I'm following Ballet Beautiful, but how do I add the exercises?

PollyBillyWilliam
PollyBillyWilliam Posts: 5 Member
edited November 20 in Getting Started
Hi,

totally new to myfitnesspal and was setting up my first day, I am a BB custom subscriber and do an hour a day, six days a week. I seem to be at a loss on what exercises to look for on here, which would reflect the BB sessions?

A lot is mat based, a bit like pilates, but you use ballet inspired movements and also weights. There is cardio, too.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Replies

  • meetingacrosstheriver
    meetingacrosstheriver Posts: 57 Member
    Hi,

    Unfortunately unable to help with adding the exercises to MFP, but your post did get my attention and make me look up BB!

    Just out of curiosity, how easy/hard is it? Is it a program that someone of any fitness level/size can pick up? I'd love to give it a go as I used to enjoy dancing when I was younger, and any dance based exercise really seems to motivate me to work out.

    Looking forward to your response :smile:
  • PollyBillyWilliam
    PollyBillyWilliam Posts: 5 Member
    Hi,
    I have to say I absolutely looooove it. Ok, I feel you can start at any point and work your way up. Don't do all the reps, take little breaks etc. I started by just following the BB classic videos on youtube. Wow, were they tough at first, but as they are all mat based, I did not have any problems with my knees.

    I still love the Classic series and am now doing the outer and inner thigh workouts with one kilo weights on each leg.

    I've lost inches from my outer thighs and more importantly didn't put any on for a whole year!!! I usually fluctuate, but since I started BB, I'm staying the same, plus loosing inches.

    You have to be patient, you don't get immediate results, it is a slowish process, but you feel stronger, more graceful, your posture improves and you feel like a real dancer. :)

    Not many workouts I can do that won't start hurting my knees and BB works really well, plus I can feel how the muscle build up helps support my right knee, which is the worse of the two.

    I love her ABS workout, I hate doing crunches, but although her workouts are tough, I prefer them and wow do they make a difference, you work your obliques and don't you notice it, too.

    There tend to be coupons for BB on a regular basis and I got my first month half price last year, as I wanted to try it out.

    If you are a custom subscriber, you could for example start with the Ballet Baby series, which is gentler. Definitely start on the mat until you are stronger for the standing workouts (still working on my balance :) ) I'd then work with the barre sessions, I really love those, too.

    Oh and the swan arms, eeeeek, what a killer and you don't even need weights, but wow, they do work and I can't really use weights as I've got a tennis arm and have to be careful.

    So, all in all I can definitely recommend it. I'm now doing 6 days a week an hour every day, but you can start with just one or two videos and add the stretching etc.

    Yes, I find it motivates me, I love ballet and love the fact she's got classical music in the background, the videos are so beautiful too.

    Oh and there's a fab FB support group (run by BB enthusiasts).

    Some videos are harder than others, wish they sorted them in difficulty levels. But classics is a good start and the BB baby.

    Any more questions, just ask.

  • meetingacrosstheriver
    meetingacrosstheriver Posts: 57 Member
    Hi! Thanks for your response. I'm so glad to hear your positive review of it. Where I am (Australia), this work out routine doesn't seem to be very well known. I did look the work outs up on YouTube last night after posting and they actually looked quite good (I've previously done the Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred Program and compared to that, this looks like heaven!).

    At the moment, I'm not really in a position where I can afford to spend money on the subscription, however seeing the number of YouTube videos available, I will definitely be giving those a try and then later when I am in a better position, I will see about the subscription. I will however definitely look up the support group!

    Thank you again for this information, and I'm looking forward to giving it a go very soon!
  • meetingacrosstheriver
    meetingacrosstheriver Posts: 57 Member
    Sorry! One thing I did forget to ask you about ... footwear! What is best for these exercises? Barefoot, runners or something else? Thanks :smile:
  • PollyBillyWilliam
    PollyBillyWilliam Posts: 5 Member
    You are very welcome! :) Yes, I think most of the classic workouts, apart from the standing are on youtube. Oh, you could also check out Lazy Dancer Tips, lots of free videos, though some are rather tough, she has a really nice selection though.

    Ok, footwear, I think just go with what feels best, I got myself a pair of ballet slippers, just because, but sometimes I just wear socks. If you were doing standing exercises, it would depend on the floor surface, you wouldn't want to wear just socks, if there was a chance you could slip.

    Yes, I get your point about the expense, this is kind of a luxury for me, too. Couldn't afford anything on top of it.

    Oh, Mary Helen also has at least 2 sets of dvds out, maybe you could see if you can find them online? If there not too expensive?

    And feel free to join the fb group, we have lots of lovely ladies, who don't do the subscription, but have dvds or follow other ballet routines.

    And have fun with the workouts. :)
  • meetingacrosstheriver
    meetingacrosstheriver Posts: 57 Member
    Thank you! Will definitely check out Lazy Dancer Tips as well.

    Sounds great with the footwear, I think I have some leather soled jiffy slippers somewhere, which I used to use for dancing as I found them better for flexibility. I will have to go dig those out :smile:

    I'll also definitely look into the DVDs - they may be worth getting later on down the track once my fitness levels improve again :smile:

    Thanks again for your help and for sharing your knowledge about BB. It's very much appreciated! :smiley:
  • PollyBillyWilliam
    PollyBillyWilliam Posts: 5 Member
    You are very, very welcome :)
  • ellcicle
    ellcicle Posts: 2 Member
    I'm glad to finally find someone out there that does BB! I looked through old threads but they were all from 2013 and 2014. I squawk about how much I love BB to my friends but as of yet I can't get any workout buddies (or converts). Is this support group on FB or MFP?
  • ellcicle
    ellcicle Posts: 2 Member
    OH nvm, you said FB.
  • PollyBillyWilliam
    PollyBillyWilliam Posts: 5 Member
    Yay! I keep telling all my friends how wonderful BB is and most of them just smile and think it is a bit silly. Well, we know better. And now that I've started with myfitnesspal, I see even better results, fab combo, I'd say.

    Here's the link, it's a very friendly supportive group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/190651084461208/?ref=bookmarks
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