Ballet Beautiful: Transform Your Body and Gain the Strength, Grace and Focus of a Ballet Dancer (13 page)
Authors: Mary Helen Bowers
The Classic 60-Minute Ballet Beautiful Workout
T
his chapter highlights the Classic Ballet Beautiful Workout, a comprehensive, hour-long workout that targets the upper body, center, arms, legs, and butt. The Classic is the best place to learn how the different elements of Ballet Beautiful are put into practice. This all-over body workout, with a focus on toning exercises through mat and resistance work, is a totally doable workout—for the beginner, intermediate, or trained expert! Anyone can benefit from how it targets and strengthens your ballet muscles, transforming the shape of your lines. I used a version of this workout daily when I was dancing with the New York City Ballet to keep me centered and strong.
Here’s an outline of how it works. After a gentle five-minute stretch, you begin to target the five critical areas of a ballerina body:
1.
Back of the legs and butt
: I love the way my Bridge Series gets the muscles in your legs and butt working—it’s an absolute killer! The Reverse Bridge is also an awesome workout for the butt and legs. It’s great for strengthening your center too!
2.
Abdominals
: Get ready to tone and strengthen deep through your stomach and center.
3.
Inner thighs
: This workout targets that hard-to-reach area along the inside of the leg that is critical for shaping a ballerina’s legs.
4.
Outer thighs
: These exercises target and tone the muscles on the hard-to-reach part of the outside of your hip, thigh, and butt, lengthening the lines of your legs and getting rid of cellulite.
5.
Standing work with arms
: These fun, graceful standing exercises include low-impact, cardiovascular elements to sculpt lean, toned, feminine arms and to tighten and lengthen the entire body. They are also a fun way to practice your plié and port de bras while you work out!
I adore the way that these Classic exercises continue to strengthen and tone my physique and let me stay connected to my love of dance—even on days when I can’t get to a ballet studio! Because we are not using weights or equipment, the muscles we are building are long and lean—these exercises will never make you bulky. They may require a few more reps than you’re used to, but I can promise you that it will be worth it!
For each movement in the different targeted areas, you will do four sets of eight counts, a classic ballet workout. You’ll start on the right side, complete a sequence, then switch to the left. You will also be stretching between the movements; don’t skip this stretch! Stretching as you go is so important. It will help you get the most out of every exercise. Remember too that you can use the stretches to modify the exercises. If you are a beginner and just getting started, you may want to take more time to stretch during the exercises and perform fewer reps. If you are advanced and want a more challenging workout, you can leave the stretching to the end of each section.
Throughout the exercises, I’ve offered adjustments (
). These are modifications you can use to make a movement either more challenging or less challenging, depending on whether you are a beginner or looking for a more difficult workout. Watch for adjustments for beginners indicated by
/B.,
and for advanced indicated by
/A.
My Ballet Beautiful principles are marked by the Ballet Beautiful logo.
At the end of the mat work, we will transition into the Standing Series, which is a quick cardio blast and a terrific upper body workout.
All this adds up to a complete-body workout that tones, strengthens, lengthens, and satisfies! By targeting, isolating, and exhausting your ballet muscles, you will see immediate results. Get ready for the transformation and your incredible new Ballet Beautiful body!
Katherine on Transforming Her Body
I
noticed a change almost immediately when I started Ballet Beautiful. My body felt different. My butt and muscles became more toned. And I discovered muscles that I never knew I had—after just two weeks! The look and feel was totally different and I felt so proud of my results.
REMEMBER THE BB PRINCIPLES 1. 2. 3. 4. |
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You will be sipping lots of water throughout each workout—whether the Classic or the Cardio Blasts—to make sure your body stays hydrated, so keep your water bottle nearby.
A Note on Adjustments
R
emember:
this workout is not for professional dancers. It’s for anyone looking to sculpt a body shape that is powerful yet feminine from the comfort and privacy of their own home. You can benefit from the Ballet Beautiful workout regardless of your experience, your current workout routine, or the number of years you have or have not been dancing. In most cases, I offer ways to modify the workout to make it simpler or more challenging. Look for the
as you go!
Every Ballet Beautiful workout begins with a simple stretch to open and release the muscles in your back, hips, and legs. Hold stretches for anywhere from 10 to 90 seconds, depending on how much time you have available and how tight your body feels. (See pages 55–61 for refreshers on these stretches.)
a
Sit on the floor or your mat, legs in front of you. Bend your left knee toward your hips and extend your right leg out long on the floor in front of you.
b
Extend your body forward toward your right foot, keeping your knee straight. Reach toward your right foot with both hands as the muscles begin to open through the back of your hamstring and leg.
c
Don’t worry about whether your left hip reaches the floor or about how low it is; everyone’s hips are different. Your hips will loosen and open over time.
d
Repeat on the other side.
a
Begin seated on the mat with your legs in front of you.
b
Bend your right knee by bringing your right foot in toward your hip. Extend your left leg long behind you on the mat. You can use your arms to lift and brace your body.
c
Sit up high and open through the chest, pulling your stomach in.
d
Gently bend toward the bent knee for a stretch through the spine. Your hips may lift off the floor, and that’s okay; your range of movement and your flexibility will change the more you stretch.