By Andrea Shasgus Parkinson
NYC personal trainer and former dancer

Top 5 Reasons to Learn Ballet:

Before I entered the the fitness industry, I was an aspiring classical and contemporary dancer.  Fifteen years into my career as a trainer, I still find myself using ballet based motions for my own fitness program and have utilized many of these exercises for my clients to great effect.  Some of the numerous benefits of learning ballet are:

 

• Strength and tone      from the inside out:  Ballet requires awareness and control      of some of the most intrinsic and important stabilizing muscles in our      skeleton.  These include the deepest muscles surrounding our      shoulders, hips and spine. The abdominals and lower back assist the larger      muscles in the legs as they learn to reach and lengthen to create the      proper lines.  Maintaining the positions of the arms also works the      paraspinal muscles of the upper back and neck.  The ability to tone      these muscles helps posture, intra abdominal strength, and decreases the      risk of injury to the spine, hip and shoulder girdle.

• Strength and      flexibility happen together:  In a ballet barre,      the primary movers of the lower body, such as the quadriceps, glutes, and      hamstrings work against gravity concentrically and eccentrically to reach      and lift the legs.  Accomplishing the simplest of movements and      repeating them will build strength and endurance in the muscles while      stretching them at the same time.  The result is muscular, but not      “pumped” or bulky legs.
• Agility and power: Ballet requires      directional changes and frequent shifts of weight.  The plyometrics      within a barre include quick raises onto the balls of the feet as well as      sharp brushes of  the feet against the floor in preparation to dart      and jump.  Jumping is a plyometric that stimulates fast twitch muscle      fibers, which in turn  build muscle as well as bone mass.       Plyometrics also tap into your anaerobic system, burning more      calories for a shorter duration of time.  Agility assists you in day      to day life.  That stumble that could have landed you on your face      but didn’t?  Agility.
• Cardio: My teachers used to      call it “stamina.”  The “stamina” required to move continuously      through barre exercises is ultimately aerobic.  As you progress from      one exercise to the next, your heart rate increases.  The beauty of a      ballet class is it’s perfect structure to help you accomplish more and      more by way of steps as well as aerobically and anaerobically.  By      the end of class, you will be attempting the largest movements, which will      challenge your cardiovascular system.
• The Brain: Exercise is good for      the meat between our ears.  Learning new movement patterns keeps the      mind sharp and flexible.  The simplest of ballet classes will      challenge your mind as well as your body.   

 

Resources for the fitness enthusiast who is interested in ballet can usually be found at your local dance studio.  Many gyms offer barre based classes as well.  However, one of the best ways to “break in” to ballet fitness is to find a pro who can teach you the correct form while making it fun and sweaty and uplifting.  It’s never to late to reclaim some lost Joie de Vivre!