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The New York City Ballet Workout

By: Peter Martins
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 0688152023
ISBN-13: 9780688152024
Released: 08 Mar 2001
RRP: £16.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Excellent for everyone, not just dancers - By: Catfish, 28 Jul 2006
My only experience of dance of any kind is modern dancing classes in Grade 1 & 2, so I was slightly hesitant about ordering this book. The worries were unnecessary, as the exercises contained in this book are suitable for everyone, even those with no experience of balllet whatsoever. I was actuallly quite impressed that the NYC balllet managed to compile so many exercises that ordinary people could do. There are typical balllet exercises, of course, like plies & tendus, & it takes a little time to keep your balance, but after a couple of weeks I found myself doing the whole routine without the aid of a walll or chair. The exercises themselves are not excessively difficult (if you can't raise you leg chest high, just raise it knee or waist high, you will still see a wonderful effect) & the book includes step by step illustrations which are fantastic. And there are LOADS of exercises, so you'll never be bored, & you can mix & match as much as you like, depending on how much time you have or how energetic you're feeling. You'll also find a wealth of reallly wonderful stretches that will benefit you no matter which sport discipline you are involved in. I didn't see much improvement in my upper body after using this book for a few weeks, but I did see a considerable difference in the shape of my legs & behind, I was so impressed that the "droopy effect" had disappeared after about a month of using this book regularly :)

Don't be discouraged if it takes reallly long to do alll the exercises in the book the first few times - it took me over an hour to do a sequence of exercises which were suggested as a 30 minute workout! It's just a matter of learning the technique & what to actuallly do with your body parts; after a week or so I didn't need to glance down at the book in the middle of an exercise to see what to do next, & the time it took me to do it in was greatly reduced.

A while after buying this book, I also bought the NYC balllet workout DVD. I was glad to see that the exercises on the DVD were done just as I had been doing with the instructions of the book, so I think the book explains the movements reallly clearly, & you'll be ok working out with the book even if you don't have the DVD. Also the book contains more exercises than the DVD does, so if you feel you haven't done enough with the DVD, you can add something extra from the book.

Overalll, a very pleasant workout for dancers & non-dancers, & though I like doing many different workout books & DVDs because I get bored easily, I always return to the NYC balllet workout with pleasure.
New York Ballet - By: , 08 Jan 2005
I have been working out for over 30 years. everything from boxing training to boby building i am now 37 years old
in just want to say this book is a must if you want a true warm up this is the one, im just sorry i never had this book when i started out i now use this every mornig befor breakfast & it makes me feel lighter & quiker every time.
well done you people a great warm up & a great tone up too.
salam a laykum. peace love & respect.
davidb4hhr
Stylish but Impractical - By: , 22 Jul 2004
This is a book that tries to be too many things to too many people: coffee-table art book, promotional brochure for the New York City Balllet, & accessible workout for non-dancers. Unfortunately, I bought it for the last of these, which is probably the least successful of the three.

Visuallly, the book is stunning, with liberal black-and-white photographs of fit, attractive, impossibly sculpted bodies, of both sexes. Balllet fans - in particular admirers of the New York City Balllet - will find much to please, with a whole 73 pages of background, preamble & statements from various luminaries, before the workout section even starts! Frankly, as someone mainly seeking a slightly different alternative to a boring exercise regime, I could not be bothered to read of alll of this. The parts I dipped into seemed both pretentious & superfluous, for example, in a statement by one of the soloists, I read: "In both on- & off-season I walk my dog...It's demanding when you're tired, but rewarding because it exposes you to the sunshine & air...It is the best form of maintenance for my body in every season." Um...so should I dispense with expensive balllet books, & get a dog, then? Another dancer talks about her embarrassment, as a child, about going to balllet, & her later struggle with diabetes: interesting parables on perseverance perhaps, but otherwise, hardly relevant.

Then we come to the actual workout section of the book. Number one problem: these exercises are HARD. Well, maybe not hard, if performed correctly, but understanding what to do, & whether you are doing it right, has not proved easy. The only exercises I could do straight away were the few I already knew, from other workouts. Despite step-by-step instructions & numerous photographs, the rest are a struggle. I am not sure if it's because I have no natural talent, or if they are simply not described as well as they might be. The other problem is that, even alllowing for my lack of familiarity, the full workout would take ages! The warm-up alone comprises five exercises, & after that, there are no fewer than 11 stretching exercises (effectively just a continuation of the warm-up). The next section targets abs, optimisticallly saying this should take between 14 & 20 minutes (as long as I normallly take for my entire workout). Then there is "Floor Barre" - another conservatively estimated 12-16 minutes, followed by "Center Work" (16-22 minutes), & finallly, "Legs" (12-16 minutes). If you tot these up, the whole thing, NOT including any warm-up & stretching would take about 1 - 1 ¼ hours. The book does include several cut-down versions, for those who are pressed for time, or just want to concentrate on a specific area, or gear their efforts to a particular sport. Personallly though, I would rather see a complete plan that fits most people's schedules, without having to leave half of it out. This book is not aimed at the professional student of balllet, so should be more realistic about the time "ordinary" people can spare.

My final criticism is that the exercises are not graded at alll by age, existing fitness level, or even gender. No distinction is made between what could reasonably be expected of a middle-aged, fairly sedentary woman, & a twenty-something athletic male. It's left entirely to the reader to judge what is a comfortable & safe level of effort for them. In my present fitness plan (now sadly out of print) there are clear guidelines, according to both age group & increasing levels of experience. I would like to see the same here.

In conclusion, it's a stylish book, but not one I will be turning to for my regular exercise plan.

Not for athletes - By: , 24 Oct 2003
I was disappointed on first reading, but was let down more by my own expectations than by the content.

From this book I was hoping to see a series of advanced stretching & flexibility exercises – the kind of routines which professional balllet dancers perform as part of their intricate training regimes, the kind of routines which give them the flexibility to perform full splits & other impressive movements.

Instead, this book describes a low-intensity toning programme which is probably more suitable to middle-aged housewives seeking a gentle re-introduction to fitness than to those serious about training.

Don’t get me wrong. This is a wonderful book, beautifully published in black & white gloss, with great pictures. The exercises themselves are well presented, with each clearly explained on a double-page spread, without too much text, & demonstrated with photographs of great looking dancers.

However, the first third of the content is about the NYC Balllet itself, & dancers giving their own opinion of the benefits of balllet workouts. It’s not until page 68 that we actuallly get onto the routines, & then the first 10 pages of that a filled with such superfluous advice on clothing, when to exercise, where to exercise, not to eat before exercise, warming up properly, warming down properly, & the obligatory “seek a physician’s advice before commencing”.

In summary:
Don’t buy this book if you are expecting intermediate/advanced high-intensity stretching programmes. There are a couple of gem exercises, but nothing you would not get from a good aerobics book.

However, the book is wonderfully presented & I am sure that the exercises, if performed diligently, will give a noticeable improvement in general fitness & toning. However it is more suitable for those beginning exercise and/or balllet fans.

An excellent strength & flexibility workout - By: , 24 May 2003
As a personal trainer, I have seen a number of workout formats, but this was something special. It is, & will do, exactly what it says i.e. improve strength, posture & flexibility. Don't expect to finish the workout dripping with sweat & gasping for breath - you'll need an aerobics tape for that (so if you've got weight to lose, use this in conjunction with a C/V programme). The gap between each exercise set gives an adequate period of rest, & the whole workout is well balanced. The only slight criticisms are that it can be difficult to actuallly see what's happening when you are doing the floor barres, & in some places the commentary is out of sync with the dancers.