Ballet or Gymnastics as an adult male?

[twins4heaven]

Hi guys.

Over the past year I've checked out a lot of weekly activities in my area but I thought maybe I should stick to one rather then constantly doing different things.

I was wondering what your experience with gymnastics and ballet were? Theres some points specific to me bellow but any discussion is good discussion.

I was tossing up between Areal Silks, Gymnastics and ballet. A few points about them:

Silks:

• Silks is the most expensive
• It's really fun and get plenty of time with the teacher
• I did two terms, around the second half of the second term I feel like I plateaued and I can't get better without dedicating more then an hour a week to it
• It's really expensive
• I've basically decided to not do silks but people are still able to convince me.

Gymnastics:

• Gymnastics is the cheapest.
• Kind of just an open gym where we can ask questions.
• I feel like I could learn most the stuff that I'll be capable of (handstands, handsprings, one arm cartwheels) by myself in a park or something.
• I will be able to progress in all the tricks a lot faster in a gym made to learn them with teachers giving me hints.
• It starts about an hour after the other classes so I'll have to wait around after work or go home for half hour and head back

Ballet:

• I was basically set on doing this because the instructor said I'll get a discount if I do this and hip-hop classes. BUT the day hip-hop is clashed with ultimate Frisbee and I've decided I'd rather do Frisbee.
• This guys ballet performance is really motivational. I know I'll never be professional but I like the idea of doing jumping twirls and such.
• I'm not sure how much I can actually learn as a 23 year old kinda-flexible dude.
• Class is a bit shorter then the others (45 minutes) but there is a lot less fluffing around then the others.

I see a lot of people doing dance/gymnastics/silks for strength and cardio but when I did them all I didn't get super tired and I've reached the point in BWF that I don't consider them to be strength training.

For me it's more about what will make me more graceful and learn cool tricks.

I really like the idea of Ballet but I'm worried I started too late to learn the cool stuff. With Gymnastics I know for sure I'll be able to learn cool tricks (a lot faster then if I practised at home).

I thought this would be the best sub because body weight workouts have been consistently my main physical activity.

 

[clndr_]

@twins4heaven I think it's a wrong question to ask this sub, and wrong to ask anyone really. What would you rather do? Do that. If you can't decide flip a coin, if you don't like what the coin chose then do the other thing.

 

[twins4heaven]

@clndr_ Yeah, your right about that.

I think I want to do ballet, just not sure how good I can get with just 45 minutes of classes a week. If the answer is "not very" then I'll jump to gymnastics or silks in a heartbeat.

 

[clndr_]

@twins4heaven Doesn't really matter how good you get if you're getting fullfilment and enjoyment from the activity though does it? If your goal is getting good though both gymnastics and ballet can be done at home so if you get a good teacher who can show you things and then practice more at home the class length doesn't really matter. This is all my opinion but I think if you would prefer to do ballet then that's what you should do.

 

[twins4heaven]

@clndr_ That was a really wholesome read. Thank you . I think I will be doing ballet. At least for a while.

 

[pcolsen]

@twins4heaven I took ballet for the first time in college, I ran track, fenced, & wrestled and had two years of movement class in theater school. I have never felt so ungraceful in my life. I watched the other dancers glide effortlessly beside me while it felt (to me) like I was trying to dance while wearing flippers.

But (!) It was a great class. Be careful if you have any knee/ankle/foot issues. Ballet is not kind to those body parts especially. Really not kind.

Also, if you have a strong upper body, be prepared to do lifts.

Most importantly, enjoy!

 

[onestepbeyond]

@clndr_ if you realistically/practically cannot get good (perform above a beginner level let's say), it's no fun. plyometrics isn't much fun if you're stuck in a wheelchair :/

 

[dawn16]

@twins4heaven I only study Saxophone with a professor for and hour a week. That's so they can show you what you need to work on and give you help with whatever you are struggling with. You get to do ballet for as many hours as you want outside of class.

 

[twins4heaven]

@dawn16 Yeah, I'll defiantly be practising at home a little no matter what I do.

 

[dawn16]

@twins4heaven Hi, I’m a dancer. Trained at a professional ballet company’s school, went to a conservatory, etc etc. The thing about ballet is that improvement is very slow and almost invisible. Especially at the beginning. You will not notice you’re improving. You will struggle to coordinate the simplest jumps. Basic, short combinations will feel clunky and impossible for a while.

It requires an incredible amount of motivation to power through that and accept the very slow pace at which you’re going to relearn how to move your body, down to the tiniest details.

That being said the rewards are fucking indescribable- ballet will help you learn ANYTHING. Any form of dance, gymnastics, running, weightlifting, swimming, whatever. All of it. Because ballet is about coordinating your entire body with complete intentionality to a very high standard.

So yes, do it! Do it do it do it! But don’t expect to be busting out turning jumps at the beginning- you have to learn to point your foot first. And as silly as it sounds, that takes a minute.

 

[twins4heaven]

@dawn16 Yup, I don't expect to be able to do jumping turns for a while but they are a goal Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[dawn16]

@twins4heaven I would do (in fact I started going) gymnastics. And also focus heavily on flexibility. Once you get better flexibility an learn to control your body, any other physical activity will be a piece of cake.

 

[walt74]

@twins4heaven Ballet will probably do a lot for your posture that will carry through into the rest of your life and teach you great habits that will last forever. Even if you don't get good at ballet. And I think if you get really good at ballet, the worst thing about it is that you might get too flexible?

Gymnastics is very hard on your joints. You are probably more likely to get injured. However, it's fucking cool.

You said you've plateaued on silks and it's more expensive. So it seems like the worst one.

Is it impossible to spend some time doing each one?

 

[twins4heaven]

@walt74 With work + doing normal workouts the timing doesn't quite work. I've gone back to full body routines to save time and get decent frequency already

 

[hyperreedy12]

@twins4heaven I think you do a session of each and choose the one that makes you happiest.

 

[collinsgirl82]

@twins4heaven It's only 45 mins a week, why not do both? Sounds like you have plenty of free time.

 

[twins4heaven]

@collinsgirl82 I can, but doing too many things will start getting in the way of my normal workouts is all.

I've been consistant with them for years. Scared if I slow down/stop I won't pick it back up I guess

 

[onestepbeyond]

@twins4heaven you'll get nowhere tbh, ballet is insanely demanding. part of the pleasure of performing any sport is being able to excute it properly to a certain degree and with ballet maybe moreso than any other sport you'll be stuck in shit tier for years, which is frustrating

 

[matylah]

@clndr_ That's the Doctor Who maneuver.

Come to a fork, flip a coin, grimace at the result, turn it over, go the other way. #TeamBaker

 

[rj786]

@clndr_ I too thought "wrong sub!" But the answers are super high quality (including yours.)

This reminds me of the Naked Gun joke where someone is asking the shoe shiner for life advice. The next customer is a fireman who asks a deeply technical question about a warehouse fire... and gets an equally good answer.

This sub is that shoe shiner.