I still haven’t managed to do massive bouts of exercise (not more than an hour, or two in separate sessions) but I’m definitely hooked on the stuff. At first, I needed to push myself to let go of the dancing to get to exercise – and now it looks like it’s the other way around! No one’s more surprised than me, because I had little room in my head for anything that wasn’t dancing. Oh well.This trait of mine is how I happened to choose the title “More than Somewhat” for my blog.
I’m so tempted to move on from the basic video (Pick Your Spot Pilates) and hook into any of the other wonderful choices around. But I’m forcing myself to be patient and not short circuit my “program”. Or injure myself silly. So, I continue with the same 25 to 30 basic pilates exercises I started out with. However, I couldn’t help also starting on a ballet conditioning video, which is totally wonderful! More on that later.
The pilates is showing results at the same surprising speed. Yesterday, I found I could do push ups. Not the girlie half-push ups on many dance videos, but full fledged military ones. And I know I couldn’t do these about a week earlier. I was, in fact, having a tough time stabiliizing the high plant position from which you begin these push ups and couldn’t really get my back as straight as I thought it should be. That could lead to pain. But after a bit, I find I can do them! How many, I don’t know beczuse I don’t really want or need more than a handful, but do them I can and I’m thrilled. As long as they’re controlled and in good form, a few will do for a bit of strength.
I notice that most exercises have become easier to do because of the increasing strength in the core. It’s actually palpable. And I’m amazed at how this strength contributes to dancing moves. Yesterday, I did a round of Bellydance Rhythms Flow One (to which I’m now saying goodbye for a few years) and I saw all sorts of subtle differences. I found, for example, that turning from one angle to the other was lightning quick. I found that doing 3-step turns didn’t topple me off balance. I also found a greater range of hip motion though I can’t figure out why on earth that should be.
I think I have mastered Flow One though and have somewhat overdone it. So I’m dropping it and not going on to the second one now. I think I’ll look at something else. The Autumn choreography, maybe. Anasma. And perhaps I’ll fix that one week segment from the Luscious workout, the Body Line.That’s before my Love Potion arrives.
There are absolutely zillions of exercise videos out there and a whole lot of them are Pilates programs. In my recent focus on exercse, I acquired a few of these. After looking through a bunch, I settled down on working with Pick Your Spot: Pilates from the “Crunch” series.All available on amazon and other places.
There is a number of reasons why this program is working for me. First off, I like the instructor, Ellen Barrett. She’s pleasant and lively but not horribly teeny bopper. She’s not like Rees Witherspoon and friends in Legally Blonde, for example. I think what I’m trying to say is she’s not a bimbette. There.
Second, I like the fact that there’s not an awful amount of cheerleading through the program. She does of course say things like “beautiful” and “looking good” but luckily it’s not over the top. I wish they’d put a ban to this sort of stuff on exercise videos though. It’s been so done that it no longer has the motivating effect it’s supposed to. I keep thinking hey, you can’t see me so please let me be the judge of whether what I’m doing is a great job and lookin good or not, thank you. I just find it awfully condescending. Anyway, there’s an optimal amount of that on this video.
Then, I like the pace of the instruction and program. There’s a lot of reminders needed in Pilates and yoga so that you breathe right and keep checking on posture to make sure yo don’t hurt anything, specially the back. So I can understand that lots needs to be said. But some instructors have a way of shooting instructions rapidfire at you in such a way that it makes you hyperventilate. Thankfully, Ellen does nto make you gasp for breath.
Another thing that’s good about this video is that there are really not too many reps. I believe you don’t actually need very many reps for each exercise in Pilates anyway and that’s really good. So here too, you’ll find just a few with the exercise stopping well before it gets painful.
And finally, I like the program because it uses Pilates basics. It’s a good way to start. I do have Pilates for Dummies, for example and that’s very good too, but the pace is a little bit more demanding than on this video. So that’s another thing in Pick Your Spot’s favor.
What’s not in its favor is that it has no warm up and cool down. I believe every exercise and dance video should have at least a bit of warm up and cool down. In fact, they could put in a short routine and ask you to rewind and repeat it a few times. For the totally unexercised, warm up is critical.
Ellen Barrett leads you through four mat routines on this DVD. Abs, Butt, Thighs and Total Body. Each is ten minutes. The abs routine has The Hundred, Single Leg Stretch, Mermaid, Criss Cross, Can Can and a few more. No crunches. It’s actually quite easy and after a few days you’d need to step up to something more challenging. But for a start, it’s wonderfully painless.
The Butt and Thighs routines have kick backs, stretches, leg lifts etc, all of which are quite nice to do. I particularly like leg lifts and now that I’m preoccupied with exercise, feel like doing a lot of them. I enjoy the difference in range mof motion and flexibility and feel quite ballerina-like at that moment.
The Total Body routine is a little more challenging and strenuous and has roll downs, plans, push ups etc. Oh, and the tough reverse plank. But well, master the other routines first and it should happen more easily. In any case, there’s a difference from one day to the next once you get into these exercises.
On this and most other videos, there’s always someone witht he instructor who does a modified version of the exercise, just for beginners or someone who’s got back problems. There’s no compromise on that. So that’s another way for the unexercised to begin – just follow the modified version for the first few rounds. I, unfortunately, like to push myself too hard, so I refuse to even look at the modified ones!
On these videos, they always tell you that you can do just any one routine and ten minutes of exercise, but while I believe that’s better than nothing, I don’t think it’s anywhere near enough, except to begin with. If you plan to lsoe a lot of weight, I also don’t think that this alone will help – but it would combine beautifully with a cardio or intense dance workout to start makign a difference depending on how regularly you work with it.
