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my complete dancer workout

If I do even just ONE of these every day, then hopefully I won't cringe when I see the performance DVD of my July bellydance solo :)

First of all, my favorite yoga workout from Karen Voight kills 2 birds with one stone.
YogaSculpt stretches one set of muscles while strengthening other sets. So you're getting strength training the same time you are stretching in a meditative state (at least it's meditative for me now that I know the workout well and don't need to look at the screen). When I first tried this workout, I thought I was going to die. In the beginning I simply couldn't do it all the way through. Slowly but surely it's do-able even though my body responds differently to the work out every day. It's important to just be patient with yourself.

Even though it's TOTALLY old and outdated, I really like abs of steel and when that got too easy I got Abs of Steel 2 that also incorporates push ups. I feel like my abdominal's are my biggest fitness challenge (like my nemesis :) I know if I stayed consistent with doing this EVERY day I'll have results (can already start to feel them). Consistency is always my problem!

For the dance-ish part of the work out, I love Tribal Fusion Fundamentals and doing the workout that Moria and Sherry take you through (it's also fun to occasionally try the combinations but the sound cuing and editing is poor). They take you through dancer-specific power yoga postures, glut isolating exercises and layering drills, squats and exercises to build strength for floorwork. REALLY good practice for bellydancers.

Of course there's nothing like a live dance class but I'm finding it increasingly challenging to fit those into my schedule. So I LOVE Sadie's Thrillin Drillin DVD that is REALLY challenging and takes you through multiple bellydance drills with layering.

If I need a little change from bellydance, there's always the Brian Friedman Freestyle choreographies or the New York City ballet workout (which I have yet to try... tomorrow!)

Today I'm finding helpful little nuggets online about simple exercises you can do at your desk. While I do walk around a lot as much as possible, I basically sit on my can for nine hours a day. So here's some computer crunches for you too (if anyone reads this: :)
"You can even tone your abs while sitting at your computer desk. Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor. Perform a simple pelvic tilt by pressing the low back into the chair, as your contract your abdominal muscles. Hold from 5 to 30 seconds, and repeat as often as you find comfortable. This simple move works well for people with weak abdominal muscles, and can be done anywhere you happen to be sitting down."
and:
from Shira.net: exercises to help you with your bellyrolls (some of which I can practice while sitting at my desk).

Now I just need to stay healthy, consistent and motivated!

What are your favorite workouts?

Comments

  1. Hi! This is Amy from The Gypsy Kiss and Kiss and Tell Blog. This was super helpful! I've been wanting to get a few new dvds, but had no idea where to start. My biggest challenge is my posture because of a bad back (the cure for which has been Rachel Brice's great upper body dvd), and then floorwork - squats, squats, squats. Blah.

    I have to say though, that I have a lot of trouble drilling sometimes. Generally I get my strength and flexibility training from just dancing. Yes, sometimes I'll drill for a while on a move I'm having trouble with, but if I ONLY drill with not much free dancing, I find that the 'in between movements' become choppy and lost. I've noticed that in some dancers - they're so methodic that they lose the grace and just perform as if it's an algebra equation, you know? Both fluidity and accuracy are important, it's just finding the balance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for such good information.......If you love to workout, just like me......Please check out the blogs mentioned below, its really informative !!!!..... check it out m sure you'll love it.

    http://staysharpwithworkouts.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you both so much for sharing! Yes I think it's really important to keep a balance between drilling and just enjoying the dance. It's also really important to just freestyle and have fun because I think that's where we discover our own unique style :)

    ReplyDelete

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