What are legwarmers?
Legwarmers are used by dancers and by yogis or they can also be worn as streetwear. Beyond adding an extra pop of colour, leg warmers provide added warmth in colder temperatures to help keep muscles protected and to help avoid cramps and injury. For dancers and yogis, keeping muscles warm means better flexibility. It is recommended to pull on the legwarmers before training to help warm up your body faster before class. Ask your trainer if it is allowed to wear legwarmers during class! Definitely, pull the legwarmers back on right after class, so the muscles would stay warm until you change your clothes. This way you’ll avoid cramps and catching a cold. It is especially popular to wear legwarmers during competitions and in training camps to keep the muscles warm between classes and rehearsals as the buildings can be cold and the breaks are long.
There are different types of legwarmers:
a material difference – dancers usually use legwarmers made out of acrylic yarn as they are more elastic
length difference – there are three legwarmer lengths: ankle height (around 40cm), calf height (50-60cm) and over the knee height legwarmers (around 90cm). The legwarmer length depends on the dancer’s preferences. For kids, we recommend shorter legwarmers.
simple and stirrup legwarmers – stirrup legwarmers have a hole where the knee goes through which helps to keep them in place as well as to keep the ankle warm. Stirrup legwarmers can be worn on a bare leg as well as over the boot or other dance shoes. Simple legwarmers are meant to keep the calve muscles warm.