Tuesday, July 17, 2012

BALLET BEAUTIFUL: Blast Series

Ballet Beautiful is a foundation that I recently came across while searching for new exercises to try. I like to look for exercises that dancers can do without bulking up simply because being muscle-bound is not my goal. First I watched the DVD to see what I was in for, and it appeared simple, lovely and not too difficult. I then tried the first three sections (Swan Arms, Body Blast, Butt Series Part 1) back to back this morning. To be perfectly honest I couldn't make it through the last section without a break first. It was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be, and this is now one of my favorite ballet exercise DVDs! I found that much like Ballet that appears lovely and not too difficult, it certainly is a work-out. I can already feel my arms and legs getting sore. She does move fast, so for those unfamiliar with basic ballet movement be patient, pay close attention to her posture and try to keep your shoulders down and relaxed as much as possible.

I would recommend that you do the exercises at your own pace, whether or not you have ballet experience because you will still get the workout, for sure! Something that I would also do is pause it whenever she takes a breath to stretch and take a little longer if you feel like you would like a better stretch.

She is precise and stays to her 15 minute limit for each of these 4 sections. This time limit can be used to give motivation because it is very short and oh so worth it! You can also mix and match or do the entire DVD all the way through. Whatever you need. I personally love it, but everyone is different.

Mary Helen seems to also have a YouTube Channel where she posts information on her new releases:
<http://www.youtube.com/user/MaryHelenBowers>

There are also live classes offered for a fee over the internet for those of you interested in that, you can find more info on her website:
<http://www.balletbeautiful.com/>

It looks like she also has a book that should have some good recipes, and exercises. If I ever get to take a look at it then I will definitely blog about it!

Happy Training! à bientôt!

4 comments:

  1. Do you have any recommendations for instructional dance DVDs for young girls (age 6-12)? My girls want to take dance, especially ballet, but it isn't feasible right now. We could invest in some DVDs though.I'm not sure what to look for. Thanks!

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  2. Tammy, I will definitely look into it! Watch for a post next week-ish. what level of experience do each of them have in Ballet already?

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  3. Awesome! They are beginners. My older daughter did gymnastics for a little while, but no dance experience (they are constantly dancing around the house, but I don't think that counts =).

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  4. LOL! I love it! I'll see what I can find that would be safe to use at home and good for their ages. :)

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