As a special treat for all of our Ballet Beauties we've gathered together our trainers favorite moves! From Swan Arms to lengthening legs and toning every muscle in between, our trainers have shared some of their most rewarding work outs for full body fitness! Join us in one of our LIVE online group classes! Take a peek below for some inspiration for your next Ballet Beautiful workout!
Anais:
My favorite Ballet Beautiful exercise is showcased in various standing series. I love to do alternating passés, adding a plié in between. The passés can be done in a turned out or parallel position. I love how this combo of passé/plié works my glutes and legs. Open your legs a little wider than your hips, with your toes facing front for a parallel position. Plié- keeping your heels on the ground, knees facing front and lift one leg bending it at the knee to connect it to the standing leg. Try to bring your passé leg’s big toe to the inside of the standing leg's knee every time. Alternate lifting each leg to passé for 4 sets of 8. Make sure to engage your core to help with balancing when you’re shifting your weight from side to side. You can make this exercise more aerobic by the pace you take and its a great exercise to incorporate a Swan Arm into to get some extra arm toning.
Yuki:
My favorite area to target with Ballet Beautiful exercises is my legs. I love the feeling when my glutes and legs are burning from a great toning series. I target my legs by doing a series of arabesque and attitude lifts laying belly down on the mat. These lifts really tone my hamstrings and butt. Start with both legs extended behind you, rotating in your hips so your knees are facing outwards. Choose one leg, reach out through your toes and lift your leg up in arabesque- keeping the back of your knee stretched. Next, bring it back to the mat. For an attitude lift, simply bend your knee- keeping it facing out and lift up from the mat. If you want a more intense burn, you can keep the leg lifted and pulse in arabesque or attitude. For great results, both lifts and pulses can be done in 4 sets of 8. When I do these exercises, I make sure to engage my core the whole time to isolate the working leg and to stabilize my hips. This helps to build a stronger core and to protect my lower back. You can follow along with my favorite workout here!
Nicholas:
One of my favorite Ballet Beautiful exercises is a 2-for-1 and it works my outer thigh and waist! I mean, who doesn’t like toning two areas at the same time?! For this exercise, lay down on one side so your working leg is bent at the knee in an attitude resting on top of your bottom leg. Lift your torso up off your mat and place your supporting forearm flat on the mat. Take your other arm, the working side arm, up overhead reaching out nice and long. At the same time, lift your arm towards your leg when you lift in attitude, keeping your attitude parallel to the floor. Lower your attitude and arm down at the same time, reaching your arm out long over your head to lengthen through your waist. During this exercise it's easy to slump down into your supporting side. Keep lifting through your torso, stay lengthened in your neck and keep your supporting arm’s shoulder pushing down the whole time. Repeat this movement for 4 sets of 8 to get the ultimate burn in your outer thigh and to tone your waist!
Dioni:
My favorite Ballet Beautiful move is Swan Arms. I love how it tones my arms, strengthens my upper body and improves my posture! Standing in any position, start with your arms down by your side, your core engaged and chest open. Lift your arms from the side with the backs of your hands meeting at the top over your head. When you lift your arms up, keep your shoulders pressing down and your ribs closed inward. From the top, lower your arms down by bending the elbow and activating your lats to initiate this movement. Repeat this movement as many times as you’d like, but you’ll start feeling it after 2 sets of 8! If you want more of a challenge try using light hand weights to achieve a quicker burn in your arms. You’ll be surprised how effective adding a 1 or 2 pound weight really is with Swan Arms.
Kara:
I love to work on my abs and build my inner core strength by doing a Ballet Beautiful ab series. Being a dancer, a strong core is very important since I have to engage it in almost any dance step I do. At Ballet Beautiful, we have so many different series to engage and work lower abs, obliques and your core. To target your core start with your legs to the front, scooping out your abdominal muscles creating a “C” shape. Maintaining that “C” shape, take your body slightly back- keeping your belly button pulling inward towards the spine. Bring your body back up to the top. To target your obliques, take the same starting position with your “C” curve at the top and twist downward towards the right or left, instead of straight back. When doing any core work, posture is very important. Make sure to keep your neck long and chin lifted when you take your body back in any position. You can also get creative in your abs by incorporating any arms you’d like. You can take arms up to fifth position, open out to 2nd position, extend arms out to arabesque or add a Swan Arm. My favorite ab series is Backstage Abs! Check it out in our streaming store!
Lucy:
My favorite Ballet Beautiful exercise is a full body workout! I love to do this exercise when I don’t have a lot of time because I feel the benefits all over. This exercise is generally known as “hands and knees” at our studio. For this exercise start out in a tabletop position with with one leg extended long behind. From here you can do all kinds of lifts to active the glutes. Some of my favorites are lifting my working leg up and down in arabesque and bending the working leg, bringing that bent knee in towards the chest, scooping out through the core, then extending back out into arabesque. The key is engaging the glutes when you lift and lower the leg. When you do any “hands and knees” series is really important to keep lifted on your supporting side and not sink into your hip. Sometimes your arms can get tired, try to push through that, but if you need a modification you can place your forearms on the mat like you would in a low plank position. Also, make sure to keep your core engaged the whole time to protect your lower back!
Stephen:
Inner thigh is my favorite area to work with Ballet Beautiful exercises. In ballet class, my inner thigh is probably the muscle I use the most. Every tondue, dégagé, and battement starts with activating my inner thigh. Doing the various Ballet Beautiful inner thigh series have really strengthened my muscles and its easier to activate them now in class! To target your inner thigh lay down on your mat on one side with your bottom leg rotated with the inner part of your heel towards the ceiling. With your bottom leg extended out long, activate the inner part of your leg to lift your leg off the mat then bring it back down. There are so many other ways to target your inner thigh than just repetitively lifting up and down. Some of my favorites are making circles with your leg front/back, taking the leg diagonally forward and pulling it back into neutral or by doing little pulses up towards the ceiling. You are sure to feel the burn while working your inner thigh with this exercise!
We are so excited to be on your fitness journey with you! Remember to stay hydrated and have fun toning and strengthening those muscles! Enjoy our favorite moves and join us for a LIVE Online Group Class here!
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All Our Best,
Your Ballet Beautiful Master Trainers!
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