Mago

Good morning all,

My name is Mago, and I have the luck to be married to an aspiring raqs baladi dancer. She's been interested in getting in fitter shape, as she's been a large woman most of her life.

I'm here because as a personal trainer, I want to design a workout that will tone her up and get her trim, and wanted to see if other dancers were doing something similar. Granted, I don't expect anyone to be giving free advice (even though I might, if asked nicely) but would like to see if someone would have something in general.

This is what I have now, based on her goals for herself and her chosen art:

Tone and firm arms, back, and upper body
Core stability and strength
cardio and muscle endurance (for those shimmy showdowns that happen every now and again)
hip and leg tone (for firmness without being hard)

Suggestions on training would be nice. If anyone is interested, im working on a program for her that will keep her curves and tighten up the rest.

regards,
Mago

da Sage

Are you a licensed personal trainer? I ask, because I thought a professional would know that when the fat comes off, it usually comes off the bust, butt, and thighs. There is no magic way to "keep her curves and tighten up the rest".

Bellydancers will want to follow a weight training session with stretching, to keep their flexibility. I have never seen a bellydancer who is "too muscular" for me, but tastes differ.

Mago

My fault. I am a personal trainer, but I didn't want my inaugural post to be something technical when I was looking for overall ideas. Let me try this again.

I am certified through NASM, and you are right, in that there is no magic bullet to keep curves and get buff. In this instance, though, buffness is not what my wife/client is interested in. She is looking the musculature to present a firm, toned appearance, without sacrificing too many curves. Thus, we are targeting her body fat at about 20-22%, enough for some muscle definition to appear, without the cutting/definition that is traditionally found in fitness buffs.

I think many dancers have this idea that they will turn into some kind of Chyna-warrior if they lift. I have some ideas with pole dancer workout (yes, I know raqs dancers and pole dancers are not the same) but the overall look is what is being pursued here, lots of lean, long muscle and not trememdous bulk. I was simply interested in finding out if anyone else has put any serious workout thought and methodology, or if I gotta do it all myself. Not that I'd mind doing the work, but why reinvent the wheel?

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia

Hi Mago, and welcome!
I'm a nurse with a background in rehabilitation, I also exercise to support an overall healthy lifestyle and support my art. I do agree with your premise in constructing a personalized program that has specific goals toward dance.

I think core stability and strength is very important as most of the moves are centered in the torso. Creating an awareness of the body is crucial for a dancer to maintain intergrity and prevent injuries. This may be why Yoga and Pilates are preferred over other forms of exercise.

Cardio plus breath control can provide the endurance needed for the dance especially within the professional arena. Strength training should focus on specific areas that increase clarity of movement..such as floor work which requires strong legs coupled with a stable core. or manging something as lightweight as a veil..which requires a geat deal of upper body stength. if you don't believe me..walk around with chiffon holding your arms aloft for 10 minutes and you'll know what I mean.
Shimmies on the other hand require a complex combination of being relaxed but also in control of the movement. In other words..being relaxed is the key, tension and overdeveloped muscles can block some vibrational movements.

Yet the grace and flow of any dancer comes from flexibility..again this points toward exercises such as Yoga and Pilates(when done safely) These exercise develop tone and condtion within the body as well as develop a great sense of mental and emotional well-being. When combined together, they will present a visual appeal regardless of one's size or shape.
Yasmine

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Mago

Thank you for the fast reply, Yazmine.

Right now we are doing a combination of gentler exercises to bring her up to a level where she can handle more intense working out. At this point, we're working with a combination of CrossFit with yoga and pilates (I'm working on yoga certfication at this time) in combination with the resistance training to get her stronger without sacrificing her flexibility.

yes, her core is key.

Thank you so much.

Mago

da Sage

I think most of us have problems balancing our workout time with our dance time (and everything else that needs to be taken care of). I am sure I would be much thinner and stronger if I had been working out instead of dancing all this time!

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia

Hi da Sage, I think we spend too much time equating being thin with being healthy. Much of this comes from watching professional dancers who fit the general concept of what we think is beautiful...more to the point it's probably healthier to change our perceptions of what we do rather than change who we are.

Since I use light weights in my workout. My workout time and and dance time is the same..not two separate events.I will tell you I'm not any thinner..in fact I weigh more now than I did when I was younger..but I look and feel vibrant, strong and healthy. My body has been reshaped not to the ideal of a thin beauty,it's not in my genes to be thin..I have curves around around the toned muscles. This is my ideal, if I weighed 120 lbs I would look anorexic, it's just not in my make-up to be thin. My ideal weight is to be between 145-150 lbs. The trick is too use what I have to my best advantage..I have a booty to shimmy and strong arms to float veils without effort...my bust highlights chest pops and my curves melt into undulations.....it's called working it girl!!!
Yasmine

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sedoniaraqs

Hi Mago:

I think the only thing your wife has to do to "keep her curves" is not let the body fat get too low (and for most people, inadvertently getting body fat too low is not very likely). If your wife has been heavy most of her life, then inadvertently getting too lean is just not very likely to happen, and basically neither of you should waste time worrying about it.

I think your wife should be able to do just about anything weight-training wise that she wants to in terms of weight, reps, sets, etc without worrying about getting ripped.

In my 30's I weight trained very seriously, my goals were increasing limit strength so I often used heavy weights/low reps. I never got ripped because 1) my body fat was never below 20% or so and 2) like most women, my muscles don't bulk up regardless of my training regime. Also, the size and shape of one's muscles is mostly genetically determined. You can't really control it very much.

As someone else mentioned, however, loss of flexibility is a real problem with weight training, unless you step up the flexibility training as well.

As a dancer and a weight trainer, I think that the most useful weight training exercises are compound movements that build coordination, flexibility, and core stability, using free weights. For example, free squats, emphasis on perfect technique. Doing isolated exercises on nautilis equipment isn't very useful for me.

You might find this website helpful. It is the best on the internet for women's weight training: Women's Weight Training

da Sage

In many cases an attitude adjustment is in order, but in my case weight loss and strengthening in in order.

I can be myself at 100, 150, or 200 lbs...but I'm pretty sure my doctor would prefer me to be 150 than 200 lbs. And I have friends who are perfectly healthy at >200...and others who are not.

Bellydance and determination increased my fitness at a time when walking was painful, and my doctor less than helpful. I still have a long way to go before I will feel completely happy with my body's abilities.

Farasha Hanem

I'm no fitness expert, but I do use just light hand weights (is that the "politically correct" term for dumbbells, these days? ) to keep toned, but I'm not into any serious weight training. I walk with the kind of hand weights that have the straps on them, and I do a few exercises with my other weights, but I'm more into yoga and Pilates, plus I've added some stretching exercises that my physical therapist taught me, and have recently purchased an exercise ball. I also do some bench stepping, and of course, my bellydance class.