Popping, Fitness, and Muscle Size.
People often email me questions related to fitness and popping, specifically if a large person can be good at it. The answer is yes. Popping is not a dance that requires you to be in top physical shape. The dance is more focused on precision and dope poppers come all different shapes and sizes. There are dozens of very talented and very well known poppers who are on the bigger side. When I get these questions I usually point to Slick Dogg who is a well respected popper and one of the best wavers out there – he is also big guy (I say this in the best of ways). There are also thin guys who are extremely talented such as Kite. The level of fitness doesn’t limit you in popping.
Related to this, beginners assume that to have big hits you need big muscles: wrong. Hitting is about technique and muscle speed. Practicing popping doesn’t make you muscles bigger (if that was the case all poppers would be jacked) but it does make them much faster. Fast and coordinated muscles are responsible for big hits. The bottom line is muscle size is not important, but flexibility on the other hand, can help a lot. A non-flexible neck is usually the reason why someone has trouble learning the head isolation. Flexibility can also help you be more creative with your waves, get cleaner tutting angles, and do bigger boogaloo rolls. Being flexible and in good shape can help prevent injuries. Most street dancers don’t stretch before getting down. I have recently started stretching regularly, and it is helping my dance tremendously.
