Learn To Salsa Dance

As a dancer, you’re probably familiar with the pain and soreness that comes after a hard night of dancing. You’ve probably even taken ibuprofen, such as Advil, to ward off the pain and inflammation, which is actually something that many athletes use.

What these athletes have come to find out though, is that over time ibuprofen seems to increase soreness and pain. The reason for this is because the drug appears to inhibit the production of collagen, which is normally increased during strenuous exercise and is also required to rebuild muscle tissue.

Ibuprofen is very common among dancers for taking away the “pain” and if you’re one of the people who uses it, now is the time to consider alternatives. Start thinking about collagen-producing foods such as soy milk and cheese.

Dark green vegetables, such as kale, spinach and asparagus will help the body to manufacture collagen as well. For even more options, pick up some red fruits and vegetable, such as beets, tomatoes and red peppers or dark berries like black berries and blue berries. Due to its high magnesium content, raw cacao is also a good option.

And you thought chocolate was bad for you!

If you can find chocolate bars with at least 75% cacao, it should do the trick. You can even buy 90% cacao at places such as World Market, although this might not taste as good as the Hershey bar you’re used to.

One thing you should note; building muscle is an inflammatory process, so by inhibiting it with anti-inflammatory foods, you could be reducing the amount of muscle your body could be building. Just know that Ibuprofen can make soreness worse than it needs to be if taken frequently.

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