December Callanetics Challenge

[ofo]

One hour of evolution done. My Cardiocallanetics dvd arrived today! Can't wait to try it.

[LoriMarie]

Another day of Evolution done today I am getting two wisdom teeth removed tomorrow so I may be MIA for a few days...I am hoping to lose a few pounds from the surgery due to lack of eating... Trying to see the postive in this..

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by kelley17

Sandra/Noreen/Ben/Anybody,

I've been doing my Callanetics faithfully and seeing great results, but I still can't do all the ab work without putting my hands behind my head. I usually have to do it for the last 25 pulses. Is this normal? Any suggestions? Thanks! Oops - Just did my 62 hour of 10/10

Are you rounding up enough? If you shoulder blades drop back to the floor as you pulse this creates tension in the neck. Put extra effort in to stretching your elbows up and out to stretch your mid back. I also like to shimmy my spine along the floor at the same time to open up the discs and stretch even more out of the hips.

You may find focusing on feeling the stretch from the waist up through the crown of head helpful.

When you feel your shoulders drop back bring your arms back to the legs and take deep breaths then stretch elbows out and up to ceiling even higher, allow your navel to melt down to spine and release your hands ONE AT A TIME keeping your upper back rounded in. Immediately then relax your neck and head and then start your pulse.

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

I began Callanetics the first week of November 2005. By middle January, I was at goal and had dropped major inches, having toned my hips and thighs like never before....I was dancing to the moon and back with my Callanetics results....been on the "soap box" evah since!

Twyla...great to see you back

[Swifty1014]

1 hour of 10/10 DONE!


December Total: 2

[SCYOGI]

Originally Posted by planetbenjamin

So it's back to Callanetics. I'm about to climb out of bed and do Evolution.

well that paints a picture

[KlingonBabe]

I just completed an hour of Evolution.

I keep having trouble with my standing leg exercises. As I get more fatigued, I feel soreness in my hips. The good news is that I seem to go a bit longer each time before feeling the pain, so I think I may be doing something right after all.

[enjoy]

An hour of 10/10 done, can't wait to get evolution, I need a change in pace.

[Timmers]

I got my 5th hour in this morning. I am thinking I need a mirror so I can watch my positioning. Also, when I do the standing leg one, I feel like I am really working the standing leg more than the pulsing one. Am I doing something wrong?

Timmers

[Danipower714]

1 hour of cardiocallanetics completed last night.

[Danipower714]

Twyla- good to see you!

[Sandrahanna]

Hi Klingonbabe and Timmers,

These exercises strengthen the standing leg also you will feel it on that leg. Take breathers as often as needed.

Also, make sure that you haven't collapsed on the standing leg, stay pegged up of it with your knee soft. Keep your pelvic floor as tight as possible and allow your torso to seemingly float upwards to help keep the weight off the leg.

As you leg muscles strengthen, along with your pelvic floor, you'll find it less bothersome.

A reminder;

One function of the pelvic floor is to help keep excess weight off the legs. Another good reason to maintain a healthy body weight.

If it really causes you pain in the hips and leg to the degree that it distracts you from focusing on the working leg just alternate sides. So, do the leg in the front on the right leg then switch to the left. Then back to the right leg for the 2nd part then over to the left etc. This should help in the beginning.

[KlingonBabe]

One thing about the inner thigh, leg-in-front exercise: I seem to be able to lift the leg up pretty high in that one. How should I intensify it? Do I turn out more?

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by ofo

Does anyone know of a certified Callanetics instructor working in Phoenix?

go to Callanetics and look under 'find a teacher'. All certified teachers are listed here.

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by KlingonBabe

One thing about the inner thigh, leg-in-front exercise: I seem to be able to lift the leg up pretty high in that one. How should I intensify it? Do I turn out more?

You actually don't need to lift the leg high at all. Try to use the pelvic floor to let the foot lift up. I know this sounds odd but if you stand in the set up position with the heel in the arch of the standing leg. Engage the PF and lengthen through the counterpulls and the continue to tighten the pelvic floor, relax all other muscles and you should feel and see the toes lift up off the floor. The idea is to get maximal stretch through the leg and then add the pulse which will tone the muscles. The tighter your PF and the more you focus on stretching up through the spine and utilising all concepts the more you'll feel the inner thighs working and stretching.

Take all the effort out of the exercises for quicker results.

Does this make sense?

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by KlingonBabe

One thing about the inner thigh, leg-in-front exercise: I seem to be able to lift the leg up pretty high in that one. How should I intensify it? Do I turn out more?

Sorry, forgot to answer your question As you continue to tighten the Pf deeper and lenghen through counterpulls you will feel your leg rotate outwards more and this, this will intensify.

[KlingonBabe]

Oh, yeah, I tried that pelvic floor running yesterday...

Let's just say that I was able to get a "floatier" stride, even if it was a bit shorter because I was thinking of too many things at once...

