small objects on the floor and then picking them up with your toes. You can then place them in a cup for an added challenge or place them in a pile on the floor.
Another exercise you can try is to work on your balance. For this exercise, you will stand on stable ground and lift one foot off the floor. Make sure you switch which foot you lift after one minute. Once you can balance for one minute without putting your foot down or wobbling, you can then try the same thing with your eyes closed.
Once you have mastered having your eyes closed and being able to balance, you can move to an unstable surface. This includes a trampoline, wobble board, or foam block. Again, you will lift one foot and hold your position for one minute before switching to the other foot. This exercise is great for strengthening your ankles and your core.
If you have an exercise band, you can place this around a sturdy table leg or bedpost. With your legs straight out in front of you, place the band around your toes, and then pull your toes toward your body while you keep your leg straight. Do two sets of 20 of these on each leg.
Practice at Home
Before heading out for the night, do some practising at home. This will help you get comfortable in your heels as well as allow you to learn balance without the risk of embarrassing yourself or falling over. It can also break in new shoes so that they don't pinch or slide when you are out having fun.
Wear the Right Sized Heels
Having the right sized heels is imperative when it comes to walking or dancing in them. If they are too small, they will pinch and rub against your feet, making them painful and sore. Should they be too large, this could also cause them to rub and blisters to form. This also increases your chances of sliding out of them as you move.
If you're unsure what size you need, head down to a shoe store and have a professional measure your feet, so you know what the right size is.