Look like a dancer (without dancing)

‘I’d like the body of a ballerina’ is still the most common phrase I hear when discussing goals with my personal training clients, so how can you look like a dancer (without actually dancing)?

These days, being a dancer has a definite cool factor that I’m sure not existed when I was 10 and working on my pirouettes! And looking like a dancer – with those long, lean limbs – is even more desirable. If you want it, you can have it: without a leotard or pair of ballet slippers in sight.

Posture

The first defining feature of a dancer is their posture. You will never see a ballerina slouching! If you want a dancer’s body, you need to sort out your posture. The top tip is to keep your shoulders back. This sounds simple but with so many of us hunched over our keyboards or phones all day it’s surprisingly common to see ‘twenty-somethings’ with the beginnings of a hunchback (kyphosis, to use its technical name). Don’t be one of them! Keeping your shoulders back will help to keep your back straight, engage your abs, and make you look taller – it’s a win-win.
Best exercise to improve posture: walking lunges

Strength

To understand just how strong ballerinas are, take a look at pro-dancer Olivia Ashton’s Instagram page, who demonstrates incredible strength in her stretches and movement. Strength has a bad rep among women – as many correlate being strong with being big. But you can develop dancer’s strength in two ways: by using weights as part of your training, or by keeping your muscles ‘under tension’ for an extended period, for example by holding a parallel squat for 45 second intervals. Use both methods and your chances of getting that ballet body are even greater.
Best exercise for strength: squat holds (lower body), plank (abs) and press ups (upper body)

Grace

It goes without saying that dancers have a grace that makes them so enviable. I’m a big believer that training is graceful, whether you’re learning power cleans with a barbell or flying through bodyweight burpees. It may sound silly but by applying this word to your training, you’re far more likely to be controlled in your movements (which means you’re working the right muscles properly), keep good posture (which you’ve obviously been practicing), and complete each movement fully – which leads me onto the final quality you need for a dancer’s body: technique.
Best exercise for grace: kipping pull-ups

Technique

There are a lot of vloggers and Instagrammers encouraging us to train, but far fewer who really concentrate on technique. If you want a dancer’s body, this is something you can’t ignore: poor technique is more likely to get you an injury than beautifully lean muscles. Look out for technique videos such as the Perfect Your Technique series on fitmissions.com, or invest in a personal training session or two to make sure you’re doing it right!
Best exercise for technique: medicine ball cleans