I picked up Balletone - Center Moves a few days ago at Half Price Books, and was disappointed when I got home to find it had been poorly reviewed on Amazon. Too fast, they said, too many unexplained ballet movements.
Well, since I have no background in ballet, and I am the *worst* at moving quickly or anything like, well, center moves, I worried. But I did the video yesterday anyway, and was delighted to find it a really graceful, dancey cardio workout, which had me gleefully moving and stretching for a sweaty forty minutes.
Actually, there are very few ballet terms used in this video, and those that are are explained. The workout is basically composed of a series of movements which are gradually added on and rehearsed, until by the end you find yourself doing an entire little routine. In that sense, it can be a bit boring, since you do the same movements many, many times over. However, that's also a chance to learn the movements better, and to get to the point (if not on the first viewing, then on the second) where you don't have to think about them anymore.
Balletone - Center Moves also incorporates little strength moves (especially leg lifts) and side stretches into the routine. This does mean that you don't have non-stop movement, but you do get to work on balance, which is also part of being fit.
In short, I liked it, I can see myself doing this video again with pleasure, and I think it's a great companion to the more static ballet-based workout programs.
Labels: ballet, cardio, dance, workout