So, this is a good program in more ways than one. If you stick with it, chances are it could kick-start your exercise routine. Soon though, you could outgrow it. I haven’t reached that stage yet because I’m still grappling with 4 or 5 exercises I find particularly tough, but I know it’ll happen soon.
Challenging exercises on this video: The Rol Up in which your legs go straight up and behind you and then open and close. I find it tough on the lower back. Reverse plank in which you sit with legs outstretched and lift The Can Can which takes a little while to get into the right posture
The proper Push UP for which one must first spend a little time perfecting the high plank so that the back doesn’t cave in.
One of the toughest things with exercising enough for it to make a difference is “routine-izing” it. So here’s a what one could try out. Assuming, of course, that you are a) clued in on what exercise to do and b) have the equipment you need and c) have the place to exercise in. I’m also assuming that will be at home.
I strongly recommend using one of many excellent exercise videos available spanning cardio, aerobics, dance, pilates, yoga, weights, fitness ball, kickboxing – and just about everything else, really.
First, just spend some time figuring out when and where you’ll exercise. And for how long. Now, each day when that time arrives, get your exercise stuff together and be in the place you plan to exercise in. Don’t plan on actually doing any exercise yet. This is so you don’t start out on an over-ambitious burst of exercise which is guaranteed to fail – and then feel horribly guilty about it all. Just get your stuff together and look at getting any obstacles to eventually exercising out of the way.
I have a dance room so the place part is quite decided for me. Time, often remains a troublesome parameter. Even though I have a place totally set aisde for ecercise, a few things do get in the way. One of them is the number of things I have to take there. Water, knee and ankle supports, phones, laptop, external hard disk, exercise clothes. It isn’t surprising to think about forgetting the whole thing and watching TV instead! So, I’ve started leaving some things in the dance room. Or, putting them there a good while before the exercise time. Basically, I try to separate the nuisance of carrying everything there from the exercise session itself.
The next step would be to get to the place on time and just watch the exercise DVD. Do nothing else. It helps tremendously to watch really carefully before you start the moves because when do finally do begin, you don’t have to keep stopping to check. If you’re not using a video, look at how the exercises are done on the internet or use a book.
Then, move up to doing a few moves. Don’t tire yourself out on any account. Just play with a few moves, practice the precision. Get them picture-perfect. If you have a mirror, check them out real carefully for form. Just a handful of exercises. Done slowly. Even if it’s cardio, focus on how the move travels doing it really slowly so that the form is perfect.Focus a lot on the foundation safety moves and breathing. For example, in Pilates that would be imprinting, holding the powerhouse in and the breathing format. For yoga, you might want to also practice breathing in the yoga method because every asana is empowered with the correct breathing sequence.
Now go on to learning the moves full time. Take your time doing this. Proceed segment by segment. Take one bunch of moves, and make sure you learn them well and actually do them for a round or two. So, if you have a 40 minute workout divided into 4 (as is usual), do just 10 minutes.
Add the next 10 minutes and the next, until you’re doing the whole workout. By this time, it won’t hurt and it won’t be a nuisance because you do the exercises in auto pilot.
Just as I’d promised myself, I kept up a dance holiday to focus on exercise. I didn’t manage the amount I would have wanted because of work pressures steppng up slightly, but I did manage to “change tracks” for a while to become as preoccupied with Pilates as I was with dance. Well, almost.
I have only managed to do a round of Pilates about every alternate day for between 30 to 50 minutes. But even in this short time of not-quite-enough exercise, I am amazed at the difference it makes. Now, I have not shed a whole lot of weight or anything like that. It’ll tke sensible combining with cardio or long sessions of intense belly dancing to do that, but I do see tangile differences in toning, strength and flexibility. Even more amazing is the fact that this seeps everyday activities like climbing the stairs… I can’t believe it.
I always resented the fact of having to climb the stairs two flgiths up to my apartment. Specially after work, when I step sleeepily out of the car and just want to eat soemthing and sit around like a lump of cement. I would find myself leaning on the railing a bit or becoming a bit unbalanced. But now, I climb them briskly and quite upright. In just ten days or so? Incredible.
I also find a difference in my balance. I have always had very bad balance and couldn’t even do that tree pose in yoga that everyone manages just fine. I’d just topple over – quite straightforward. But I tried various balancing poses recently (from general fitness exercises and ballet) and found there’s a new strength making it begin to happen! Possibly a strengthened core.
Today I got back to dancing by doing the East Coast warm up. I was gong to do mroe but had a visitor so stopped. Now I saw the difference the pilates made to this old favorite warm up. Hugely enhanced flexibility, for one. And a lot more precision and control. And also range of motion, which wasn’t small to begin with.
Understandably, I’m quite sold on these Pilates things! I’ve acquired a ton of fitness videos and will try to review them here. For now I’m sticing with a fairly basic but obviously effective one called Pick Your Spot: Pilates. It’s wonderful to work with and I’ll continue to use until I feel the exercises are being done very precisely and cripsly.
The best part of this whole experiment has been that I’ve felt no pain. Certainly some of the moves are tough and I hate having to rasie the neck and shoulders off the floor for exercises like the single leg stretch but that’s more because my neck hurts at that time, not because I’m getting post-exercise pain.
I highly recommend a spell of exercise familiarity for anyone who ins’t getting exercise. But especially for learner dancers. It makes a difference to everyone, including dance moves you thought you were already good at. I can do undulations in any direction any time, any number.