This web site does not believe that our impressions conflict with the fact that it seems that the Israeli dance community in the Philadelphia area is getting older. This in itself could be a web script to discuss why. But, for this script, we are going to concentrate on the question of exercise preparation and nutrition for the older active Israeli dancer.

It is obvious on the dance floor that many dancers are being affected by physical ailments such as extended respiratory events and chronic ailments like knee and shoulder problems and multiple foot problems such as plantar fasciitis. In addition, it seems as if the stamina of the local dancers has also deteriorated over the years.

So, we thought we would ask some experts about these problems. One expert that came quickly to mind is Osnat Reichart whom many of the dancers remember for her quick thinking and bravery in using a defibrillator in an emergency cardiac arrest situation several years ago at Adath Israel. Ossie is a dedicated Israeli dancer - one sees her at many sessions with her husband, Hanoch, and we catch her in the picture at the left at a recent event - and she can talk about these needs as someone who experiences the grind that the genre of Israeli dance poses to the dancer. Officially, she has been a Health and Physical Education teacher for more than 30 years with a masters degree in education from Temple University. She teaches these subjects at the Maple Point Middle School in the Neshaminy School District. In addition, being certified as a Swim Coach, she has coached swimmers in the national level in Israel and in High School teams in this country. This comes naturally as she was a swimmer herself, on the Israel National Swim team, as a teen. She was a combat fitness instructor during her service with the Israeli army. And, as the Israeli dance community found out in action, she is also a Red Cross instructor for CPR/AED/First Aid. In addition, Ossie is a personal trainer and while she does this presently with private clients, has in the past worked for LA fitness.

In addition, we wanted to query someone without first-hand knowledge of Israeli dance, perhaps looking at the questions from a less dance related basis. For this we could reference facebook. Perhaps you were the recipient of some facebook references to the recent attempt of a world record in low planking. For those uninitiated, a low plank is suspending the body on forearms and toes. Rob Schwartz, pictured to the right, a local trainer at Sweat fitness and the originator of the HYPE training sessions at the King Of Prussia LA Fitness, recently established a new world record for low planking at 80 minutes and 9 seconds and you can see this attempt on the internet through youtube (type in 'plank hype') or through his facebook page by clicking here although you will have to enter your own login and password to view this page. Rob is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and when in high school in Lower Merion, was part of the basketball squad that won the State championship led by Kobe Bryant. You can read about Rob's experiences as a teammate of Kobe's in a Sport Illustrated article by Clicking here. Rob has been a personal trainer for the past 10 years and part of his routine with his clients is to discuss nutrition.

Here are the questions posed to our experts.

1. Even before considering the effect of dancing, what should older individuals consider as to added ways of extending life span and health? Should older individuals consider trainers, diet gurus specializing in older individuals, additional doctor and medical support?

2. Per the question of dancing. Israeli dance can be looked at as a low impact form of aerobics. What should an older dancer do to get ready for a session? Stretch? drink fluids? etc.

3. Given dancing, what would be the weak points of the body? Obviously legs - knees, ankles and toes come to mind. What about cardiovascular considerations. Are there any upper skeletal possibilities?

4. Once at dance, there are snacks available. Most would be high cholesterol, high carbohydrate possible high salt and sugar. What should the older dancer be looking at per food at an event? How important is water? Can soda be substituted?

5. If someone contacted you, who was an Israeli dancer already, for training, what would you concentrate on if you took his/her physical training over?

6. If dealing with someone physically, what would you proscribe for the older Israeli dancer - who is obviously active - per nutritional needs or does this not matter.

7. At many of the sessions, people walk out to smoke. You don't have to be a genius to understand that this can't be good for you. But, other people take large quantities of pain killers to ease the pain of dancing and such activity and other people take anti-anxiety medicine to ease the problem of the social aspect of Israeli dancing. What would you say to all these types of addictions per the dancer?

8. Let's pose the following question to both of you. Can one overdo this? Should one consider cross training of some other type of activity. When do you know - as an older dancer - when you have pushed the envelope of activities such as this too far (besides the obvious results of a physical breakdown.)

9. Now, this is a toughie. Think about it carefully. You are training someone who is older in your capacity as a trainer. Let's assume they are over 60 or you pick an age. They tell you that in addition to dealing with you as a trainer - they are going to get involved in a dancing program, be it Israeli, ballroom, salsa, tango, zumba or whatever. What do you tell them to look out for per injuries or pitfalls per this dancing as they start? What would be the early signs that knees, ankles, whatever are not working as they should.

We also indicated in our Email that if we did not include question(s) that should have been posed, that our experts should include this in their answers.

First we'll deal with Rob's comments and answers. A while ago, we visited Sweat Fitness where Rob was training an unidentified client and snapped some pictures.

