Health & Body

Cross-Training With Cincinnati Ballet’s Minori Sakita

April 10, 2024

Minori Sakita recalls being rather naïve about how to effectively cross-train when she was starting out in her career. “I used to always go to the gym when I was in my first year in the corps, but I would be exhausted or get hurt,” she explains. “There was no strength training, and if there was, it was something very little.” 

With the guidance of her former Tulsa Ballet colleague, Chong Sun, a National Council on Strength and Fitness personal trainer, Sakita was able to learn the basics of cross-training and maintaining proper form. Now a Cincinnati Ballet first soloist, Sakita has a thorough strength-and-conditioning routine that helps her prevent injuries and boosts her confidence onstage.

Daily Grind

When Sakita is on layoff from performing or has a “light” dancing day (three hours or less), her cross-training routine can be rather robust. For example, she’ll do leg exercises on Monday and Friday, shoulders on Tuesday, back on Wednesday, and chest on Thursday. She also likes to do cardio three days a week during this time.

When she’s in the middle of a busy season, Sakita’s cross-training routine is less intense. She may run through light physical therapy exercises during her downtime in the studio, with particular focus on her hips and ankles (she recovered from a nine-month ankle injury last year). One day during the weekend, she might do leg exercises or a full upper-body workout with light cardio. She always makes sure to get one day of rest after a tough week of dancing.  

Her regimen has paid off.  “I find myself jumping higher when I do leg [workouts] or the StairMaster,” she says. “If I do my back exercises or Romanian deadlifts, I can turn [more easily]. It gives me freedom in my technique, which then gives me more freedom to focus on my artistry.”

During a dance performance, Taylor Carrasco takes a wide stance and reaches out his right arm, holding the hand of Minori Sakita as she pulls away from him and lifts her right leg high to the side. She reaches out and away with her left hand, looking off into the distance in that direction. Both dancers wear red gloves, offwhite pants and tan-colored tops.
Taylor Carrasco and Minori Sakita in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Written and Forgotten. Photo by Hiromi Platt, courtesy Cincinnati Ballet.

Paying It Forward

Sakita often gets dance and exercise questions from her young followers on TikTok. This inspired her to pursue her personal-training certificate through National Academy of Sports Medicine so she can help other dancers in the future.  She is currently reviewing the NASM Essentials of Personal Training book and is hoping to take her exam in a few months.   

A Balanced Diet

Sakita likes to keep her meals simple and balanced, incorporating a protein, carb, and vegetable. “For instance, salmon, quinoa, and Brussels sprouts,” says Sakita. For snacks, she likes to munch on protein bars or nuts. 

At-Home Workout

The following exercises target the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and adductor muscles of the hip.

You’ll need:

  • a chair
  • a bag or backpack filled with books to add resistance (if a beginner, these exercises can be done without the extra weight)

Step-Ups

  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, stands in front of a black chair and places her right foot on the seat. She holds up a black bag above her head.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, stands on her right foot on the seat of a black chair. Her left leg is slightly behind her and she points her left foot. She holds up a black bag above her head.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  1. Hold the bag above your head and place your right foot on the chair. Step up onto the chair, staying on one leg. Remember to keep your core engaged, shoulders down, and breathe.  
  2. Step down and repeat with the same leg 10–15 times for 2 sets.
  3. Repeat with the left leg.

Bulgarian Split-Squats

  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, stands in front of a black chair and places the top of her left foot on the seat. Her left leg is slightly bent behind her. She holds up a black bag above her head.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, stands in front of a black chair and places the top of her left foot on the seat. She squats down on her right leg, wit her left leg bent behind her. She holds up a black bag above her head.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  1. Stand with the chair placed behind you. Put the top of one foot on theseat. Holding the weighted bag above your head, lower into a single leg squat and return to standing.
  2. Complete 10–15 single-leg squats for 2 sets. Remember to keep your core engaged, shoulders down, and knee in line with your ankle.
  3. Repeat with the opposite leg. 

Inner-Thigh Exercise

  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, balances in a plank on her right forearm with her left foot on the seat of a black chair. She lifts her straight right leg up towards the bottom of the chair's seat. flexing her foot.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  • Minori Sakita, wearing a brown sports bra, black workout pants and black socks, balances in a plank on her right forearm with her left foot on the seat of a black chair. She lifts her straight right leg up to meet the bottom of the chair's seat so that her legs squeeze together. flexing her foot.
    Photo courtesy Minori Sakita.
  1. Prop yourself up on your forearm in a side plank position with your top leg on the seat of thechair. Lift the bottom leg to meet the top leg and lower. 
  2. Complete 10–15 repetitions for 2 sets.
  3. Repeat on the opposite side. 
cincinnati ballet cross-training minori sakita