CALLANETICS CHALLENGE MARCH 2008

[rugbyprincess]

Thanks Jay!

[Lucky Stardust]

Hi all of you inspirational guys!
I just love the new firmness I feel in my body and think Callanetics is great, but I would need to work my arms and shoulders more than Callan can give me. Any suggestions for a good workout ? And Callaneticsteacher, you invented the "officecallanetics" have you invented something for this area?

[Lucky Stardust]

Just noticed a welcome side-effect. This months period is almost pain free! I usually suffer from terrible cramps but not now... Sooo good!!
Will try to do session 13 today

[callaneticsteacher]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

"...Which ever tape you do (even if it is not callanetics) you must approach it as a beginner. Take your time to do it correctly with as little tension to the body as possible. This will allow the postural muscles to strengthen properly."

Thanks for posting this, Kwildcat.

Agnes?????

I'd like your interpretation of this quote, "with as little tension as possible."

Elaborate, please. Pretty please.

Hi Twyla,

Understand it as only tense the musclegroup you are workning on but relax all others. You have a certain amount of energy and the more musclegroups you tense, the more different areas of your body your spread your energy to. Also, if you tense the upper bum and lower back when you curl up, you will pull the muscles instead of streching them. Same if you tense shoulders and neck while stretching the spine. Tensing and stretching don't work together on the same muslcegroup. Agnes

[callaneticsteacher]

Originally Posted by LizT111

Have you ladies (or your SO's) noticed tightening in the pelvic area, or have your SO's commented on tightening during relations? I have done 5 hours of 10 in 10 so far and I swear it's different.

Well, that is definitely a "side effect" of strong pelvic muscles! Trained pelvic floor muscles give you more pleasure in sex. Did you know ... that it is possible to experience orgasms while pelvic floor exercises? I have never experienced it yet, but come on, open up and please tell me if you have!

Let me quote from one of my books:

"Those who know how to use the pelvic floor, possess a kind of insurance policy agains gravity. Against lower back pain. Against indigestion. Agains sagging and drooping of all sorts in their lower body. Agains incontinence. "Wowie, no more Pampers", a 78 year old woman shouted with joy when she discovered her pelvic floor in a Callanetics class.

Those who know how to use the pelvic floor, posses the well-toned body that we admire so much in a cat. They walk with light feet because their pelvic floor carries their upper bodies and their legs move freely. They walk erect because their hips are narrow and their pelvis is wide."

Agnes

[callaneticsteacher]

Originally Posted by siamesegirl

Here's a good question for ya, do you know how to engage your pelvic floor properly??? I thought i was......now i know better

1. Tighten/engange your pelvic floor by squeezing the muscles between the sit bones. This will bring the sit bones closer to each other, and allow the sacral area to open up and relax the lower back.

2. Stretch your spine up to lenghten the back. Maintain the spaces between the vertebrae.

3. Gently curl your pelvis up (if indicated) beginning from the base of the behind in a forward and upward motion.

4. Relax to top of the bum and the lower back to allow those muscles to stretch.

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Originally Posted by callaneticsteacher

Did you know ... that it is possible to experience orgasms while pelvic floor exercises? I have never experienced it yet, but come on, open up and please tell me if you have!
Agnes

............................

I KNEW there had to be a more plausible reason for my addiction to workouts.


(Thanks for the elaboration on the Q above, Agnes.)

[callaneticsteacher]

Originally Posted by Lucky Stardust

Hi all of you inspirational guys!
I just love the new firmness I feel in my body and think Callanetics is great, but I would need to work my arms and shoulders more than Callan can give me. Any suggestions for a good workout ? And Callaneticsteacher, you invented the "officecallanetics" have you invented something for this area?

Oh, thanks, but I haven't invented the "officcallanetics", just created a stomach exercise that can be done sitting in front of your desk. But will think of some more and will ask my trainer whether they are ok. Only do it as long as you can keep your pelvis curled up though, so you won't put any pressure on the lower back.

Also, have you tried to walk with engaged pelvic floor and tightened bum? Don't do it if your coat is not long enough to cover you bum - some people might think you are walking funny!

I find the workout enough for my arms and upper body, but I know some people complete Callanetics with other exercise programs for upper body. You always can intensify the underarm exercises for yourself just by focusing even more on lowering the shoulders and lifting the arms more. I also vary the underarm pulses with rolling the arms gently in and out.

Hanging on wall bars strengthens your upper body, shoulders and rists as well. If you do that, try this stretch afterwords, it is called the "Tower": Primary standing position (feet a hip width apart, knees facing forward, big toe even with outer heel, spine erect and stretched upwords). Lift both arms, fold hands, and rotate arms out until palms face upwords. Set your shoulders back, down and out, so a "window" will open up between the arms and the neck. Repeat this motion until you feel that your upper back and shoulders are properly aligned, and then hold this stretch for a count of 10. It stretches the arms, widens the shoulders and improves their flexibility.

