Are Ballet Workouts Effective? The Top Two

Are Ballet Workouts Effective?

That is a question I get a lot from friends. Including older or senior peeps.

The other question I get is:

Which Ballet Workout Benefits Do I Need The Most?

That is a good question, because it leads to why someone would pick a ballet workout over a non-ballet workout.

The ballet body, or the ballerina body, is known mostly for long lean muscles, not a bulked up shape associated with weight lifting and body building.

I discovered Classical Stretch by accident one morning many years ago. I woke up earlier than usual and switched on the television. I had left it on PBS the night before. 

I saw a slim woman using a chair as a barre, and going through some long and stretchy movements. "Oh cool, I could really get into that" I thought. 

I had been doing Yoga (and I still do) but wanted something more challenging. 

As a retired dancer/ballet teacher, it is easy for me to put a good barre workout together, and just do, right?

Yet, ballet is class oriented, with a group, voices, and music. Ballet class in isolation is difficult.

As the shot zoomed in on the woman, I could see it was Miranda, a classmate of mine at The National Ballet School of Canada. No wonder this was so stretchy looking and easy to follow.

That led to me buying my first Classical Stretch DVD, and doing the ballet workouts every few days.

I liked the several DVD's I chose, because they combine shorter and longer workouts, some standing, using a barre, and some mostly mat work.

Here is the first one I got:

The photo is mine, shown with a three pound weight I use. 

This DVD is shown on Amazon (CLICK HERE if you want to view it) and has a pretty high "collector's" price, maybe?

I also got  "Classical Stretch - The Esmonde Technique: 30 Minute Express Workouts" .

These are well timed shorter workouts.

A Ballet Workout For Seniors 

These days the Essentrics line of workouts is prominent, along with Miranda's "Aging Backwards" book and DVD's, and here is one with 30 episodes, a whole series.

Click on it, you'll go to Amazon to see it, and more. You will see a boxed set of two, which covers posture and bone building. 

A single DVD focuses on mobility and bone strengthening. 

One of these may match your goals, time allowances for workouts, and your budget.

Bone strengthening and mobility are lead goals in ballet workout benefits, good for seniors and anyone who sits a t a desk job. 

Here is a video, so you can get a peek at how this workout goes.

 Essentrics offers some rigorous workouts. This one is very popular:

Ballet Exercises For Beginners

A ballet workout for beginners could include something like this:

I recommend this for beginners who have started taking an actual ballet class, or for anyone who wants to get started with fitness workouts. These two workouts target muscle strength and mobility. One is standing, one is mat work. 

Ballet is difficult. Yet, it offers:

1. Strength and mobility
2. A sense of grace and elegance
3. Balance
4. Joint Strength
5. Improved reflexes
6. Mental challenge
7. Emotional fulfillment

Stretching and toning can give you most of these benefits. I'm happy with following the DVD's at home, and sometimes share them with a friend.

You will do what suits your personality, and it is great to have these choices.

 Ballet Barre Pure Barre The Bar Method

"To say the barre trend has heated up in the last 10 years is an understatement. Barre has morphed from a class for nimble dancer-types to become the workout of choice for fitness fiends everywhere—and studios are springing up in droves across the U.S. (and internationally). In fact, Pure Barre has almost 300 locations, while The Bar Method just opened its 82nd studio. Several brands, including Barre3, Beyond Barre, and Physique 57 also offer online streaming and on-demand videos. Basically if your neighborhood doesn’t have a barre studio, it’s safe to assume it will soon." - Greatist

Ballet Workouts To Lose Weight

The Barre has much written about it and some of it is controversial. One benefit  stands out in the many articles I found about this routine, and there is much mention that it is one of the best ballet workouts to lose weight. 

Yet (one of the controversies) it gets mentioned by fitness experts, that this ballet-imitating class has very limited cardio. 

Traditionally, cardio has been considered the best weight loss form of exercise.

And that too has been challenged. Proponents of interval training and Slow Burn or Slow Motion exercise insist that engaging the fast twitch muscles causes muscle building and increases metabolism.

You need to be a real seeker these days to find the best workout for you! 

(When I read the description of The Barre workout movements, I think back to Callanetics, which I first did in the late 80's. The tiny one inch movements in those exercises seem to have been adopted by the popular Barre routine.

Over 300 reviewers give Callanetics a 4.7 Star Rating on Amazon. People who have been doing the routines since the 80's.) 

However the exercise that works is the one that you do! I think that statement was attributed to Edgar Cayce.

Here is a short video about The Barre workout, showing some key movements. 

Both Essentrics (Classical Stretch) and The Barre (Bar) exercises can be found at many locations throughout North America (and perhaps beyond, I haven't looked that far). 

Short workouts can be found at Youtube so you can try many parts of the workouts to see how you like them.

What is your favorite workout? Please do share, just leave your input below.