Epic Barre & Ballet Sculpt Moves

I recently gave my advice on the best barre moves to master - and the ones most often cheated in! Wellineux published a home workout guide and combined it with an XTend Barre giveaway. You can find the article on the Wellineux Blog.

Here are the moves and the reasons to do them. Don't belly flop.

Challenging and most importantly effective, these three moves are effective in developing body awareness, good core strength, muscular endurance, timing and postural alignment.

No belly flopping during the diamond push up! No dropping the hips while doing the bridge! Rather than cheat, you could try to make the moves smaller, or reduce the number of reps. Focus on perfect form if you are aiming for results.

The Diamond Push Up.Works: Triceps, shoulders, chest
Here’s how:

1. From a kneeling position, make a triangle shape between your index fingers and thumbs. Place your hands, in this position, below the chest in a push up position. Engage the core muscles as you would in a plank hold.
2. Try to maintain your head, neck and spine in alignment rather than dropping your head or straining your chin forward. Lower your chest towards your hands without letting the back arch and the belly slap the mat. This is belly flopping – don’t!
3. Press hard into the palm of the hands as you raise back to your starting position, fully extending the arms. Repeat. As many as you can.

The Bridge with Heel CarveWorks: Hamstrings, glutes
Here’s how:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the mat. Ensure your feet are hip distance apart. Extend your arms, palms down by your sides.
2. Tighten and engage your glutes then lift your hips up, feeling your abdominals also bracing gently to stabilise and support your spine.
3. Keeping your hips lifted, extend your left heel along the mat as far as you can, then imagine carving the floor open with your heel as you drag it back. The foot is flexed to really target the hamstrings. Repeat with the right leg.
4. Repeat until you need to rest, then gently roll down from the top of the spine until you’re back at the starting position.

The Lying Leg LiftWorks: Quadriceps, Abdominals
Here’s how:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip distance apart. Extend your arms, palms down, by your side.
2. Extend your left leg to straight, flexing the foot as hard as you can. This is to engage the VMO (vastus medialis oblique) muscle – the quadricep muscle responsible for stabilising your kneecap. Turn the leg out to the side so that you have a slight external rotation.
3. Make sure you are engaging the abdominals to avoid your back arching as you raise and lower the leg. You should feel this right through the front and sides of the tummy!
4. Maintaining your foot in flexion and leg perfectly straight, raise the leg straight up – hold for a second – then lower your leg until it hovers just over the mat. Do this 10 – 20 times.
5. Repeat this on the right side.

Pointe Studio Grip Socks Giveaway

Barre babes rejoice! Christmas may be over, but the gift giving doesn't end for you.

I am thrilled to introduce you to Pointe Studio - a boutique barre, pilates, yoga and dancewear treasure box that also sells the most comprehensive range of patterned and coloured grip socks you can imagine!

From polka dots to stripes, pink, orange, grey and blue...you name it, it's there.
What's the benefit of grip socks?

• No slip grip - perfect for pilates, yoga, barre and BodyBalance (also, the loungeroom)
• Protects your feet in the cold and in airconditioned spaces
• Hides the pedicure you didn't have
• Ensures that if you moisturised the night before class, you won't be sliding around

I have 8 pairs to give away.

All you need to do is follow my Facebook and Pointe Studio.

Leave a comment here telling me where you'd wear your grip socks.

Cross your fingers!

Competition ONLY open to Melbourne residents. 

Dancer Had Double Hip Surgery at 24

Most of you know I had a mini hip replacement last year. Since then, I have met quite a few women - of all ages - who do my barre class with a hip replacement or post-hip surgery of some nature.

I have been very fortunate to teach Kathryn's mum weekly and when Kathryn came to my class, my first observance was that she obviously had dance training. She is super flexible, elegant and disciplined in her moves. Her alignment and technique are so impressive! Kathryn has had a double hip surgery and she's still in her mid-20s.

The beauty of modern hip replacements is that they are for life. No need to go back for "servicing"! And you can still move like a dream. I hope you find Kathryn's story inspiring and if nothing else, that you consider your hips today and thank them for all the things you can do because they work.

Cat: Can you explain what procedures you've had done on your hips?

Kathryn: I started with a physio at a pilates studio to help strengthen my muscles.

One doctor told me I just needed strength training, another sports doctor told me I would need bolts in my hips and put me on the highest dose of Voltaren for a few weeks. 

image from balletballetballet.tumblr.com

Mum wasn't happy with this, thank god, and found my current physio Amir. He suggested to get key hole surgery to tighten the damaged ligaments. My right hip was done first, and I also had to have a bit of bone shaved because it was protruding into my ligaments. And on my left, just had the tightening. 

After both surgeries, I went through 'rehab' strengthening the muscles in my bum which were extremely weak.

When did you first notice a problem and what was the process of diagnosis?

I used to dance but I stopped during year 12 (2009). I decided to take it up again the next year (2010). I initially thought the pain was just because I hadn't danced in a while but then it got to the point where I couldn't do anything without feeling pain. 

What was your fitness and activity routine like prior to surgery?

