NYC Ballet Workout: Fifty Stretches And Exercises Anyone Can Do For A Strong, Graceful, And Sculpted Body [Paperback]

Peter Martins (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 13, 1997

New York City Ballet Workout is a revolutionary fitness program that will help you begin to develop lean abs, firm buttocks, a contoured waist, sculpted legs, slim thighs, strong arms, perfect posture, flexbility you never thought possible--and grace and poice of a dancer. More than three hundred stunning step-by-step and other photographs throughout make this the most beautiful and easy-to-use exercise book ever created.This elegant book is unlike any exercise book ever published. Graced with more than 300 instructional exercise photographs and extraordinary duotone portraits of New York City Ballet dancers, The New York City Ballet Workout explores the company's philosophy of balancing art, life, and fitness.

By combining elements of New York City Ballet's balletic regimen with practical strength-building exercises, The New York City Ballet Workout can help people achieve a strong, graceful, and flexible body--one that displays the impeccable poise that is the trademark of New York City Ballet dancers.

Many exercises of The New York City Ballet Workout were once confined to the world's elite rehearsal studios. Now, as refined by Peter Martins and his company, these exercises have been designed as a comprehensive, holistic approach to the body that can be used by anyone from the out-of-shape to the serious athlete, to attain a lean, hard, beautiful body. From flexibility to endurance, this is a complete exercise program for men and women.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dancers get their beautiful bodies by dancing, right? Well, there's more to it than that. They also do specific exercises and stretches to build their strength and keep their magnificent physiques injury-free. This book offers 50 of those exercises, ranging from routine abdominal movements to "center exercises" (which develop coordination and stability) to advanced leg movements (which, of course, give you legs like a dancer). The book even offers suggestions for music to play while you follow the training tips. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Want to add a little grace and dignity--not to mention strength and flexibility--to your workout? Pick up a copy of The New York City Ballet Workout (William Morrow,1997). With exquisite black and white photos by Richard Corman and Paul Kolnik, the book illustrates the stretches and workout routines used by dancers of theworld-renowned New York City Ballet (NYCB). "This is a full-body conditioning workout, " says Melinda Roy, a former principal dancers with the NYCB and co-creator of thebook. "It will help you strengthen and lengthen your muscles, and improve your posture."--Fitness, December 1996 "The body is our instrument. One thing to remember is that we all have the same instrument, whether some of us have shaped it into the body of dancer or not...When I began to develop a workout based on the principles of New York City Ballet, I kept thinking of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures that are part stone, part dancer. You want to be a sculptor of your muscles in order to achieve maximum muscle tone."--Peter Martins, from the Foreword

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (January 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688152023
• ISBN-13: 978-0688152024
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Stretching

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Motivating and easy to follow August 22, 2000

By Paka Paka

Format:Paperback

What a wonderful book! I just bought it and I can't wait to get started. I've read it from cover to cover a few times, and I'm more than pleased with my purchase. The magnificent bodies are marvelous and breathtaking. It's true that the first few pages are bios and frou frou, but their stories are inspiring and motivating. Plus, they discuss why dancers' bodies are more agile and sculpted than most athletes, as well as tips on getting started, how to listen to your body and optimize your workout.

The workout is divided into six sections. Warm up and Stretch, followed by Abs (14-20 minutes), Floor barre (12-16 minutes), Ballet center (16-22 minutes) and Legs (16-22 minutes). Although they say you can do the entire workout as time permits, they offer suggestions for 10 or 20 minute workouts, as well as specialized workouts to correlate with specific sports for strength and flexibility or body parts of concentration. The instructions are clear-cut and detailed and along with the music selections they recommend, you'll feel like a prima ballerina. Personally, I have a lot of fat to lose so I plan on using this workout as a supplement to an aerobic regimen. I'm looking forward to using this workout every morning to get my day started.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Offers A New Dimension In Exercise January 24, 1999

By Claudia Summer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer but was unable to take lessons. When I opened my amazon.com shipment and took out this book, many (MANY!) decades later, I actually got a lump in my throat, feeling that at last I can participate in a personal way, in that awesome world of the dance. The book is beautiful, informative, and challenging. It presents enough exercises to keep me busy for years, and best of all, it is written with a true sense of what a body is capable of doing. I go to the health club and do aerobics and weight training, but this book takes working out to a much higher level, a level where we work toward grace, balance, and elegance in movement. We are reminded to pay attention to the "quality of movement," and to "move like a dancer," which is very good advice, especially for women. Not that these are easy exercises, by any means. You can pace yourself, work as hard as you wish, and know that every erg of energy you expend will bring you closer to having a beautiful body. Motivating! (Do NOT look for me onstage at the NYC Ballet, however. Alas.)

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It works! November 8, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I started this workout the summer after my senior year in high school, I wanted to tone up and lose a little weight before I went off to college, but I wanted something I could do at home without much preparation or equipment. I did these workouts, mainly the abs one and the basic workout, four times a week, sometimes in the morning, mainly at night watching David Letterman. The results were subtle, but by the end of the summer everyone in my family was commenting on how I looked so much slimmer (though the scale stayed the same) and a couple of acquiantences even asked me if I was a dancer! I could tell the difference in increased flexibility and the wonderfully tight stomach i developed. Its awesome, it really yeilds results!

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Results That Come Easy January 17, 2000

By KAREN ROBISON

Format:Paperback

This is a great book for anyone that wants to achieve results without a lot of hard work. I ordered this book just before Christmas, and within just a few weeks of doing these exercises for about 45 minutes 4 to 5 times a week, I am already seeing results. The exercises are easy to do, and there are so many different ones in the book, you can pick the workout that's perfect for you. This is one workout I really look forward to.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book May 22, 2005

By Effulgent girl

Format:Paperback

I have had this book for at least 3 years and I got it because like lots of other girls, I liked ballet and it has always been a dream for me, another dream for me is mac'n cheese so, girls if you know nothing about ballet and can't even do a split dont worry, this book is perfect. You can go at your own pace and pick out the excercises that target your undesireable areas but dont pass up the ones that dont look hard, you dont work up a sweat but every one of the stretches does something good, pretty soon people will start to notice you because, you will start walking different, I sometimes do one or two of the balancing excercises before I go out and I have to say that this book will have you striking a pose without even knowing it. There is one thing that I think can be done to make this book perfect. I have literally worn out my book and I would purchase it again if it were smaller and wire bound and use it for travel. The pictures are lovely and even if you are a "couch potato" this book will do wonders for your posture and personally, the Complete Spinal Stretch has worked out crooks in my back like magic. This is the kind of book that becomes like a big secret because it does not take much for you to feel a difference, the change will be gradual but lasting.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A little heaven on earth November 24, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I heard about this book several years ago, and never bought it. Now I am sorry for my lapse. It made me feel so strong and beautiful. But even more so, my body felt fantastic when I was done. It is wonderful to feel how every muscle in my body works, and that is what this book did for me. The exercises are challenging, but they made me feel great. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new and exciting way to tone their body.