It’s been a good number of months since most of the world has been confined home. As we continue to struggle to put a sense of normalcy to our lives, we are often faced with the question of “How do we maintain our physical fitness?” In the Philippines, and in a lot of countries, it will be quite a while until gyms open; considering this context, it is considered prudent to have a fitness regimen at home to ensure our bodies are in shape.
The exercise I will show you today is inspired from the Callanetics Fitness Program of the late Callan Pinckney. The original intent of the exercise is to develop the firmness of the glutes to have a nice shapely behind; however, I’ve adapted this exercise with the intent of strengthening the glutes to develop the ‘turn out’ of my ballet students. While the intent has been modified, the exercise should be able to deliver the intent of the original exercise.
The exercise starts with you, the reader, sitting on the floor in ‘fourth position’. This means that you have one of your lower legs positioned parallel to your hips in front of you, whilst the other leg has the thigh positioned in a straight line to your side, level with your hips, with the lower leg bent towards your body. You then lean to the side to float the knee above the floor no higher than 3 inches. Pulse the knee up and down half an inch for 100 times.
Fig. 1 Sitting in Fourth Position
Fig. 2 Pulsing up and down 1/2”
The video below shows some of my students doing the exercise. Please note that as you gain more strength in your glutes, you should be able to do the exercise in a smoother manner than shown in the video. The goal is to have your pulses imperceptible to the naked eye. As you do this consistently, you will notice tighter, firmer glutes and a significant reduction of “saddle bags”. Also note that whilst the diagrams and the video shows the exercise done with a barre, you can do the exercise holding the floor, a table or any piece of furniture that can stabilize your body.
Fig. 3 Exercise Demo Video