I used to dance regularly, and go to the gym on weekends. Not being able to do this was very hard. And being told by earlier doctors and physios that I would never be able to move properly again was horrible.

However when I met my surgeon, he reassured me I would get back to full function and I did :) (minus dancing)

I felt I gained a much greater appreciation for my body and my awareness of muscles and movement. Did you experience this, or were you already very aware?

I have so much more awareness of my body and what it can and can't take. Because I have shallow hip sockets which caused they think caused the damaged, I had a great deal of flexibility which I initially thought was normal. However after surgery, after them tightening my hips, it took me a while to get used to it and realise that it was more normal than what I felt before. 

Are there activities you avoid now as a result of surgery?

I avoid running (although this was part of my recovery), only because I don't like it. However the impact on concrete does effect me eventually.

I don't avoid anything I just may not go 'flat out' or to the full extent. For example, in standing lunges, that really deep bend in my hip as well as having to hold my body weight eventually impacts my hip. 

I still have to be careful and conscious of the muscles I use, because I know I still have a tendency to clench the front of my hip rather than activating my bum muscles.

Favourite places and teachers for yoga and pilates?

I go to One Hot Yoga for hot yoga, reformer pilates, and recently started hot mat pilates. All teachers there are great! 

(Cat's note: Check out One Hot Yoga!)

Favourite 3 yoga poses?

I don't do yoga as much as I used to because I'm loving reformer pilates. In pilates I love all the leg and ab stuff. 

In yoga, I like warrior 2, side plank, and pigeon pose

What would you tell anyone with a very active lifestyle (like us!) who may require this operation and feels fearful or confused about it?

It's such a scary thing to confront, especially being young. But I would recommend it to everyone, but also finding a physio and surgeon that will do what is best for you. I still have some pain sometimes, but no where near what I experienced before surgery. It's worth the few months of surgery then recovery for a future that doesn't involve a hip replacement!!

How to Cope With Injury and Illness When Fitness And Dance Are Your Life

Alongside death, moving house, losing a job and divorce, dealing with physical injury is considered one of the major threats to mental health.
Many, many years ago at the height of my manic hours of running, I would force myself to work through injuries to the point of being incapable of walking from my car to the kerb. I have come to a genuine appreciation of my body and what it can do now and forcing my body into a regime it can't cope with is a foreign idea to me, thank god.

For many who have a daily routine, who work in fitness or play a sport, injury can be isolating. Especially if you can't make the classes where you normally see the same people and it's a social communion that lifts your spirits.

Having strained both knees at the moment, I'm struggling with the mental and physical

consequences. I can't do my usual training routine and I've had to reduce my classes to enable recovery and healing time. Here are my coping strategies and whatever your injury, whatever impact it has on your professional or personal life, I hope these ideas help you.

1. Be sad! Don't feel like you have to puff your chest out, smile and shrug it off. You're not overreacting. This is your body and when it isn't performing as you want it to and it's even causing you pain, that IS sad. This is part of healing.

2. Get the information you need from a professional. Don't self-diagnose (oh, it's probably a twisted ankle, I think I fractured my... etc). See a physiotherapist, a doctor, a sport physiologist and diagnose exactly what the issue is. Then you can determine the best way to rehabilitate.

3. Plan your rehabilitation. Don't set exact timelines. You won't know for sure that your body will follow a set plan. But work out what you can do and what will still make you strong, flexible and able to spend time with others while not compromising your health and fitness.

3. Use the skills you have gained as an athlete, yogi, weightlifting pro in every other aspect of your life. Be strong, be determined, be committed.

4. Don't isolate yourself. Attend classes that you can participate in - even if you need to modify moves and even skip parts of.

5. See a counselor, psychologist, compassionate GP. Being able to talk about your fears, your struggles and your plans with someone who is trained to listen and support is so valuable.

As a barre instructor, I found this site fascinating. Common Dance Injuries by body area. As a hyper-extender (where I lock my knees back), I need to think about keeping flexion or a slight bend in the knees. Trying.
The following info comes from Harkness Centre for Dance Injuries.

Genu Recurvatum (Hyperextension)

" My knees extend way back, and now they’re painful."

Knee Injury Prevention Tip for Dancers

• Strengthening the knee and hip muscles are critical to preventing overuse injuries. Strong, balanced muscles will help take strain away from the knee.
• Stretching the knee and hip muscles are equally important in preventing overuse injuries. Stretching the quadriceps, hamstring, and hip muscles will help to make your muscles long and lean, and will reduce pull on the different knee structures.
• Give your body time to rest and heal itself, otherwise damage can build up and cause chronic pain conditions.
• Listen to your body! If it hurts after class, rehearsal or performance, the chances are you’ve irritated something by over-use. Ease off it, and give it time to heal, otherwise you may end up with an ‘–itis’ type overuse injury.
• Fatigue sets in at the end of a long day of class and rehearsal. Continued strengthening of the knee and hip muscles is of the utmost importance to prevent injury when the body gets tired.
• Use proper technique. Alignment in a plié should always be maintained such that the knee goes directly over the second toe. When the knee falls inside the second toe, it can put increased stress on structures in the ankle, knee, and hip.