The RNH Podcast Experience

At RNH we realise just how hard this time can be. We are a sport full of young dancers that all look forward to their big day on stage. Now however, the competition schedule is causing havoc on many of your training schedules and having that all important thing to work for at the end of the year. If this is affecting you then here is a new strategy to implement to get the most out of you!

Whether it's the end of a major competition weekend or you've just finished a gruelling week of class, you're probably feeling quite sore. Today's podcast explains what causes muscle soreness and how to prevent it so that you can continue dancing at a high level, all with less pain.

There are many layers to an Irish dancers performance much more than what there was 20 years ago.Today, we have transitioned into movements being completed as fast as possible, and with that change comes a great increase in the different types of training that is needed in order to achieve this result. Today's podcast is about exploring each type of training, what they are, and when they should be done!

It's so important that all dancers working from home have a set structure in place to hold them accountable each week meaning you know what you are working on, and when, and that it is super specific to you.Listen now as we discuss how to create this plan so that you return to dancing better than ever before!

To recover well from your dancing sessions, it's essential to get enough protein. In this podcast, you'll discover why that's the case. Plus, you'll find out how you can ensure you hit your daily protein needs!

Many dancers struggle to get motivated at the beginning of each year and waste endless weeks easing into their training routines. Remember if you want to be a champion there is no time to waste and so here are my top 6 tips to kickstart your 2020 journey!

If you're a dancer that suffers from the side effects of the menstrual and it's effects on your performance then this episode is a great listen for you. Listen to find out why your performance might be thrown off during your cycle and hear Lauren's top tips for reducing your symptoms!

In today's podcast Robert teaches you how to establish if you have been repeating the same type of training for too long and if this is the reason why your progress has slowed. If so, you will also learn what you need to do to change up your approach and spark brand new levels of growth!

Understanding what the core is, how it works and how to get it as strong as possible is super important for all Irish dancers to learn. And so, if you are needing to improve your core strength in any way I highly recommend that you listen to today's episode that will give you the best insight as to it's importance for all competitive Irish dancers.

Measuring your heart rate is a fantastic tool to give you a clear indication of if you are training in the correct zone for your goals and for stage performance! In today's podcast Robert goes into great detail on the benefits of heart rate tracking, what to look out for and how to target specific ranges to maximise your results!

Today we welcome 4 x World Champion and new RNH dancer Blanaid O'Neill. Blanaid is going to be demonstrating all of our Core exercises in the brand new core classes that will be starting on our on-demand platform and so today we bring her into the studio to find out more about her and listen to her inspiring journey so far!

If your heels are dropping it's because your hips are sinking. When the hips sink the knees sink and then the heels sink and so ultimately the problem comes from much further up the chain. If you have this issue then your upper body has a lot of catching up to do and so you really want to make sure you grab a pen and listen to today's podcast and get ready to make some changes!

Some competitions have a short amount of time between rounds whilst others will last for hours. This podcast will teach you how to plan for the different scenarios that you will face at different competitions and how to tackle your warm up and cool own routines around them!

This week's podcast is a collaboration of the top 5 questions Lauren has been recently asked and share the answers with you all.We hope you like this style of podcast and should you have any questions of your own you would like answered on the show please just send them to support@rnhacademy.com

For those of you that are struggling with fitness, you must have the tools to identify the exact type of fitness that you are struggling with so that you can improve this area as fast as you can. Not all types of fitness are the same, and once you are armed with the information in the podcast you will be able to find out exactly where your weaknesses lie, know where you compare to other top dancers, and how to improve these weaknesses as fast as possible. In today's podcast, Robert will explain just how much aerobic fitness is needed before moving onto the higher performance work and exactly how you can test for this so that you know where to direct your attention to most in your training sessions.

In this podcast, Robert goes into great detail on the theory of dancers starting a dance slower so avoid fatiguing at the end. Are we dancing marathons or sprints? and what type of training do we need to make sure that this doesn't happen? So many dancers class themselves as 'fit' but are still dropping off at the end of a dance. Why? and how do we fix this? Listen to this loaded podcast to find out how!

In this episode Robert discusses the key differences between developing a beginner dancer vs developing a dancer that is already good and wants to become great.How should a beginner dancer structure their weekly training to learn better technique? And how should a good dancer structure their training in order to become great?Listen now to find out why you need to change your mindset on training the higher up the ladder you get!

Amongst the endless years of daily sacrifices there will always be those 1 or 2 big moments that you have to miss out on in order to keep on track for your goals. For Lauren it was missing her Aunties wedding to go to a competition that she didn't want to be in, but later became a big part of her breakthrough to becoming a World Champion. What sacrifices are you having to make so far? What has been your biggest one to date? Share them with our community and help everyone realise there is no easy way to the top!