I will think of something else! Agnes

[callaneticsteacher]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

............................

I KNEW there had to be a more plausible reason for my addiction to workouts.


(Thanks for the elaboration on the Q above, Agnes.)

Cool! ... and welcome! Agnes

[Lucky Stardust]

Originally Posted by callaneticsteacher

Hi Twyla,

Understand it as only tense the musclegroup you are workning on but relax all others. You have a certain amount of energy and the more musclegroups you tense, the more different areas of your body your spread your energy to. Also, if you tense the upper bum and lower back when you curl up, you will pull the muscles instead of streching them. Same if you tense shoulders and neck while stretching the spine. Tensing and stretching don't work together on the same muslcegroup. Agnes

Thanks for clarifying this!

[Lucky Stardust]

Thanks! It´s so great to have you here!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

lucky! You're movin' on, girl. Not wastin' ANY time!

257 th HOUR OF SUPER THIS MORNING.

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE.

[FreeingMyself]

Twyla- Thank you so much! I am really trying hard to make goal this year and start maintaining!

Sorry everyone DH should be home today...we are military, nothing is guaranteed Don't worry he is just on a "cake" duty for a week then home then gone again
I will get him to take pics as soon as possible!

I did a mini-callan yesterday but don't count that towards my hours, but had to fit it in after DS goes to bed.
This weekend I am going to run everyday!!!! Then fit callan in between!
Hope everyone has a great day!

My pelvic muscles are waaay stronger leading to far better "naps"

[Snuckles]

Last night I logged my 10th hour. Yay!

I’ve dropped 1.5 – 2 pant sizes during these 10 hours although my weight is pretty much the same. I don’t want to drop any more pant sizes so I’m thinking I should go into the maintenance phase? My belly is no where near where I want it to be. It’s smaller then it was before but it’s still pretty big to me. It’s my trouble spot.

Twyla, you’ve been doing Callanetics much longer and have logged so many hours, are you continuing to drop pants sizes? I would guess you stop dropping sizes at some point right? Otherwise you’d be a size -10 by now, lol.

I started Callanetics wearing a size 8, dropped to a size 6 and pretty sure I can fit some size 4s. I can’t afford to be a size 4 and not sure I really want to be that small. I’m perfectly happy being a solid 6. What would you veterans suggest that I do at this point?

I still want to slim my legs and get my belly down a bit more but I don’t want to drop any more sizes. I would LOVE to log 10 more hours but I’m scared . . . can anyone offer any insight?

I’ve ordered some weight lifting DVDs from Amazon last night. I think I need to up my muscle tone in my upper body. Perhaps the weight lifting will give me the bulk I need to not drop any more sizes while I continue Callanetics?

I really don’t know what to do at this point and open to all ideas and suggestions.

[honeybeelove212]

Hi! I'm new to chatting online, however, I'm not new to Atkins & Callanetics. I've had success with both. Years ago, when my 5 children were young, I did Callanetics 5-6 days a week & LOVED it! I toned up so nicely & quickly! Then life happened & I stopped. I put all of my weight back on. About 6 years ago, at a size 22-24, I decided to lose my much unwanted weight, so I faithfully followed the Atkins diet. On my 45th b-day, I was SO excited! I wore a cute, little black dress in size 7...& looked good in it, if I do say so myself! The Atkins diet worked wonderfully for me! (I wasn't able to combine my weight loss with Callanetics at that time, since I'd lost my video.) I kept my weight off for a couple of years. Sadly, I relaxed, started eating all the wrong foods, with no exercise & the pounds/inches have found their way back. On my 49th b-day last month, I was SO frustrated! I'm a size 18-20! So...feeling more determined than ever, I have decided to combine my two successes into one challenge and see what happens! I have started Atkins this week. I have ordered a new Callanetics DVD & will start as soon as it arrives. I WANT TO WEAR A SIZE 10 ON MY 50TH B-DAY! I have 8 grandchildren now, with 2 more on the way. I want to be active & healthy for a very long time! I think I need more support this time, though. So that is why I've decided to try this chatting online thing. I've been impressed by the encouragement & advice I've read. Is it too late to join in on the March Challenge? Or is there going to be an April Challenge? I am going to take some before, during & after pictures to track my progress. I think that will be helpful for me to see. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Make it a great day!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Originally Posted by Snuckles

I really don’t know what to do at this point and open to all ideas and suggestions.

Snuckles, how tall are you?

I do not think you should stop Callanetics -- for LOTS of reasons, but mostly because it just is an overall wonderful workout. I gained some weight over the holidays last year, and I'm busy getting that back off. But up until then, I remained happily in my Size 6 (on avg) clothes. I went up to a Size 8 when I got lazy last fall, and now I'm back to a Size 6.

Staying with Callan is helping me to maintain the enlongation of the muscles I have, the strength, the toning, the incredible flexibility, the smoothing, etc., so I will not stop. Ever.

