MizFit the Dainty Ballerina. (or not. either way.)

by

The plie squat.

An oldie but a goodie (like its demonstrator).

Remember:
Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart & toes pointed out.
Inhale and bend until thighs are thisclose to parallel with floor.
Push through your heels as you exhale and return to the start position.

Still mulling if you’re interested in being part of the MizFit Motivational Matchups?

please to mull & email me should you wanna join in.
Matches & accompanying post coming next week!

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Comments

  1. *has a vision of many ballerinas…dancing with kettlebells*

    This is what I get for watching before bedtime. Perchance I watch next time before Nutcracker.

    [have you ever had trouble with the audio not aligning with the video? please inform! I’m not so savvy with the tech.]

  2. when you *watch* Amanda (the alignment)? I havent.
    anyone else?

    but perhaps restart?

    love,

    Miz.the technology Dinosaur

  3. I love the plie squats! I do them with dumbbells and a front or side arm raise. Once I got the coordination down (not being the coordinated type), I did start to feel quite balletic while doing them. 🙂

  4. The plie squat – something I haven’t done in nearly forever! I forget about it… (bad memory??) (selective memory??) Reminds me, anyway, I need more leg work…maybe this is it…at least it’s a kick in the pants…

  5. This is a good one. The back of my legs are just getting over being sore from all the squatting we’ve been doing at boot camp, hehe. Good soreness though! I like it with the weight, too.

    It would be so awesome to be a ballerina. Sighs.

  7. Cammy? thanks for adding that in (the shoulder raises) as Id need a far light kettle bell to execute thosa during a plie (or my arms only. mightcould be my arms only)

    Lance? nope. the kick in the pants is coming later. VIA TWITTER. you on board?

    Sagan? ok. CrazyMizFit begs to differ on the ‘rina.
    it might be nice to be as limber as they are or part of this group PLEASE CLICK HERE.

    but for the most part? Id pass….

    and Hangry? thanks. Im so so excited to be 50.

    M.

  8. Hi there!!

    I am in love with your blog!! I have a private one but please email me if you would like access.. But you’re probably waaaay too busy with other stuff to read my blog!!

    Anyway- I just did 40 Plie squats while reading some of your other entries and I’m about to do another 40 hang on I’ll do it now, I’m not in any hurry!!………

    There! Done! Ouch!! That’s gonna make my legs lovely!

    Thanks for all your online effort.. It really helps me stay motivated!!

    I’m a 24 y/o mumma from Australia trying to get her pre-baby bod back!! I lost 40 kilograms (88.1 lbs) in the years before I got pregnant and began weight training. I got pregnant as soon as I got to my goal weight so never learned to maintain my new weight and put on a lot during my pregnancy..

    Anyway, now my goal is to become a buff running mumma and aint nobody gonna get in my way!

    Thanks again!

    Ash

  9. ASH? HOW COOL ARE YOU. and my first thought was holy crap puppies you are perky—-then I put together it’s far later where you are.

    Id love to check out your blog. EMAIL ME if you get a sec (MizFit08@yahoo.com).

    and this (CLICK HERE) is what the fab cammy was referring to with her workout (shoulders).

    although to our COLLECTIVE chagrin it isnt a video of Cammy (hinthint?)

    Miz.

  10. Oooh Ash, that happened to me! After baby #1 I rocked it hard and got down to my thinnest and most muscular ever. Splurged and bought an entire new wardrobe! Got knocked up 3 months later and never ever ever fit into those clothes again. SIGH. I always was one to set a bad example…

    I’m going to try those squats right now! Pajamas and fuzzy slippers and all.

    🙂

  11. Plie squats=something to aspire to. I could do them, I bet. At least the down part. Might need a jack to get me back up…tee heee.

    Not sure on the partners thing. I’m spread too thinly already around here. But I love to spectate.

    Make it a great day.

  12. Plie squats are a great leg exercise, especially for that inner-thigh area that’s hard to workout. I have one of those DVD’s they gave out at Golden Arches a few years back (adult Happy Meal?), and the workout is basically several sets of upper body exercises using dumbbells, all while doing plie squats. It’s less than 15 minutes, but boy is it effective!

