Shy and Enthusiastic Englishwoman Reporting for Duty

[PotentialSlayer]

Hello! 

 

I wanted to introduce myself here in preparation for the next six week challenge!

 

I've been reading the Nerd Fitness articles for around a year, and they have had a huge impact on my life (for the better)! Since finding NF, I have lost nearly 2 stone, and hugely overhauled my diet. I am now right at the upper limit of a healthy weight (according to my BMI), and in the best shape I have ever been in in my life. I took up running a year ago after a lifetime of hating exercise, and found that I was actually capable of doing things with my body, which was a great revelation. I ran a half marathon last month for the first time and felt so proud of how far I have come.

 

Now I have got my body basically under control and into slightly reasonable shape, I'd love to get fit, flexible, strong, coordinated and generally feel like the master of myself, rather than like someone who just lives in this body! I recently used my 20 seconds of courage to enquire about ballet classes in my city, and although I'm absolutely dreadful at it, I'm getting better.

 

Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone, and especially fellow ballet beginners, those who are working out 'what next' after getting to (or near to) their target weight, or anyone who's far too far away (and poor) to ever be able to go to Camp NF - it looked amazing and I'm so jealous! 

 

Anyway, I'm rambling. Can't wait to meet you all. Please say hi! 

 

[Gurkour]

Hi to you!

Great job with your 20 seconds of courage!

I hope that you will have fun doing ballet! What helped me is to set smaller goals that you can work up to and you can really see the results of your hard work, for example "I want to perform 20 Push Ups", "i want to do this ballet movement" etc, by this you can track your journey

Train safe and have fun,

Gurkour

[PotentialSlayer]

I really really needed the 20 seconds of courage, but as soon as I'd done it, I wondered what I'd been afraid of! Yeah, you're right that small goals are the way to go - I'm not sure what mine should be yet though...

 

 

[SpecialSundae]

Hello and welcome!

I don't do ballet at the moment but I did adult beginners' ballet in the past and loved it.

Love the name, by the way!

There are loads of UK Nerds. I'm up in Scotland but always trying to build more networks of Nerds around the country.

[PotentialSlayer]

Ooh hello! I'm in Yorkshire. Scotland is my fave holiday destination and I'll be back (hopefully) both in Easter and summer.

 

I wish my ballet class was a beginners' one, but it's the only one in my (tiny) city, so lots of the others have already done exams and stuff. Still, I'm battling on. Been to four classes so far. And done some very frantic Googling to try and work out what was going on afterwards! 

 

Thanks for dropping by! 

[ElemHH]

Congrats on how far you've come so far.

 

Did you ever see Big ballet? It's about a group of people that considered themselves too big to dance, but always wanted to.

Their size may not apply to you, but I thought you might find it interesting seeing other people start out on the same path.

 

[PotentialSlayer]

Thank you SO much for this video - I'd never heard of it (I have no TV) but it looks brilliant; I've just watched the first 5 mins now and am gonna sit down and watch it in full tonight. While I'm not overweight (any more!), I am generally a big person with a wide frame, big hips and big breasts - in short, the opposite shape to that of a conventional ballet dancer. But sod that! The vid is so inspirational, so let me say again, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU  

[SpecialSundae]

Degas's ballet dancers always served as inspiration for me when I was doing some ballet, and Matthew Bourne's productions of both classic and modern ballets.

The whole thing of ballet dancers having to be stick thin is a fairly modern construct.

[KittyB52]

Hello, fellow Englisher! 

 

I'm also in the UK, in Cheshire. 

 

Well done on starting ballet classes - I would love to be able to dance, but I know I am not particularly coordinated. However, I may have to steal this sentence from you "I'd love to get fit, flexible, strong, coordinated and generally feel like the master of myself, rather than like someone who just lives in this body!" as that's exactly  how I feel. I am as graceful as a sack of spuds and although yoga has helped a bit with balance and flexibility, I want to improve further. Ideally, I'd like to be able to avoid being ambushed by inanimate objects (I once managed to close a door on my own head!).

 

Good luck! 

[PotentialSlayer]

SpecialSundae - I now have Degas's ballet dancers as my background  

 

KittyB52 - Hello! Nice to meet you! I feel your pain about the random objects ambush - I always worry other people would think I'm being beaten up as I'm always covered in bruises and improbable-sounding injuries. "How did you get a black eye?" "Oh, I fell over head first onto my bedpost. No, really!"