I started to answer the questions one at a time, then I realized they are all connected. So here is what I think. All of your questions are important to a dancer of any age. But as we get older, things become more important then others.

For example, as we age we lose bone density, so it is important to do weight training. Training with weights helps to build bone density. My older clients all do a lot of training with weights. So to build strength and muscle for dancing, weights are important, but we can't focus solely on weights.

With dancing, you need balance. So training your body to use all those little stability muscles will be huge.

How does one do this? By skipping machines and using things like medicine balls, bosu balls (Ed note: Bosu stands for both sides up) and resistance balls. All are great to help build core strength and increase balance. Which for older people is very important, the odds of them falling are greater then a younger person. So when an older person is dancing, they should go slow at first so as to prevent falling. We want to enjoy dancing, not turn it into a contact sport.

I would treat dance like any activity. So when getting ready for an activity, one must warm up for three to ten minutes, stretch lightly, then go into dancing. Don't ever stretch cold muscles, as this could lead to injury. Speaking of injury, if you are not hydrated properly, you can easily pull a muscle. So it is important to drink plenty of water the day of dancing, as well as the day before. Water should be drank before, during and after dancing. Soda has to go. That stuff is poison, and older people especially shouldn't be drinking it in the middle of dance. (Ed Note: This would be especially true for diabetics per the increased sugar content)

The only things I would have available during dance would be fruit and water. Nothing high in sugar or fat. You want to have sustained energy during dance. Not a huge sugar rush followed by a huge sugar crash. Nutrition is vital, no matter what age or what activity you are doing. If you want to get the most out of the activity, you need to eat right and drink plenty of water.

Bottom line: As with any activity, you can overdue it. You need rest. Especially the older you get. You have to listen to your body, rest when you need it and push hard when you are able to. You don't recover as fast when you get older. That's a fact that we all need to accept. Listen to your body! The combination of dancing, strength training, cardiovascular training, stretching and rest will serve you best. Be diverse. Be smart.

Since this script was written in Summer'12, there has been an additional item per Rob's activities. Once a year Phily fitness magazine brings together a set of trainers to demonstarate their routines in front of a live audience and Rob was invited to participate this year. You can see a prelimary script on this by clicking here.

At Darcy and Mike's wedding, we snapped the pictures of Ossie that appear here. Below are her comments to the questions listed above.

I think I am qualified to give some suggestions for keeping in shape as you get to your 50's and 60's, as most of the devoted Israeli Dances dancers are in this position including myself. To be able to dance non-stop for 4 hours you need to be in a great aerobics shape. If you know me, I am one of very few people who is capable to do so.

I am a athlete in my soul:I have never stoped running, swimming, and exercising. You can see who are the energetic ones, and those who are getting tired and need to sit and rest occationally. You definitely need to work on endurance training to develop the energy production system to meet the demands of events such as Israeli dancing.

You should engage in aerobic activity a few times a week for 30-45 minutes of doing what you prefer- walking, jogging, running, biking, or other aerobic forms of exercise. This will increase your cardiovascular capacity and this will give you a better ability and quality of handling long activity sessions such as an Israeli dance marathon.

Dancing is a fun and sociable way to exercise, however, the range of body movement, repetition and speed of movement can lead to injuries, particularly if you are new and learning unfamiliar steps. By being aware of some of the risk factors, you can help reduce your risk of injury.

If you have a pre-existing problem or injury to the foot, ankle or lower back, consult your doctor. Be aware of your own personal limits and boundaries. You should warm up your body by stretching.

Cooling down after dancing should be accompanied by stretching again.

Drink plenty of water before, during, and after dancing. Wear layers of clothing that you can take off as your body warms up. Wear fitted shoes that can distribute load, absorb impact, and support your feet. Take sufficient rest between dances, if you are new or not very fit, to minimize muscle soreness or stiffness.

Here's some of the factors that can increase the risk of injury as I have seen in my years of Israeli dancing: inexperience, poor fitness, poor technique, poor posture, fatigue, hazardous environment, overdancing, failure to rest an injury. Here are the common injuries that you can experience on the dance floor. Sprains and strains, where muscles and ligaments are overstreched or twisted. Impact injuries such as bruises caused by falling over, bumping into another dancer or tripping over.

In addition, and this is a major source of injury for novice dancers, ill-fitting shoes can cause blisters on the feet and toes and may lead to bruising of the toes or to ingrown toenails.

With all that said, you should try to be physically fit at any age, and to the level of your ability. Work on your posture, your joints, core, and muscle endurance. If you work with weights- use low weight and a lot of repetitions. Always remember- you are the one who knows your body- the capability, and the limits.