I was fully immersed in ballet when I was younger. Pointe shoes, tutus, I loved everything about it! Despite not having danced on a stage since I was 16, I still love everything about the ballet world, so when I came across the Ballet Beautiful streaming workouts, I had to give them a try. Created by Mary Helen Bowers, a former ballet dancer with the NYC Ballet, I knew that these workouts were going to be intense, and I wasn’t disappointed!
What Is Ballet Beautiful?
Ballet Beautiful is a collection of ballet-inspired, low impact workouts that can be streamed worldwide, 24/7. These workouts are great to do at home and use little-to-no equipment. A full workout is made up of a series of moves that isolate your legs, abs, thighs, and arms, based on real ballet conditioning exercises. Each set consists of small, strength building movements (that target all the tiny stabilizing muscles), as well as dynamic, full-body moves that build your endurance and get your heart rate up. According to Ballet Beautiful:
Ballet Beautiful brings the artistry and athleticism of ballet, fashion and glamour into everyday life. Built upon the rich history of classical ballet, Ballet Beautiful offers a fresh and uniquely artistic approach to exercise, well being and health.
Who Is It For?
This workout is for anyone – exercises are modifiable, and are suitable for all ages and most fitness levels. Obviously, if you are carrying an injury or have health concerns, consult a professional before starting. These workouts are amazing for increasing your flexibility, as well as for strengthening and adding muscles definition. I love the focus on strengthening your core, which has helped my back and neck issues improve immeasurably. All of the videos I have tried are easy to follow, yet still feel challenging (in a good way!). I love that her workouts specifically cater for busy women who want to achieve and maintain a strong and lean physique but don’t necessarily have the time for long and involved workouts.
Does Ballet Beautiful Work?
Ballet Beautiful is, like Pilates, something I call a “misleading” workout. It doesn’t look as if you are working out as hard as you would be in, say, a spin class; BUT, this will give you a deeper burn and faster results than almost any other workout. When you finish your fist session, you will feel muscles you didn’t even know existed!! After doing these workouts two to three times a week, I noticed subtle results within a week (especially in my arms), and after a few months, I feel much stronger and more toned all over.
What Equipment Do You Need?
- a computer/iPad/smart TV and internet connection to stream the videos
- yoga mat
- chair for the Barre exercises
- ballet slippers – not essential, but completely gets me in the “ballet mode”
Features
Whatever your fitness goals and schedule, there is a Ballet Beautiful workout to suit you. Whether you can grab 10 minutes in the morning, or have an hour on a Sunday afternoon, these videos will help you find the perfect series of exercises. When you subscribe to their workouts, you receive:
- Access to their exclusive streaming library of over 200 videos (with at least 2 NEW videos/workout programs each month)
- Create your own playlist – you have the ability to build and save your fave workouts
- 24/7 worldwide access
- Ability to update schedule and workouts as you go
- Renews monthly, and is easy to cancel.
My experience with Ballet Beautiful
When you subscribe, you can either search through the library for workouts that take your fancy, or you can do what I did, and build a custom workout. To build the workout, you select your fitness goal (fat blaster, whole body, arms & abs, legs & butt), and then time availabilty (approx 1.5 hrs per week up to 6 hours per week). This is easy to change as your needs change. At the moment, I have set my custom workout train 1.5 hours a week, so I get 3 workouts of roughly 40 minutes each, with my focus on the whole body.
I am loving my subscription to Ballet Beautiful, and highly recommend it to anyone who asks me! The workouts are challenging but achievable, and the (seemingly endless) library of videos is keeping me literally on my toes! So add some grace and beauty to your life and get dancing!
You can sign up for the streaming workouts here, with a subscription costing US$39.99/month. At the moment, you can receive the first month for just $7.99 using the code BALLET4LIFE. Individual videos may also be purchased, starting at US$8.99 each.
