See? Shoulders and core! Who says this isn’t a good workout?Because I like to keep my body in a state of perpetual shock, for my next experiment I am going to do the complete opposite of my last experiment. Seriously, one of these days my body is going to rebel and force me to do something normal like eat vanilla ice cream whilst wearing a white dress and riding a white horse. Oops! That’s a tampon ad. My bad.
If you recall, CrossFit was all about lifting short and h-e-a-v-y, which I totally loved, with minimal cardio. However, the Ballerina/Madonna workout got me thinking about high-rep, low-weight, mostly bodyweight lifting. The current conventional wisdom says that this will cause me to lose muscle and generally be a wimp but all the ballerinas I have known are neither weak nor wimpy.
Plus they’re gorgeous. And I’m not just talking about the girls. Back in Seattle I was friends with a professional male ballerina (ballerino?). Let me tell you, he was one beautiful human being. At least on the outside. Inside, not so much. Which is probably why we’re not friends anymore. But don’t worry, I’m not going to make you check “yes” or “no” on the note I slide you under the cafeteria table asking whether or not we should still sit by him on the bus. Because we totally should. I’m all for inclusiveness on buses. Unless you have no pants on. Then you should be riding bike and getting what you deserve.
The Universe Likes Ballerinas
As if it could feel my slight reservations (I really don’t want to lose any of that muscle I just worked so darn hard to build), the Universe sent me a message. Part 1: A lovely, tall, thin woman at my gym, Julie, saw the Gym Buddies and I massacring the basic plie and offered to instruct us in proper form. Since I’ll take all the (free) help I can get, we jumped at the chance. It turns out she was a ballerina from age 5 to 20 and as soon as we saw her execute a beautiful, perfect plie, the tutu-loving-yet-uncoordinated-5-year-old in me came out and I decided that I want to be her. Part 2: my local library has the New York City Ballet Company workout and DVD checked IN. If that’s not a sign then I don’t know what one is (and probably shouldn’t be driving, in that case). I la-la-love libraries! So – free help + free workout = whee!
The Ballet Workout
Based on this book and video set and the two other ballet workouts I found pieces of online, cobbled together with some Tracy Anderson stuff, the Gym Buddies and I are going to work it like a ballerina for the next month. Since this program doesn’t say too much about cardio – they’re probably assuming that we will be dancing a lot – we’re going to stick with our current cardio schedule.
The program promises stronger but “longer and leaner” muscles than traditional workouts. Which is a selling point since Gym Buddy Allison – the one of us who puts on muscle the easiest, lucky girl – says that her thighs are bigger since doing CrossFit. For the record, her legs look exactly the same to me (gorgeous) as before but really you should have seen the looks we got from all the men on the weight floor today as we discussed it!
The theory behind the program is not the silly “toning” idea that went out with jelly shoes in the ’80s but rather working the “small” muscles that are deep inside. Rather than targeting a large muscle group(s), like we did in CrossFit, we’ll be focusing on movements that, according the book anyhow, use muscles we don’t even know we have. Yet:)
In addition to the usual stat tracking I do, myself and all the Gym Buddies will also be watching our calf, thigh, hip, waist and arm measurements to see if this program lives up to it’s Pilates-inspired claims.
Has anyone else noticed what Allison is talking about? Obv. we’re girls so we’re not going to bulk out like dudes no matter how much we lift, but some people do put on muscle more easily and I can see how perhaps switching to a low-weight, high-rep workout might counteract that a bit. I’m not trying to scare anyone off of heavy lifting but I am interested to see what happens with this experiment! Anyone else want to join us??
ok
I have far more than two cents to add here but it isnt my blog 🙂 and I didnt get it a 345 to porcrastinate on my deadline.
short version? I dont buy into the low weigh high reps as a “toning” routine.
I DO use it myself to shake things up a bit when Ive been doing high weight low reps (or something else) for a while and need to confuse my muscles.
as always a interesting read!
off to work.
M.
I’m gonna agree with Mizfit on this one.
But to Alison’s comment – yes, I have noticed the same thing. Years ago I was training as a power lifter, routinely doing squat sets of 300+ lbs. My thighs were tight and cut, but HUGE! After I hurt my knee and could never squat over 220 lbs again, my thighs shrunk.
Muscle definition was retained (I too build muscle really easily), but I probably lost at least an inch from each thigh, if not more. I do know that after about 6 months of lighter lifting, I fit into smaller jeans. Nothing else was changed, just the leg weight.
I am looking forward to seeing how this works out for you!
I’m not a huge fan of the New York City Ballet because I don’t believe that one should fall asleep while working out and this DVD will put you to sleep in no time flat…that being said I’m always sore after I do the workout!
About peed myself after reading your no pants/ride a bike comment! You are one funny chica!
I LOVE ballet/dance inspired workouts! (OK, the ones with more strengthening and not so much dance,lol!) The NYCB workout isn’t very exciting, but man it works! And Barre Method, and Yoga Booty Ballet, Cardio Barre, and Balletone…
And, yeah, I think it’s good to mix it up.
I’m in. I’ve already started, kind of. I have been doing your hybrid bar method workout, and I have been sore. I can’t believe it. I’ve also been doing the Tracy Anderson “wimp” arm workout (although it isn’t easy, and I’ve thrown in my variations). I just got the NYC Ballet DVD from Netflix! I will have my triathlon training (sprint-length, don’t get excited) mixed in and maybe a day of regular lifting a week.
I decided on this because I DO bulk up. Of course I don’t bulk like a man, but I gain muscle, especially in my arms, and it just looks big. I’m short so lots of musle makes me look “squat.”
If I looked like Charlotte or mizfit, I wouldn’t have to worry so much!
Another blogger I read regularly has been taking ballet classes for about six months now, and she really enjoys it. And I’m always jealous when she mentions it! I think it would be really fun to try. 🙂
I’m with Allison and Gena. Lift heavy – look like block. Or perhaps cereal box. NYCB workout? Shrink perhaps a little and retain something of a shape.
I wish some of these braggart physicists and male purported bodybuilder geniuses could work out why that happens, though, instead of dismissively ridiculing us and saying “You won’t bulk up if you lift heavy.” Haaaatee.
On a somewhat unrelated note – is she really doing an arabesque on that ballerino’s** shoulder?
*weeps*
*faints*
**Looooove. Hee.
I was a ballet dancer from late elementary school through high school–never very serious, but always dancing six or so hours a week. I never really had a great body for a dancer–I'm too short, with a long torso, short legs, and a mesomorphic build. But most people could tell I danced by my lines, despite that.
In college, I switched to martial arts and my body proportions changed dramatically. I didn't gain any weight, and I don't think I gained much fat. But my pant no longer fit in the thighs (although they were fine in the hips and waist), and my arms were visibly thicker. My calves also bulked up, to the point where when I stood in first position my heels didn't touch–and that was completely muscle. I didn't look like a body builder, but I definitely didn't look like a ballet dancer anymore.
I'm probably stronger now, but the strength is different. I do ballet, martial arts, and I'm back in gymnastics these days, so I'm using my muscles in a lot of different way. I'm struggling to get back strength in the deep core muscles and my hip flexors that I lost when I stopped dancing, but I've never had more explosive power. I'm probably in better shape these days, but I do miss how my body looked when I defined myself as a dancer.