The Callanetics exercise programme was created by Callan Pinckney in the early 1980s. It is a system of exercise involving frequent repetition of small muscular movements and squeezes, designed to improve muscle tone.^[1] The programme was developed by Pinckney from classical ballet exercises, to help ease a back problem that she was born with.

The theory of callanetics is that the surface muscles of the body are supported by deeper muscles, but popular exercise programmes often exercise only the surface muscles. According to callanetics, deeper muscles are best exercised using small but precise movements. Exercising the deeper muscles also leads to improved posture, which may result in the appearance of weight loss even if very little weight was lost.^[2]

Pinckney also recommends exercising with clothing that highlight (not flatter) the body's natural shape, and exercising in bright light, so show up the body's imperfections to the exerciser.

References

1. ^ http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/Callanetics
2. ^ Book: Callanetics, by Callan Pinckney and Sallie Batson, 1984, inside page

External links

• Callanetics.com

What is Callanetics?

Callanetics is an exercise system that isolates a specific muscle or group of muscles and so enables the target area to be worked intensely with small powerful deep movements to produce visible results fast by tightening and reshaping the body whilst increasing flexibility and stamina.

Callanetics was developed by Callan Pinckney . She had back and joint problems and was told she couldn't exercise. She wasn't prepared to accept that and set about developing an exercise system that she could use safely and that would actually increase her mobility and reduce her joint pain. Callanetics was the result.


How does it work?

Everyone's body and physiology work in the same way. Muscles can only be altered by subjecting them to stresses. Basically all muscular exercise works on this principle. In Callanetics the body is put into a position for the subject muscles that enables those muscles to be stressed throughout the exercise rather than at just one point in it. The muscle is then pulsed only a sixteenth of an inch but that fraction of an inch is sufficient to stress those muscles on each pulse so the workout is an intensive one with no wasted energy.