Want a Ballet Butt? 3 New Workouts To Try in 2011
If you've been to the gym in the last two weeks, you know the effect of New Years resolutions: It's packed to the brim, and there isn't a free treadmill in sight. Instead of wasting hours waiting in line for a cardio machine, opt for one of these new classes. We tried them out - here's how we fared.
1. Ballet Beautiful: Mary Helen Bower's tone-without-bulk method of keeping her own body in the same shape it was in during the 10 years she danced with the New York City Ballet. Since retiring, Mary Helen trained Natalie Portman for a year for her role in Black Swan.
DAY 1: I meet Mary Helen after work at the gym in my office building for my first hour-and-a-half-long private session. She is exactly how I expected her to look. She's five nine but reads much longer, with her sinewy limbs showcased in a black long-sleeved scoop-back leotard, burgundy wrap sweater, and black leggings. Her abnormally high arches are encased in ballet slippers, which make my hot-pink Nike trainers look like clown shoes. She asks what I like to eat (um, everything) while we stretch out. She implores me to switch to whole-wheat bread.
Keep reading to find out if we achieved "ballet butt" in 2 weeks.
2. Piloxing: A fast-paced class mixes the power and speed of boxing with the core sculpting of Pilates.
DAY 1: Viveca Jensen, the creator of Piloxing, is just as she looks on her Web site: sunny, sparkly, and very Swedish. "Feminine is powerful!" she tells me in her Barbie-pink studio, surrounded by Piloxing-branded workout wear.
Three weeks later, see if we could get into our too-tight pencil skirt.
3. Grace Somatomorphic Technique: GST uses spring-loaded equipment to strengthen and sculpt.
DAY 1: Did I time travel onto a medieval rack? I'm hanging off a ballet barre, attempting to create opposition by pulling the lower half of my body away from the upper half during hip stretches, pliés, and backward lunges. But the real challenge is properly aligning the pelvic region of my core, which runs from pubic bone to belly button. In GST, these "bikini muscles" must be drawn (not sucked) back, in, and down for each move. Body and brain on overload.
See if it gets any easier (less torturous) by week 2.
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Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
