Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You

Arrived with box damaged but book was in great shape.This book is amazing. I bought the bookrisking it because I had never taken ballet, but now I am doing beginner ballet adult classes and love them. The book is a great introduction to ballet exercises. I’ve done yoga for many years so some moves were reminiscent of that. Where I find the book lacks a bit was in the photos—there are great photos of Misty to be expected—when reading the detailed instructions for the exercises.Some exercises had no photo at all, although it was explained very well there were at least two exercises where I had to read them over twice to make sure I did them correct. It seems like the simplified areas are intentional to squeeze in recipes, which was okay for me. I also loved that the meal plan seems forgiving but healthy and respects the fact that ballerinas eat. My sister did ballet as a child. I feel many people don’t think about the fact that ballet dancers are doing workouts 6-8 hours a day, so you have to consider that in her meal plans. If you at 1400 + calories and you burned 2800, etc. Also, the sitting (chair) exercises I have done working in my home office and they make a difference. So this book overall is an amazing buy. If not only to read her story, and how far she has come, it’s worth it.

Misty Copeland takes the time in this book to explain what foods give her energy and why. I am incredibly grateful! My daughter is in her 4th year of ballet and now is training 4 times a week. As a mother, I had no idea how to fuel her body with the nutrition she needs and was overwhelmed. "Ballerina Body" has been both my guide and an inspiration as she guides us through four parts of her book: Mind, Motion, Meals, and Mentors. Absolutely brilliant.This book is easy to read, includes beautiful illustrations of ballerina moves, and also has meal plans and recipes. It is an instant classic for every ballerina and even every ballerina's mom.

This book is amazing! As a way of shaping the goal of being "your best self", it's a winner! I trust her methods which are concrete, and I agree with her ideology 100%. I bought this book (the audio version) while listening to her interview on NPR on Thanksgiving morning, and listened while I was baking cookies, and making sweet potatoes. It was lovely! There are lots of exercises, recipes, (you can download a printable PDF once you buy the audiobook), and suggestions for having the right frame of mind to help you eat healthily, move your body more, and feel happy with your life right now, wherever you are at the present, plus helping you to work on whatever goals you have to tweak yourself or your life should you want to make any changes. I'm really glad I happened to be listening to the radio this morning while I was running to the grocery store to pick up some last minute ingredients, or I'd never have know about this amazing book or its author!

Misty Copeland has an inspirational story arc. She has persevered through a number of setbacks and difficulties, and a background that was not considered ideal, to become a principal dancer in a prestigious ballet company. I bought this book because 1) I respect her story, and 2) I do a lot of playing around with my cardio because I get bored easily, so I've begun experimenting lately with dance cardio.For me when it comes to fitness, primarily, I am a strength trainer, and I have a background in healthcare...those things shape my opinion of this book.I really love that she talks a lot about the importance of loving the body you have, and accepting that it may not be able to look like or do the same things as somebody else, and yet deserves your love and care. I think she is spot on, hit it dead on the nail when she says the best way to have lasting changes to your lifestyle and to your fitness/health is to make gradual changes bit by bit that become part of your habits. Fast changes made too much too soon usually crash and burn, and yet I think because of the speed we've become accustomed to getting certain things in this society, people seem to expect that with diet and exercise. I had to loose some weight a few years ago as part of a health crisis of sorts, and it never fails to surprise me how many people ask me what I did and then loose interest when I say dietary changes and exercise. The truth is, if you loose more then 2 pounds a week, you're putting your liver under stress. You loose 4 pounds or more a week, you're actually damaging and killing liver cells. I have that straight from my GI Dr, who wanted to make good and sure I was clear on that since I was already being treated for medication induced liver damage. I was told it wasn't safe or recommended for a person with a healthy liver, but for me, it was even more important to go slow. So she's right...go slow. So those extreme weight loss shows that tend to be so popular are actually really doing the participants involved an incredible disservice just from the organ perspective alone, don't even get me started on the too restrictive calories with long days of working out.Her nutrition portion...I didn't really have a problem with it, per se, and I do think she actually provides adequate guidance, and she's certainly right that studies have emerged within the last few years that implicate sugar as having a much higher risk for heart disease then fat. Very true. My fellow shoppers, sugar is not your friend on a whole lot of levels. I did estimate the calories on her perfect day meal (the one she considers a perfect day for herself) and it came in at about 1464 calories. So. What you have to remember here is that she's dancing and in effect exercising about 8 hours a day. So you can eat that number of calories, and not necessarily see the same results she does. Because looking lean is about your body fat composition more then anything else. And yet, I wouldn't recommend you go any lower, because you need to make sure you don't dip below your base metabolic rate, which is the number of calories you burn each day just to stay alive. Locate a BMR calculator on-line to figure out what yours is, and in order to best protect your health and metabolism, don't go below it, even if you're trying to loose weight.Where I did feel like this book is lacking is in pictures for the exercises. There aren't adequate pictures for the exercises she gives. Some of them have none, and I think, especially if you don't have a background in dance, the worded explanation on some of them may leave you confused and unsure what to do. I also feel that the number of exercises given probably aren't going to produce the same results she's got, unless you're doing a few hours worth of them. And actually, really, I'm pretty sure just doing the ones included in this book alone isn't going to provide the deltoids (shoulder muscles) she's got visible in her pictures…I also feel like promising anybody a willowy, lean dancer's body is a slippery slope. Some people's bodies don't do willowy. Mine sure as heck doesn't, not when I was in gymnastics, not when I was underweight, not when I was jogging, or trying pilates or yoga...you get the idea. I spent a number of years trying to pursue willowy, and it never happened for me. My body is built well for one thing apparently...short, bulky looking muscles, and it doesn't matter what I do, that's where I end up. Right now, I strength train pretty aggressively, because I have an amazing special needs son, and being the best mom I can be to him pretty much requires every muscle my body can come up with. This is the first time in my life I've ever been grateful for that. My point is...your genetics have a huge roll to play in whether or not your body can look the way Misty's does. So I think all of the sections in this book where she talks about focusing on overall health and vitality as your goal...those are the ones worth reading and setting your heart on. Because maybe you're blessed you can be willowy, maybe you're not. But improvements in health and fitness levels are pretty much attainable by most anyone.I did do the floor barre exercises she was recommending this morning, and I've got to tell you. I found it relaxing as heck. And several of the poses are very akin to yoga. But I don't think for me, personally, that floor barre provides what I need, but it could be a great place to start if you haven't been exercising in a while.Overall, I thing this is a book that has more merits then not. I love that she strives for an overall balance in healthy living where she involves pieces on stress management, diet, finding social relationships with people you aspire to be like, fitness, and food. I think there's a lot of value here, especially for someone who's not been exercising. If you have a higher fitness level, I think, unfortunately, you're probably going to need to look elsewhere.

I am a longtime fan of ABT and of Misty Copeland, so I was excited to get this book. I found the book inspiring, helpful and full of great exercises and delicioys food suggestions. I highly recommend!!.

While this book is not the complete book one might be looking for in starting a new diet and fitness plan and it may not really offer any new innovations in nutritional guidance it does accomplish one thing which is very important. As a group performing artists tend to be skeptical of any health or nutritional advice from sources that they perceive do not fully understand the strange love/hate relationship one has with that physical self which is also one’s creative performing instrument. What this book provides is both well thought out and solid advice from a respected professional, something both students and working professionals need and can use. It is a good beginning.