A couple of months ago I rented the New York City Ballet Workout from Netflix. I used to have a phobia of workout tapes and DVDs (visions of Denise Austin danced in my head). I’m a convert now and have a few on my shelf that I love.
I was a ballerina for seven years, but it’s been awhile since I’ve danced so I was excited to do some old, familiar exercises. People idolize the dancer’s body because it’s so long and lean and no wonder–there’s so much stretching and movement combined with the strength training that they do. Apparently the NYCB Workout is so popular that they’ve made a second DVD, expanding on the first one. In this DVD, male and female dancers demonstrate the stretches and exercises. You are prompted to follow them via a voice-over.
Things to love: This is a good workout. My first go-round I worked out for about an hour and was dripping with sweat afterward. I found it enjoyable and felt tall and stretched out after it was over. There’s a good bit of variety; you don’t have time to get bored with one thing. The classical music in the background is pleasant as well. I’m all about high-energy pop when I work out, so I found the contrast really soothing. Because you receive all your instruction through the voice over, there’s no cheesy “Come on! You can do it! Just like that! You’re doing great!” which I particularly hate. Just directions, pure and simple.
Less than perfect: There’s no tutorial with this DVD–no “this is what this term means” or “this is what you should do when you stretch this way so that you don’t overextend something,” so it takes a minute to catch on when the dancers transition into another exercise if you don’t know the “official” term for what they’re doing. Even with those years of ballet training under my belt I frequently paused and thought, “What does that mean?”
Final Analysis: If you don’t have some background in dance, Pilates, or yoga, this workout might not be for you. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to someone as a way to get into exercise, even though it’s fun. A beginner starting from scratch probably needs more step-by-step instruction. If you like something really peppy with lots of encouragement, this is not for you. In the future, I will probably buy this DVD, or at least rent it again from Netflix. It’s not my perfect workout, but it’s a great one, and it’s fun. Perfect for diversifying your workout routine.
Posted by: Catie
From Lynnette: I was so pleased to see that Catie posted this! I also rented this workout via Netflix and was pleasantly surprised. I definitely recommend it for people looking for variety in their workout routine. Be sure to check out all of our workout DVD recommendations in the Fitness category.
