New York City Ballet Workout | Barbara Adolph

New York City Ballet Workout | Barbara Adolph | Not so hard!

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New York City Ball...

	New York City Ballet Workout Barbara Adolph Palm Pictures / Umvd, 2001 average customer review:based on 266 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Exactly what I wanted

The NYC Ballet workout CD is very good - I'm glad I purchased it. The routine is well demonstrated, nicely paced, accessible even to a novice (I was able to perform the entire routine, though I have never taken ballet). Does not provide a cardio workout, and does not attempt to teach ballet. Ballet for Beginners is a nice complement to the NYC Ballet CD, as it slowly proceeds through each position...more like a real ballet class.

Not so hard!

I am writing this review because I read many reviews that stated that this was a daughtingly hard workout. I didn't order the DVD for a long time because I thought it would be a terribly hard workout.
It is not. I am not fit. But I do carry my 25 pound baby around all day every day. Anyways, this workout is enjoyable and totally do-able. It is a nice peaceful workout that makes me sweat.

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Elegant and artistic--definitely not your standard workout DVD!

The New York City Ballet Workout has more in common with a film playing at your local art house theatre than the average workout DVD. It is artistically masterful--a work of art in light and shadow and movement of the human body. But is it a good workout?

Once you get past the fact that this workout is filmed and formatted like a movie, and the fact that its artfulness sometimes means the workouts are a little dark, you are ready to enjoy a sublimely serene workout that combines real ballet moves with some Pilates moves. While the menu doesn't offer you the option to build a custom workout from its various parts (a real shame), you do have the option of either performing the entire workout (just over an hour) or picking and choosing from sections of the workout when you have less time.

The workout, which is narrated by Peter Martins, Director of the New York City Ballet Company, is done to light classical music and performed by two male and two female dancers who are part of the NYC Ballet Company. It includes:

Sections 1-4: Three standing warm-up segments (#2 is my favorite) and one stretching segment on the floor prepare your body for the workout.

Sections 5-8: One segment of abs and three segments of Floor Barre for toning the legs, back, abs and buns. This section will be somewhat familiar to fans of Pilates.

Sections 9-12: Pliés, Tendu, Degagé, Passé

Sections 13-17: Arabesque Raises, Reverence, Grand Battement Front, Front Attitude, Little Jumps (There is no segment called "Cool down" but the narration indicates that Reverence is what ballet dancers use to cool down, so that is what I used.)

You need no previous ballet training to do this workout. I had none, but had previously used another ballet workout that gave me a "leg up" in doing this workout. If you are discouraged by seeing people who are in peak physical condition---whose bodies can do things yours probably can't---this may not be the workout for you. It's necessary to go into this realizing that you probably will never be able to match these dancers in terms of flexibility. That doesn't mean the workout is undoable for a non-dancer---they have simplified the movements to make them doable for "real people" (but they still offer a challenge).

If your goal is a tighter toned body, I recommend this workout. It requires some patience, but I think for anyone who dreamed of being a ballerina as a child, and definitely for anyone who took ballet lessons, it will be most worth it. Beyond the body benefits of the workout, I found it also relaxing and uplifting to the spirit. Finally, the pleasure of watching beautiful bodies in motion cannot be discounted.

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If you're not a dancer, you better have good self esteem!

I'm not in good shape and I don't have any ballet training. I've used this workout three times now, and each time I was laughing out loud at my clumsiness! I noticed I was watching the male dancers, even though I'm female because they are a tad less flexible.

Yes, most of the cueing is pretty bad, especially at the end; the "Reverence", which is a shame, for it's a very nice series of moves. I plan on watching it many times so I get it right.

If you're insecure about your level of flexibility or the shape of your body, I don't recommend this dvd! The dancers are in extraordinary shape (of course!)

However, even though I'm a fairly clumsy chubby person, I enjoyed trying to mimic the dancers. It was a nice change of pace from my normal routine. I enjoyed the classical music very much and found it inspiring to become more fluid in my movements.

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Good ballet workout

This video was really useful to me, for what I wanted. It teaches terms and gives you a good workout. What I really liked was that each section was short, so I didn't get tired or bored.

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