As for wanting to improve other areas, and/or burn fat, that's why I incorporate other forms of workouts along with Callanetics, to compliment it, not replace it.

Genetically, I have a problem lower body, i.e., that's where I gain first, and it's where I hold fat the easiest, so that's why I'm keeping Callan in the picture.

If you aren't worried about bulking, why not add some lower body resistance training once a week or so to your Callanetics.

And I like having definition in my upper body, so I add upper body resistance training to my workouts for that purpose.

I don't think you should have to worry about getting too small -- MERCY, WHAT A PROBLEM!

Just my two cents worth. Did that help?

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Originally Posted by honeybeelove212

Is it too late to join in on the March Challenge? Or is there going to be an April Challenge? I am going to take some before, during & after pictures to track my progress. I think that will be helpful for me to see. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Make it a great day!

It's NEVER too late to join a challenge.

And yes, there will be an April, a May, a June....Callanetics will never dissolve from this forum....if I have anything to do with it.

Please do join us. We'll leave the light on for ya.

[Glenfynnan]

I would love to join this challange, I just ordered my DVD's, so I guess technically I won't be able to join until next month........ But until then I will keep ready everyone's amazing results to keep me motivated.

[Glenfynnan]

Reading..... not ready oops.

[Snuckles]

Twyla, I’m somewhere between 5’4 & 5’5. I have a naturally muscular build and weighed in this morning at 144. I’m now in size 6 and can fit some 4s. I simply can’t afford to purchase a new wardrobe.

For years I’ve worked out at the gym on the weight machines and never took the time to stretch properly so I love that Callan is lengthening some of my bulkiness and is why I still want to work on my thighs.

So Twyla are you saying that after you dropped to size 6 you haven’t really dropped anymore throughout your Callanetics career? I know you are doing the advanced routine . . . you never thought about going into the maintenance mode mentioned in the book? Are you stilling doing Callanetics 3 times a week?

I was thinking of either going into the maintenance mode or dropping Callan back to 1-2 times a week so that I can fit in other forms of exercise. I don’t think I’ll drop Callan totally now that I see what it can do for me but yes I need more cardio and more weight bearing exercises.

Twyla, I totally respect your opinion and thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

[Snuckles]

Welcome HoneyBee & Glenfynnan. You can jump in at anytime. You know I'm exactly sure that this is a real challange but more of a support thread. I could be wrong. Nonetheless, jump in when you're ready.

HoneyBee you can do it. Just keep checking in here for motivation and post often.

[honeybeelove212]

Thanks for the encouragement! I am sooooo excited to get my Callanetics DVD and get started! I am at work right now and periodically I have been checking in for replies. It was fun to see them here! Anyway...thank you for the warm welcome!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Snuckles,

You're welcome. I joined a gym in '99 after my third son was born. I lost weight, made huge strides, and thoroughly enjoyed working with a trainer with weight training. I spent more time in the weights section than in the cardio section. However, to his amazement, I began to "bulk" in my thighs, and we had to adjust my routine a few times over that two year period. I hated the way I was "shaping out," rather than "in," because I had fought the battle of my thighs my whole life, and making them even bigger with a lot of weight training was disheartening to me. And even with stretching, which he was big on, I wasn't able to get the results I'd hoped for.

Fast forward to 2005, Callanetics. The rest is history.

I began in Nov 2005, and by Jan 2006 I was in a Size 4-6, mostly 4's actually, some 6's. Then by fall of 2006 through spring of 2007, I was back to mostly 6's (I lose slowly and gain very easily), having gotten sloppy with eats. Late fall of 2007 thru holidays, gained up to a Size 8. Now I'm back to Size 6, but I still do Super Callan a minimum of twice a week, usually 3 x a week, M, W and F. On one of those days I supp Callan lower body with resistance training, VERY light weights, for about say 15 mins. The rest is strictly Callanetics.

And then, of course, I do cardio -- Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs Cardio Blast, elliptical, power walking; and I do upper body a minimum of 2 x a week, and LOTS of pushups.

I want to stay between a 4 and a 6. Right now, I can fit in a few 4's, but I'm in a solid 6 now. I'm rather large boned, and I wouldn't want to be smaller than a 4-6, but regardless of how many times a week I would do Callan, I doubt that would affect that, because we are all built with a certain bone/body type, and all we can do is work to enhance and maintain it. If that makes sense....?

I can't tell you what you should do in terms of number of x's to do Callan per week. That's a DYO thing deal. What works best. If you enjoy weight training, just add some of that in along with Callan, and if you cut back on Callan and see that you're not maintaining the kind of "look" you wanted, you can add in another hour per week.

I don't like doing the same thing all the time, so I mix and match all of my workouts. But because of the integrity of the Callanetics workout, it is one that I ALWAYS make time for in my week. I don't think I'll ever do it less than twice a week. I'd miss it too much.