[kelley17]

Originally Posted by Sandrahanna

Are you rounding up enough? If you shoulder blades drop back to the floor as you pulse this creates tension in the neck. Put extra effort in to stretching your elbows up and out to stretch your mid back. I also like to shimmy my spine along the floor at the same time to open up the discs and stretch even more out of the hips.

You may find focusing on feeling the stretch from the waist up through the crown of head helpful.

When you feel your shoulders drop back bring your arms back to the legs and take deep breaths then stretch elbows out and up to ceiling even higher, allow your navel to melt down to spine and release your hands ONE AT A TIME keeping your upper back rounded in. Immediately then relax your neck and head and then start your pulse.

Thanks Sandra - I will give it a try tonight!

[sky115]

Hi everyone. I periodically read through the callanetics threads for advice and whatnot and I really appreciate all the efforts of Sandrahanna to help people with questions.
I've been doing callanetics pretty regularly for the last couple months- 4-5 times a week (no less then 3),I just got this wave of frustration upon comparing my pics of my legs from last year. Are results more subtle then I expect? I really try to maintain good form, I'm always conscious and concentrating on trying to apply the things Sandrahanna says, especially during the hip/butt section because I am paranoid im not doing them properly.
I'm definitely going to continue doing it even though I have no visible results from what I can see . I have a really good diet, I eat tons of vegetables and no processed foods or grains (no rice either), my only outright starch/carb type food is a serving of plain baked sweet potato daily (im addicted) and occasionally squash, no sugar- not even fruit or honey or natural types. I'm not even fat, its just all my fat is on my legs so they always look terrible unless im much skinnier. Ug I just don't want these awful tree trunks anymore.I guess im trying to rationalize why I still look bad, but Im missing cardio and I know that- im too sedentary. Would adding cardio boost the results? Could the non budging fat on my damn legs disguising whats going on (I haven't lost any dress sizes, I've been a six throughout this- from a overstuffed six to a normal six but this is because I lost weight from fixing my diet)- its all my legs. I haven't lost much weight recently even though my diet is extremely clean (I think I actually eat too many vegetables or something...)
Good luck to all those with their December hour goals!

[TFJ]

Today I did #11 Evolution for the month. It is starting to feel like a habit for me in the mornings. It gets my body feeling limber for the day.

TFJ

[chantyl03]

Well my new goal for the month is 10 since 15 won't be happening. So far I've only gotten in 2. Tonight i will get my third in!

[sweettooth]

Originally Posted by LoriMarie

I am getting two wisdom teeth removed tomorrow so I may be MIA for a few days...I am hoping to lose a few pounds from the surgery due to lack of eating... Trying to see the postive in this..

Poor Lori!Hope you won't suffer too much...Good luck!

[sweettooth]

Originally Posted by eates91999

Hi everyone .. i'm new to the forum and i have a question. Pls pls pls help me!! It will be sooo appreciated. I started doing this type of workout about two months ago. I have done callanetics a couple of times, after which i did the bar method (designer sculpting) about ten times, and the past two weeks i have done this workout called pure barre (similiar exercises, VERY strenuous) about four times. I'm thinking all of this is equivalent to about 15 hours of callanetics. I'm thin naturally so i'm not trying to lose weight. I've been seeing major improvements in my legs, they feel like steel!! However, my area of concern is my hips, saddlebags, and back of my legs. Mostly i'm concerned about cellulite in this area. I haven't seen too much improvement since i've started.

My question is, should i stick with it, do you think i'll see results soon? Or do you think i'm doing something wrong? Maybe i should add cardio? Thanks for any and all input!!! <3

Hi eatest, if you look on the exercise board you'll find a couple of thread about callanetics and cellulite. There also photos of Twyla in the before/after photos sections where you can see her improvements.
I'm not a an expert, but cellulite takes a while to go away...So don't give up!

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Originally Posted by sky115

.........I just got this wave of frustration upon comparing my pics of my legs from last year. Are results more subtle then I expect? I really try to maintain good form, I'm always conscious and concentrating on trying to apply the things Sandrahanna says, especially during the hip/butt section because I am paranoid im not doing them properly.
I'm definitely going to continue doing it even though I have no visible results from what I can see . I have a really good diet, I eat tons of vegetables and no processed foods or grains (no rice either), my only outright starch/carb type food is a serving of plain baked sweet potato daily (im addicted) and occasionally squash, no sugar- not even fruit or honey or natural types. I'm not even fat, its just all my fat is on my legs so they always look terrible unless im much skinnier. Ug I just don't want these awful tree trunks anymore.I guess im trying to rationalize why I still look bad, but Im missing cardio and I know that- im too sedentary. Would adding cardio boost the results? Could the non budging fat on my damn legs disguising whats going on (I haven't lost any dress sizes, I've been a six throughout this- from a overstuffed six to a normal six but this is because I lost weight from fixing my diet)- its all my legs. I haven't lost much weight recently even though my diet is extremely clean (I think I actually eat too many vegetables or something...)
Good luck to all those with their December hour goals!