In this week's show Head of RNH Fitness Robert McAvoy comes on to discuss the main things that you need to change in your training if you want to see the best results fast. We also discuss why you need to avoid dancing back to back, and where the future of Irish Dancing is headed!

In this weeks episode, we get the team together to discuss highs and lows of competing, praise all Irish dance parents and go behind the scenes of some classic filming bloopers!

When you have two dancers with 12 world titles between them you would expect a loaded podcast with lots of great information and this episode delivers just that! Listen now to hear the top tips from two of the greatest Irish dancers to ever step on stage!

We're joined in the RNH studio by this years newest World Champion Emily Colangelo! Emily is just fresh off her recent victory and joins us during her filming period with RNH On-Demand to share her best advice to all dancers who are wanting to reach the top, and her thoughts on why you should never give up!

Taking a movement that everyone does and then increasing the height and the power of that movement will allow you to grab more of the attention and leave little for the rest of the dancers on stage. Which is exactly the aim of today's show - Bigger bangs and higher knees!

What's up podcast. After coming off a call with a dancer who explained to me their two week training period right before Nans I thought it was something I needed to share and advice that would benefit you all. So if your confused about the amount of training you should be doing right before a Major then get ready for some great individual advice.

In the second part of our new mini podcast series Lauren goes into detail on why she wanted to do a video on 'Trapping Your Cuts' and shares and extended version of the importance of executing the technique in this way!

What's up podcast. Today we are moving into a new style of audio experience, one that will include our thoughts and conversations on a daily and weekly basis so that we can give you much more to listen to so that you don't have to wait until the main weekly show and we can pack this mini podcast out with a whole different range of learning!First up, is Robert's thoughts on the best type of dance training to suit your needs!

No matter where you are in life, we all go through hardships in some capacity. By focusing on something that we enjoy, it can often be a great help in dealing with our problems. In today's podcast, Lauren discusses how dancing and hard work helped her get through difficulties in her own life, along with a live Instagram QnA.

It is not uncommon to come away from a competition with a handful of points that you need to work on and feeling confused as to how to schedule them in and what deserves the most attention.In today's podcast, Robert seeks to help you establish a structure for prioritising your weaknesses making sure that the right amount of time is dedicated to the most important tasks first, and how set time aside to maintain everything else that you are already good at!

This year seen the introduction of a brand new layout for the CLRG worlds and with so many positives and negatives coming out of the competition I wanted to share my views around why I feel the changes are a real benefit to our sport, and why you shouldn't be fearful of change!

This week sees the introduction of a guest podcast series and first on the show by right is Lauren's own mother. Lauren wanted to bring her on mum onto the show to go through all the highs and lows that her family they went through during her dance career so that hopefully any parents listening can resonate with these challenges and even gain some insight into best ways to deal with the same problems should they arise.We hope you like this new format and look forward to bringing more guests onto the show soon!

It's now only a few days until the world championships start, and for so many of you this is your opportunity to get up on stage and make your dreams come true. This audio clip is taken from the most watched video that we have ever produced and we believe that when you listen you will be ready to step up and shine. Because we believe in you, and we hope that after listening to this, that you believe in you too. Good luck at the 2019 World Irish Dance championships. It's your time...

This short clip is from a video that Lauren created for youtube in 2018 discussing her thoughts on reaching your goals by setting them and then making your actions map towards that goal each and everyday until you get there. It's a short but powerful reminder of the importance of goal setting and making progress on your goals every single day.I hope you enjoy and draw some inspiration out of this to put into your own daily routines.

In today's episode we feature an Irish dancing teacher and 2 x World champion onto the show to ask 16 questions that they want help with so that they can put them to great use in their studies and dance school education. As a dancer, teacher or parent you will all be able to relate to these questions and take away alot of great information to help progress in your career.

The benefits of sports massage are high and aim to improve areas such as flexibility, reduce injury risk and boost circulation which of course will all aim to prepare the body going into a competition and also improve recovery post competition. But what are the actual timings of these treatments and when it is best to schedule them in.Do you have treatment on the day before the competition? The week before? Or what if you've never had one before, do you try it, or will it mess everything up?In today's podcast, I am going to answer all of these questions for you.

Competition is a funny thing. It can either inspire you to be better and faster for a moment, but it can also cause you to be resentful and envious of those around you. If you positively thrive off competition then keep drawing it in, but if you find yourself feeling down and disheartened then it is time to change your mind.Listen now to find out how!

As a competitive dancer it can often be hard to know if you should take a break through training or try to keep pushing through. Your competitive side tells you that you are ok and to not give up, but on the other side your body is screaming out for rest. When should you take a break from training and not let your ego get in the way? and when should you stop feeling sorry for yourself an push through? Find out in episode 68!

