Being a mom of two young girls and co-owner of Z&B Fitness in Shanghai, I love to get the whole family moving. Exercise is essential to our daily lives; it makes us happier and healthier, and we take any opportunity we can get to make our life active.
Family Dancing
At Z&B Fitness I teach MYbarre classes (ballet fitness), and my girls love to join me by getting into the ballet theme. They put on their ballet tutus and bring out the yoga mats and we all practice balance and dancing together. There is never a dull moment in our house with the tunes blasting.
The Music
MYbarre is taught to upbeat, top-40 music, so my playlists are always current. My favorite songs right now are 'Sorry Not Sorry' by Demi Lovato and 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran.
The Moves
We perform ballet moves at home, such as practicing the first and second positions and lots of pliés (these are great for creating long, lean ballerina legs). The plié is one of the most classic ballet moves. In French, it means 'bend,' and that's precisely what you can do to start toning your legs in minutes.
The 5-Minute Plié for Toned Legs
1. For a second position plié, place your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
2. Turn your toes outward and form a 'V' shape with your feet.
3. Activate your abdominal muscles and keep your neck and spine straight and proud.
4. Bend your knees slowly while keeping your heels on the ground. Make sure your knees are aligned with your middle toe.
5. Straighten back up slowly and repeat for 5 minutes.
You can make this more challenging by increasing the repetitions, lifting your heels from the ground and finally holding it for 8-10 seconds. I call this your 'challenge zone,' where the muscles contract at their deepest point, increasing strength and therefore improving the shape of your legs.
Hailing from Denmark, Siri Nordheim is co-owner of Z&B Fitness in Shanghai and creator of the MYbarre training program. Z&B has two studios (Shaanxi Bei Lu and Changle Lu) offering 250 classes a week by 70 enthusiastic instructors.