Sky, there are a few things to consider. First, in answer to your question, yes, it's likely that you need to add in cardio to your routine.

To lose weight and burn fat, you must burn more calories than you consume. Too much food, even so-called healthy food, can be stored as fat if it exceeds the number of calories you burn per day. You don't mention your stats, but typically (there are exceptions), to lose weight you should eat between 10 and 12 x your body weight in calories per day. If you aren't presently tracking your food intake and you're only guessing, there could likely be hidden calories, putting you in a surplus, thus no fat/weight loss.

To troubleshoot why you're not losing, you need to keep track of what goes in your mouth. If we fail to pay attention to our banking accts, the deposits and withdrawals, we would soon find ourselves broke and in debt. The same goes for our bodies, but the reverse is true: If we don't keep track of our food/calorie deposits, we find ourselves with overstuffed "calorie accts" in the form of unwanted body fat.

Once you know how much you're consuming per day, you'll know how much you need to burn in order to lose. It's always better to burn the fat by feeding the muscle, rather than by starving the fat. Going on too low calorie diets is one sure way to wreck our metabolism by slowing it down more and more as our body perceives the lack of fuel as a starvation response.

So burning the fat (with strength training and/or cardio) is the better approach.

Long answer to a rather short question, but it's something to think about and maybe an approach you might want to try in solving the mystery of why you aren't getting the results you want.

Hope this helps a little.

Editing/adding something I forgot to mention. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water. It is CRUCIAL that you drink PLENTY of water while burning fat....there is no other way to get that burned fat out of one's body if you're not drinking enough. It helps us to burn fat more efficiently and increases our muscular development.

DRINK UP.

[realfoodmom]

Originally Posted by kelley17

Hi ladies - When I started Callanetics I was 30 lbs heavier (still want to lose 20 more). What you are talking about is completely normal. Everything moves towards the middle which makes for bumpy hips/tummy for awhile. Because of my extra weight I didn't notice the pulling in until at least a good 25-30 hours in. As I told you all last week though, I was able to slip into my size 8 petites the other day and I'm 5'2 and now weigh about 145 pounds - I never could fit into size 8s at this weight before so I know it is in a big part to Callanetics. Keep the faith, it will happen!

Oooh, that makes me feel SO much better. I've done about twenty hours of 10/10 and I've noticed a huge difference in my rear, but my waist looks puffy and and hips bumpy. I was so discouraged. I haven't lost any inches on my waist and hips. I'll give it another ten or so hours. Hopefully, I will start to pull in!

[realfoodmom]

Sandra, is all your great advice on evolution? I have trouble remembering all the things I need to be doing with each exercise. I have 10/10 but I am growing bored and want to add another video. I do callanetics three times a week but I think I'll add another session. Hopefully, I will soon be seeing results.

Oh, another hour of 10/10 done.
What can I do to make the leg exercises more difficult. I don't really feel much anymore (except for the pelvic roations. I hate those!)

[planetbenjamin]

I did Super Callanetics tonight. I've been lazy over the last couple of weeks so I wanted a super boost!

[Sandrahanna]

Originally Posted by realfoodmom

Sandra, is all your great advice on evolution? I have trouble remembering all the things I need to be doing with each exercise. I have 10/10 but I am growing bored and want to add another video. I do callanetics three times a week but I think I'll add another session. Hopefully, I will soon be seeing results.

Oh, another hour of 10/10 done.
What can I do to make the leg exercises more difficult. I don't really feel much anymore (except for the pelvic roations. I hate those!)

HI,
Yes, you will find a lot more information on Evolution regarding the concepts that, when applied to both programs, accelerate the results.

To intensify the leg exercises try sitting back more keeping your knees over your ankles. You can also bring you legs closer together so that the knees are just touching. Your feet then would be facing forward.

When you add the curl for the first exercise stretch up further through the spine so that you feel more tautness/stretch through your legs and buttocks. Watch that your knees don't move forward when you curl, keep them absolutely stable.

Heels up as high as you can as long as you don't feel pain in your knees. Don't allow them to lower to the floor as you move up and down.

For the plies start increasing your reps, so work up to 20 and move up and down slowly.

Hope that gives you something to work with

[chantyl03]

3rd hour for the month complete!

[eates91999]

Thank you sweettooth!!

I was wondering, what do you all have to say to the people that say muscles don't "tone" , they can only build ..

I've heard this from many people and they insist that there is no way to make muscles long and lean like most of us on this board are trying to look. They argue that muscles can only reshape in one way and that is to get bigger (bulkier) , and the most effective way to achieve that is to lift heavy weights. Personally, I don't like this look at all and that's why i choose to do bar-style exercises like Callanetics and Bar Method which claim to create long and lean muscles and a feminine silhouette.

Just wondering if you all have any input on this matter .. This issue may have been addressed on previous threads but I just joined , that's why I'm asking .. Thank you !