We’re coming for you, Misty Copeland.
If you’ve ever envied Jenna Dewan’s dancer bod in Step Up enough to sign up for an Intro to Ballet class for adults (totally not me), then you may have discovered that dance is f*cking hard. Ballerinas are pros at making body-morphing, gravity-defying dance moves look easy and graceful, when in reality their bodies are working double time to make the choreography appear completely effortless.
RELATED: Use This 10-Minute Leg Workout to Get Toned While Channeling Your Inner Ballerina
A ballerina’s balance and posture comes from the core, meaning those sleek, feminine leotards are hiding rock-hard abs. When you dance, you are constantly engaging your abs, so core-strengthening exercises are a necessary way to cross train. Whether you’re already a dancer or just want killer ballerina abs (don’t we all?), Sassy Gregson Williams, ballerina and creator of Ballet Blast, is here to give you the moves that will get you in dancer shape, no tutu required.
RELATED: The Total-Body Strength Workout Professional Ballerinas Do Every Day
In the video above, Gregson Williams demonstrates eight exercises—from “Sit Up Beauties” to “Attitude Taps”—that will transform a flabby tummy to hardcore ballerina abs.
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