Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Pre-Pointe Week: Day 3 - It Ain't Just Releves, Honey!

Alright, so you get the point (pun intended) that you need to exercise everyday, and you have a simple schedule. But if you look at the schedule again, you will realize that it isn't just releves and calf muscles that will get you en pointe.

The most important muscle for pointe work is the abs. What do you think holds you up? How do you stay balanced when you are standing on 1 square inch of your foot? Your abs! If you have weak abs ( or "flabby abs" as my pre-pointe teacher calls them ) it will be extremely hard to balance. Stand on demi-pointe. Hold there, and ask yourself, Am I wobbling? Now, fix your alignment, and squeeze your abs. Not sucking in your stomach, clenching the muscles. This may feel awkward, but are you wobbling less? If you can't stand straight on demi-pointe, how will you ever stand straight on full pointe?

The greatest way to get strong abs is doing crunches. Before you move on to the next post (I know you don't want to get tied up with this) watch this video so that you can do them properly, and do "earn" hard, strong ab muscles.




Work on that routine everyday!

For those of you who are non-squeemish, check out this chart to see a diagram of the ab muscles.

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