Ballet Be Fit

MoonJelly

First a bit of background. I gained weight when pregnant with my son 8 years ago. I never shedded the excess pounds. I have a bad knee and thanks to bad eating habits and lack of exercise I piled on a total of 20pounds!

A few months ago I decided to get healthy. I made some changes. I cycle everywhere (don't have a car) and have cut out takeaways. However the weight is not coming off. :mad:

I am interested in ballet to get fit. I used to go dancing (clubbing) when younger and that always kept me slim but high-impact dance classes like Zumba are really hard on my knee.

My local leisure centre offers Ballet to Be Fit classes twice a week, £3 per class. Can anyone here tell me if they have taken this class and whether it is effective for toning up and working up a sweat (as in weight loss)?

I also saw some Lotte Berk ballet videos for sale online but I don't know if ballet is something you can learn from watching a dvd.

Help?

heartbreak_star

Ballet will be good for core strength, muscle building and balance, but judging on the 1-2 "ballet fit" type classes I did you won't burn off that many calories. Maybe alternate it with swimming or some such?

Regarding the videos, if it's a ballet-style workout you should be OK, but actual ballet tech such as turnouts are also going to be incredibly hard on your knee and you need to be pretty flexible too.

Good luck, HTH!

HBS x

cherryblossomzel

I adore ballet. I started when I was 7. I've been a bit on and off with it as an adult (off at the moment, but will get back to it).

Ballet is excellent for strength and flexibility, and it's good fun, but sadly at an adult beginner level it's not going to be fabulous for weight loss. Although to be fair, they do say that 80% of weight loss is in the kitchen, so the most important thing is getting your diet right. I'd say the ballet could be a good addition to eating right and some other exercise. Be sure to tell the teacher/instructor about your knee.

ruby_eskimo

I agree that ballet could be good for strength etc but I would advise against it because of your knee issues. The positions you have to move into may aggravate any existing conditions. As someone who took dance classes including ballet for 15 years, my knees are shot to hell. I have found that the fitness blender low impact workout routines are great though and have definitely helped me tone up, work a sweat and complement my diet to help me lose weight. Their videos are free on youtube and I couldn't praise them enough.

peachyprice

Ballet with a bad knee, absolutely not. It puts a awful lot of strain on the knees.

kboss2010

Ballet is great for toning and muscle strength but really bad for joints due to unnatural range of movement in your hips, knees and ankles. And, unless you're a professional dancer dancing for 8 hours a day, it's not great for calorie burning. That's why most dancers take spinning classes or run to keep the weight off.

If you have a bad knee, don't take up ballet. My knees, ankles and feet are ruined from dancing for 18 years. My suggestion would be to join a gym and use the cross-trainer and step machines as there's less impact on your knees than running. Or swim.