Our sport is a small tight knit community that breeds competition and friendship, which are two great qualities to build. But sometimes in order to reach the top you need to put yourself first and be selfish, at those times when you need it most!

99% of dancers who aren't improving will increase the amount of days they are training in the hope that this will spark new progress. Unfortunately however if something isn't working for you 3 days per week it is unlikely to work by doing it 4. Going on in when something is working is the right thing to but increasing your training when it wasn't working in the first place is the road to even more injuries and disappointment.Join me on today's podcast as we go through what you really need to do when you hit a plateau!

I get so many messages each week with dancers who are defeating themselves before they have even stepped on stage simply because they have seen their competitors and are instantly betting themselves on loosing, without actually thinking about how much benefit they will gain from going through the process.The process of winning far outweighs the actual win itself when it comes to any sport and so stop worrying abut winning or loosing and start realising the endless benefits that engaging in competition actually has.

Why you should never set a pace you can't keep.So many of us start the gym and train too often too soon then give up, or go all in on a diet and eat too little too early and then quit.Many others invest money and try to get rich too fast and then lose it, or start influencing on Instagram and realize it takes too long then give up. In life, you have to be able to scale up from the starting point and not go down. There has to be a way for more and not less and you have to be in it for the long run. Today's episode is about finding a pace that you are able to stick to for 10 years and not a pace that you can only keep up for 4 weeks.

Never forgetting your first step.Holding onto the initial memories of anything you ever do can really build you as a human but unfortunately it is so easy to take everything we do for granted.Today's episode is about remembering to take in everything that you do, appreciate what is happening in your life around you and always remembering your first steps in all of your chapters that you go through, because your last step will almost always be determined by your first.

Learning how to prioritize your weaknesses.Many dancers are now improving their speed and sharpness but some still struggle to make this speed shine through into their actual dance movements. What to do you do if this is you? Why is your speed not showing in each step yet you know you are faster and stronger? Listen now to find out the real reasons of why you are being held back!

Finding what's important to you - In life, you are always weighing up what is important to you and what's not. You are subconsciously arranging the tasks in your mind as a priority and putting first what is more important for you. The problem with this is what is most important might not always be what is right for your goals, as your a programmed to avoid choices that are uncomfortable and therefore we find a way to make them less of a priority in our mind. Today's episode is about understanding that there is going to be a tradeoff with every decision that you make, and so getting your priorities right and understanding what is important to you is what will help you to succeed.

Returning to dance after a break - If you are a dancer who has taken a long time off due to college, family, children or any other reasons and you are wanting to go back to dance then there are many different things that you need to consider to give yourself the best chance of success and stay injury free. It is completely possible to be equal to, or better than the younger dancers in the class and in today's episode I am going to teach you how!

Staying true to yourself! Having a clear reflection of who you really are is almost impossible in today's world as we are so widely influenced by everything around us and other peoples opinions as to how good or bad we are at a certain thing. For those who appear talented it is very easy to get to far ahead and for those that are being told it's not possible its so easy to give up and forget. This show is about teaching you how to believe in yourself and stay humble until you get there, and that if it is possible for me then it is possible for anyone.

Its not about knowing, its about doing! In today's society information is at the touch of a button, yet so many people still ignore what they know so they do not have to act upon it. The purpose of this podcast is to remind you that you know a lot more than you think, and then get you to act on it!

On todays show Lauren rounds up all of the things that she has seen during her teaching visits in the month of January. Her thoughts on the bad habits that she is seeing, the good habits that she is seeing and what she thinks is ahead in the months to come!

How to fit in your training around college!Thousands of Irish dancers leave for college each year and suddenly struggle to find the time to keep dancing. If you are a dancer that wants to keep improving or maintaining your performance whilst studying then you need to listen to this podcast and copy our plan on how to achieve this today!

Learning to love yourself - The world we grow up in sets us up for failure from the start; it wants you to believe that you're not enough because there's a lot of money in you believing that you're not good enough, thin enough, smart enough, pretty enough - leading you to buy more products. Well I'm here to tell you that you are good enough, you are beautiful and you have a lot to offer this world. Listen now if you want to love yourself more!

Weight Loss Myths - This episode was inspired by a skype call with a dancer who read a whole host of bad advice and was wanting help on how to implement it. The aim of this show is not weight loss advice but to bust long standing weight loss myths that are running the industry and expose products that are costing so many females endless amounts of money.

How Long Should You Home Practice For? If you are a dancer who likes to include regular home practice but is not sure what they should be working on, how to make best use of their time, or even how much time they should spend practising at home then you need to listen to todays show as Lauren breaks it down for you into 3 simple pillars!