    About the ballerina thing, it would be great to have that flexibility and gracefulness, but not so good if you lose your toenails (from the pointe shoes). Then again, I’ve heard of runners that have toenail issues, so maybe it’s in my future afterall.

  13. Marianne? video please. (and those jammies make your arse look fab!)

    Linda? you DO have enough on your plate and feel free to consider me—-desired or not—–your WW accountability partner.

    Roo? (may I simply call you roo? I always wanna) ID FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT MCD GIVEAWAY!

    and am duly impressed you can still locate yours.

    M.

  14. I would love to do this, but every time I squat like that my back goes out. Sigh. I’ve been doing the core exercises from 2-3 weeks ago and find them wonderful.
    I noticed I can bend over ie such as for picking peas, and stay there longer without pain.

  15. “Good morning and welcome… to the back of my house”!!! You crack me up! Love the plie squats. I used to call them sumo squats when I first started lifting but ballerinas are a much nicer mental image than sumos.

    And def. sign me up for MizFit Matchups!! (Although I’m secretly hoping you pair me up with YOU. pleasepleaseplease!)

  16. I love plie squats…they seem to work the thigh muscles much more than the ordinary variety. Haven’t done any in a while though, so nice reminder! 🙂

    V.


  17. Leah? the ‘student’ hath surpassed the (bigtimeFINGERQUOTES) teacher (unFQ).

    my core still sucketh though not for lack of trying (foreshadowing to a blooper reel post to come).

    and you KNOW, charlotte, that I totally call em sumo. I just know that Im not the most feminine of MizFits so I was trying to glamfem myself up for the day…

    M

  18. We do those in bootcamp with a medicine ball–no kettlebells. The weight definitely pulls you into a deeper stretch than using nothing.

  20. Great! The form is similar to some of the karate stances I’ve learned with the same knee to foot position. Once the knee covered seeing the foot we stopped.

    Ballerinas with K.B’s!!! Good one!

  21. Believe it or not, the Bag Lady took ballet lessons for over 10 years when she was young. Her mother thought it would make her more graceful.

    She was wrong.

    Baggie can still do a demi-plie, but must work on a full plie….

    Can we cheat and use a barre to hang onto like the ballerinas do?

    (and yes, in her youth, the Bag Lady could put her foot behind her head. Nowadays, it mostly ends up in her mouth….~~sigh~~)

  23. I tried one and could not get back up again. Guess this isn’t post-marathon friendly LOL!!!

    You are one of the sweetest and caring bloggers on the block girlfriend! Lookitchu 🙂

  24. Plie squats, how fun! I also took years of ballet but it has been ages and ages. Thanks MizFit.

  25. OOOOhhhhh I needed this demo, I’ve been doing these all wrong, I squat too low and extend the knee past the toe and I was locking out my knees when I went back up again. I just LOVE your demos.

    Now if only I could do a lunge without knee pain.

  26. Mini story… when I was like 4, Mom forced me to take ballet. One time after class I was practicing my plie and kept saying “SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” every time I went down. It’s still a going joke regarding my gracefulness. Some things you never outgrow 🙂

  27. That looks like a good one to do. Couldn’t you do it holding a regular dumbbell too?

    Bit emotional this morning. Been a long weekend.

  29. peeking in from the Real World (& not the fun MTV kind)….good GOSH I needed your kind comments this morning!

    Life calls.

    Thoughts in a bit.

    GO CONGRATULATE FitMom on her marathon!

    M

  32. I love the kettle bell! I think that it’s alot about form with it though, you can do a lot of these with bad form and not get the best resaults.

  33. I actually have 3 of the 4 DVD’s (never did make it back to snag the Yoga), and they’re lined up on the shelf with my other fitness DVD’s (by subject and color-coordinated, cuz I’m OCD like that).

    Oh, and you may call me Roo (just know that other than the Hubs, you’re the only one who’s allowed to). = )

  34. ttfn300? Miz.Roo? PLEASE TO COME OVER.

    clean & OCD up my domicile.

    I need a big ole dollop MORE of typeAorganization in my life.

    and you got an AMEN bobbi (and marcy. tho mine is only thisclose to 3).
    I almost didnt post for that reason (& injury) but decided to just post and review and reiterate and rereiterate.

