How Natalie Portman Achieved Her Black Swan Ballerina Body
If you are an avid follower of Natalie Portman then it’s highly likely you’ve seen the riveting psychological-horror film Black Swan, a movie released in 2010 directed by Darren Aronofsky. To prepare for the role as a ballerina, Portman went through intense workout training, something that she has never done before.
As it turns out, the frangible ballerina that graced the big screen dropped a whopping twenty pounds to fit the role, given that she already had a slim frame to begin with. How she did it will blow you away!
Natalie’s Intense Training
If a part of you longed for a ballerina’s svelte and fluid body then all you need to do is follow the workout training Natalie Portman went through. With Natalie’s admirable determination to turn herself into a credible ballerina she trained insane under the guidance of Mary Helen Bowers, a New York City based ballet dancer. It’s hard to believe but Natalie did it anyway, she trained insane a total of eight hours a day, six days a week! If that isn’t crazy we don’t know what is.
In an interview Bowers said, “Ballerinas have obvious physical qualities like long, lean muscles and beautiful posture, We wanted Natalie to look the part, but we also wanted to make sure she was able to move and dance like a professional ballerina.”
Bower said that in order to build a generic ballerina body she supplemented Portman’s ballet classes with cross training, endurance exercises and swimming. Portman would swim one mile every day and then do a breast stroke and front crawl followed by two hours of ballet exercise plus resistance work.
While it may sound impossible to do what Natalie did, don’t lose hope because you can still achieve a dancer’s body. Bower shares five doable moves from her ballet workout that can help you get fit and strong!
The Bridge Workout
Ballerinas are known for their exceptionally lean and powerful legs. The Bridge exercise is the perfect workout to target the muscles at the back of your legs, your inner thighs, your butt and your core. This simple workout can transform you so you can achieve lean legs like a real ballerina.
Here’s how you can do it: Lie flat on your back with your stomach tucked in, your knees bent and both of your feet should be flat on the floor. Extend your right leg with your toes pointing to the ceiling.
While you’re doing it keep your stomach tight and tucked as you slowly lift your hips off of the floor while keeping your knees together. Gradually lower your hips until its almost touching the floor (don’t let it hit the floor!) and then lift it up again. Perform 30 repetitions with one leg and then another 30 on the other.
If you want to make it harder all you need to do is to rise up on your toes (like a real ballerina) while performing the entire workout.
The Butt Workout
Ballerinas are known for their super toned butt. Having a tight butt makes you look sexy when you’re wearing skin-tight jeans or leggings but aside from aesthetics, a perfectly toned butt can also help prevent you from injuries.
Here’s how you can do it: You need to go on all fours ensuring that there are enough cushion underneath your knees. Slowly bring one knee to your chest and then extend it back while keeping your knee straight. Pull it in towards your stomach and then lift your leg towards the ceiling. Repeat this cycle 30 times on one leg and then another 30 on the other.
Abs Workout
You’ll never see a ballerina with a bulging belly. So if you are aspiring to look like one you need workout your abs. Abdominal exercises aim to flatten your midsection while it strengthens your abdominal muscles.
Here’s how you can do it: Lie flat on your back with your arms wide open and your knees slightly bent. Tuck your stomach in and slowly lift your upper body while bringing your arms overhead. Concentrate on your stomach tucked in as you go lower and lift yourself up again. Do 30 repetitions.
Arms Workout
When ballerinas start dancing one of the things you’ll instantly notice about them are their lean and perfectly toned arms.
Bower says that toned arms are classic features of a ballerina. If you’re worried about your flabby arms and you’d like to achieve Natalie Portman’s toned ballerina-arms here’s what you need to do.
Here’s how you can do it: Sit on the floor or on a mat and extend your legs in front of you with your hands placed behind your hips.
Slowly lift your hips off the mat while simultaneously stretching your elbows keeping your neck long and your chest open.
You can lift and lower your hops by bending and stretching your elbows all while keeping your stomach tight and your hips elevate. Do 30 repetitions.
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