Focusing on posture, and strengthening the muscles that keep your posture in the right position is essential. That means that the lower muscles that hold your posture in the right position are worked on in Ballet. These areas are the muscles in your pelvis, your abdominal muscles, your glutes, your front and back thigh muscles and your hamstrings.Your abdominal muscles are just as important as your quads and hamstrings. The muscles that hold your posture and allow your pelvis to remain in the “right position” are the most important. The right position means that the pelvis is not tilted either to the front or to the back because of tight muscles. Strength in ballet must always be created from using the “correct posture.”
Asses your posture. This gives you the basis for building the leg muscles, foot and ankle, and abdominal muscle you need. As a Male dancer you must maintain control over almost every muscle group in your body. Not only do you need to build muscles, but you need to build them to be functional, to hold your posture and to give you a great deal of flexibility. When you dance you use just about every muscle in your body. A dancer's body muscles have to be built for strength, but in a long and lean way, so that you are flexible and agile. Dance moves will require you to jump, change direction quickly and lift your female partners easily.As a male dancer, you will also need to weight train to build the extra arm strength that you need to lift the girls. This is additional strength you need, besides that which you receive in ballet class. You will need to strengthen your arm and shoulder muscles enough to be able to hold the girl above your head and often times she will be in an awkward or a moving position. In more advanced ballet programs for men, weight training is often a part of the curriculum.
Do weight training exercises to build the strength you need. There are three exercises in every set and every set should be done with 15 repetitions and repeated twice. Then you should rest for one minute and go into your second set of different exercises. On the first day your first set of three is: 75 degree incline Dumbbell press, one arm dumbbell rows, and bent over lateral raises. Your second set of exercises is; 45 incline dumbbell press, and two arm dumbbell rows. Your third set should be leg raise, crunches, and frog kicks.
Start your second set of exercises - On your second day start your tri set with; dumbbell upright rows, dumbbell curls, overhead dumbbell tricep extensions. Your second tri set will be; incline dumbbell curls, lying dumbbell tricep extensions, and then lunges. Your third tri set with be dumbbell squats, stiff legged dead lifts, dumbbell calf raises.Move on up - After your first week go up to three sets of exercise with 12 repetitions, then after your first month go up to four sets with 8 to 10 repetitions.
Work on all your leg and foot muscle groups, your abdomen muscles, muscles that hold your posture correctly. Do weight training for your arm and shoulder muscle groups.The above is just a sample of how dancers should build muscle, but you should understand that every dance curriculum is a little different, and the precise muscles you work on will depend on the choreography and the type of ballet dancing you are doing.