    Miz.

  35. I loved the kettlebell and everything. I haven’t done many lower body exercises in a while (knee issue) but I’ll give these a shot!

  36. Love the plie squats. I did them all the time when I was preggo and I swear they helped w/childbirth.

    I’m so envious of your sunny weather.

  39. I could use more of the Type A Organization in my life as well… I was way more organized before I had kids (I think).

    Love the plie squats- thanks for the reminder. I could use one of those Motivational Match-Ups… but I need a highly motivated person to be matched up with me, else I’ll just drag them down to my lazy level.

  40. Good G-D Im a mom. I cant not stifle the urge to say BE CAREFUL TRICIA2!

    Allison? I always use the 2 terms interchangeably (which means nothing.)—anyone else?

    gina? Im in awe that you CAN with an overhead press. ‘Nuff said.

    Tammy? I wasnt more organized but I so claim that. I also claim that I used to have a perfect manicure (aka notdonebyteeth) and a nice haircut.
    it doesnt work with those who knew me prior however…

    and you made me LAUGH about the dragging down.

    sometimes that’s just what we (the royal. the entire band) need! dont knock it.

    M.

  46. I love these squats, but I have to do them immediately after a run so that I have a day to recover afterwards. I’ve found that running is not enough to strengthen my legs and these leave me both stiff and sore. It’s a good sore though, I think. 😉

  47. Ooh, on behalf of myself (and I see now also Leah), can you do these against a wall for back support? I mean, obviously that would take some of the weight off your legs so you wouldn’t be working as hard, but you could do more reps, right right?

    I love lactic acid build-up in my legs. Massochist that I am.

    TA x

  49. Greta PLEASE TO NOTE that the ‘looking like me’ comes with the bigassDUFFELBAGS under my eyes.

    ya still in?

    Debby? thank you. thank you. thank you. I so appreciate being appreciated 😉

    Seabreeze? and Ive found I can barely walk the next day after running. it all hits such different muscle groups huh?

    TA? YOU CRAZY! (the lactic acid) and I say YES on the modification.
    it’s all about mind/body connection and focusing on working the muscles as much as you can with out incurring further injury.

    Im with you Josha. lovehate. as with lunges…and burpees…
    M.

  55. Thank you! I can do this with a dumbell. Will try anything to help lift my saggy bottom! With the fat slowly going, I can no longer pretend I have a butt!

  56. I can’t watch the video at work, so apologies if you covered this in the vid, but please remember to protect your knees! You can tell if your knees are aligned this way:

    Assume the position. (LOL, I’m SO immature!)
    Do the plie/squat/whatever.
    Make sure your back is straight up when you do – no leaning over!
    Now, from your straight-backed, bent-legged position, look down.
    You should be able to look down past the insides of your knees and JUST see your big toes below and in front of them.
    That’s how you know your knees are aligned properly and that you’re not putting your weight into your knees (when it should be in your legs).
    If you can’t see your toes? Turn your feet a LITTLE more toward the front, and try again, concentrating on using your inner thigh muscles to open your legs. Eventually you’ll find your comfortable turnout (which probably won’t be very wide, but as your legs get stronger, your turnout will get wider).
    (Geez, I’m going to feel dumb if I get home and watch the vidoe only to discover that this comment is TOTALLY redundant!! LOL)

  59. I just had flashbacks of my ballet teacher smacking my legs during bar exercises with her cane! Pliés are a killer workout on the legs. It’s even better if you can relevé and hold your balance 🙂

  61. I LOVE the leg exercises you can do at home! I would love to cancel my gym membership and spend that money on something else. Thanks MizFit!

  62. Thanks for this. With my screwed up shoulder, I can only do lower body work. This is something to break up the monotony…

  63. MizFit Matchup Peeps? Got your emails and a post is coming next week with specifics.

    dont fret if I dont respond to your email as Im not—–the next thing you’ll get is your match!

    M.

  66. Alright – fair trade off on the inability to walk after running or squats. I’m determined to work on mine though. I could walk today, but I only did squats 50 yesterday and no run.

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