If you can’t attend one of our ballet fitness Sleek live classes or don’t have access to the Internet to stream one of the workouts in our streaming library, then try this Long & Lean Ballerina Body workout to sculpt long, lean, ballerina muscles.

Warm up for 3-5 minutes with some forward bends (swinging the arms down and above your head in a circular motion on the recovery), light jogging, marching and side bending at the waist to get the blood flowing into your muscles. Then complete the following 6-exercise circuit 3 times. Cool down with 5 to 10 minutes of stretching to lengthen your muscles and prevent soreness. Feel free to add additional stretches alongside the ones listed here.

Make sure to share with your friends so you can do the workout together!

Centre Exercises (Standing)

1. Sleek Sassy Twists

How to Do: Stand with one leg forward and one leg behind you, the heel raised and the same arm extended at shoulder height. Place the other hand on your waist and bend (plié) on both legs sweeping the extended arm in front of you and twisting at your waist. Recover by straightening both legs and opening the arm back out to shoulder height.

Repeat: 16 times on each leg.

Benefits: The twisting action of this movement will draw in your waist while the plié (bend) works your legs and glutes extra hard.

2. Arabesque Leg Lifts

How to Do: Stand in a classical lunge with your front knee bent, toes tuned slightly out and back leg extended behind you. Lengthen your arms to third arabesque – back arm high, front arm shoulder height, palms down. Stretch and lift your back leg off the floor, pointing your toes and pulling up your knee cap. Lower the leg with control.

Repeat: 16 times on each leg.

Benefits: Arabesque targets the hamstrings and glutes while building strength in your middle back.

3. Arabesque Arm Switches

How to Do: Stand in a classical lunge and raise one arm to eye level height, the other two shoulder height, palms down. Switch and press down the arms as if moving through, heavy sticky air, drawing down the shoulder blades as you move and holding the body still.

Repeat: 32 times

Benefits: Targets the lats and triceps for a beautiful upper body aesthete.

4. Ballerina Back and Arms

How to Do: Stand in 6th position (parallel with legs and feet together) Roll through one foot and the other as you switch the arms infant and behind the body, arms straight, flexing and bending at the wrists as you change. Aim to get the fingers to touch in front and the wrists to touch behind you.

Repeat: 32 times.

Benefits: Opens the chest and works the pecs and triceps using natural resistance for tight toned arms.

Mat Exercises (Floor)

5. Alternate Twist Planks

How to Do: Find ‘plank’ position, elbows wrists and shoulders in line, tummy drawn in and kneecaps lifted, no dipping in your core. Lift one arm, turning to look up at your fingers from the waist, hold for a count and return to plank. Repeat on the other side. Need to modify? Drop your knees to the floor but keep your core engaged.

Repeat: 8 times, resting where needed.

Benefits: A multi-functional exercise which works the entire core and upper body with extra focus on the obliques for a flat tummy and toned waistline.

6. Attitude Burners

How to Do: Lie on your side, underneath leg extended. Take your top leg to attitude by lifting your knee and thigh behind you and bending the toes half way towards your body, round your top arm overhead to fifth (A). Now stretch the leg and extend your top arm forward to arabesque, lengthening from fingertip to toe (B). Repeat this sequence.

Repeat: 16 times each leg.

Benefits: Your hamstrings and glutes are targeted while your core works extra hard to stabilise your body.

Stretching/Cool Down

7. Core Stretch (Sphynx)

How to Do: Lie on your front and draw the palms under the shoulders, elbows pointing to the ceiling. Press into your palms and roll up, lengthening through the front body, stretching and extending upwards, not crunching into the middle and keeping your hip bones on the mat

Repeat: twice

Benefits: Lengthen and flatten the muscle fibres in the abdominals and improve flexibility in the spine.

8. Splits Stretch

How to Do: Set up for this stretch in a high pyramid position, separating your hands and feet on the mat and pointing your tailbone to the ceiling. Press into your palms and sink your heels to the floor. Lift one leg, aiming to point the toes to the ceiling while keeping the leg straight. Hold for 16 counts before lowering with control to high pyramid.

Repeat: Once on each leg.

Benefits: This stretch lengthens your hamstrings and calves and stretches your abdomen after core work.