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When I was younger I took ballet and pointe and taught classes as well. I was in the studio 2-3 hours a day about 4 days a week and I was so fit (sad that back then I still thought I was fat).
I have since hung up the pointe shoes...maybe I need to take them out and dust them off.
Ballet is a great addition to a fitness plan. You're really aware of every muscle and bone in your body -- especially posture -- as you chassez about.
Just don't eat like a ballerina -- I've never seen such horrible nutrition than I have amongst ballet dancers. They live on sugar, caffeine and cigarettes, believe it or not.
Are Ballet Workouts the new way women are staying fit?
No. I dont think so. I am pretty up to the minute on what is popular in terms of health and fitness, especially excercise. After all, I live in Los Angeles which is pretty much the health/fitness/exercise capital of the country and am quite involved myself. Havent heard anything about ballet workouts being anything remotely near "popular". There are a couple of cardio barre schools locally that do somewhat well. CARDIO BARRE® This is the closest thing Ive seen to actual "ballet" workouts though. Even though the classes are crowded (with really hot chicks btw), they still pale in comparison in terms of numbers and popularity of regular gyms like Equinox, 24Hr Fitness, LA Fitness, etc.
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Originally Posted by FreshFresh
If this is actual fact, does Natalie Portman's performance in "Black Swan" have something to do with this?
how are you ladies staying fit?
As I have mentioned above, it is NOT ACTUAL FACT. Its far from it. If you read anything about what Portman did for that role, you would know that she actually starved herself (which is one of the many reasons why she won Oscar). You can see that she was NOT fit/healthy in that movie.
How are most of the women I know staying fit? Well, the majority of the women I know are either dancers (wife is a dancer), involved in martial arts, or pursuing careers in acting (or all of the above). The dancers are almost all heavily involved in yoga (6-8hrs per week); the martial artists women are almost all avid runners; and the actresses do all of the above with quite a few in CrossFit. Also, just about every woman I know is a member of a gym with 24Hr Fitness being the most popular followed by Equinox (which is my favorite big box gym). They both offer a huge amount of different classes and no one I know attends (or have heard of) any ballet specific classes at these gyms.
Yoga/Pilates = the 2000s
Ballet Workouts = the NOW??
If this is actual fact, does Natalie Portman's performance in "Black Swan" have something to do with this?
From what I've seen, ballet classes for beginner adults are too easy to accomplish much. Ballet is difficult and requires more dedication and training than a typical mom can give. Very few ballet schools seem to have adult classes for those who move up in ability. Unless you are born with natural turn out and flexible feet, or perhaps have the time to spend time every day in class AND stretch at home, if you begin as an adult you are probably going to do badly. It's like gymnastics ... you don't hear about a lot of adult women deciding they are going to backflip their way to fitness. You have to start young or not bother, really. Ballet is simply too exacting to come in and play at it for 45 minutes a week.
Don't get me wrong: if a woman likes ballet and wants to try it, she should go for it. But not to get in shape. The hard stuff that makes those ballerina bodies takes hours a day for years.
From what I've seen, ballet classes for beginner adults are too easy to accomplish much. Ballet is difficult and requires more dedication and training than a typical mom can give.
It is not in the realm of possibility to suggest that taking a ballet class once a week will turn you into Mia Slavenska, or that it'll even get you into a pair of pointe shoes.
What it will do is provide a different focus on your body and how it works, strengthen some muscles and elongate others, improve your posture, etc. (it's not necessary to squeeze your feet into toe shoes to accomplish this). And it is possible to use ballet to enhance your fitness, all within the confines of a one-hour weekly class, in conjunction with other fitness routines.
Colleges are a good place to look for affordable adult ballet classes; most ballet schools also offer them. When I took beginning ballet in college, there were a variety of people in there, from one of the school's elderly professors to male soccer players (who were way fun to watch! ).
I think barre workouts are probably good for building strength in certain muscle groups and for improving balance and posture, but that's about it. You can accomplish that through pilates and it's easier to find pilates classes, but I'm also all for variety in workouts to avoid boredom. I do barre workouts from time to time just to change things up, but they're not going to burn calories like an hour of cardio will.
I think barre workouts are probably good for building strength in certain muscle groups and for improving balance and posture, but that's about it. You can accomplish that through pilates and it's easier to find pilates classes, but I'm also all for variety in workouts to avoid boredom. I do barre workouts from time to time just to change things up, but they're not going to burn calories like an hour of cardio will.
Depends on how intense the ballet is and how intense the cardio is.
Ballet is a great addition to a fitness plan. You're really aware of every muscle and bone in your body -- especially posture -- as you chassez about.
Just don't eat like a ballerina -- I've never seen such horrible nutrition than I have amongst ballet dancers. They live on sugar, caffeine and cigarettes, believe it or not.
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