Natalie Portman is an extraordinary woman. Not only is she smart, talented, and beautiful; she’s also serious about taking care of herself.
It’s no surprise that her role as Nina the ballerina in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is generating some serious Oscar buzz! I don’t think I ever realized how hard ballerinas have to work in order to get into top physical shape until I went online to find out more about Natalie and what she went through to prepare herself physically. I was a little shocked to find that she started her training an entire year before shooting even began on the film!
Tips on sticking to a regimen:
- Don’t think about it. Thinking about what you’re going to do before you do it makes you hesitant, and chances are you’ll come up with an excuse not to work out.
- Stick to a schedule. Try not to vary your work out times too often, your body has an internal clock and getting it used to exercise at a certain time helps.
- Reach for the fruit! Immediately after a workout it’s understandable to want to reward yourself. Once again, don’t think about it, reach for the fruit instead of the pizza!
Natalie adopted a strict training regimen and diet, the same kind that professional dancers adhere to: working 5 to 8 hours a day, doing extreme cardio exercises that include swimming (up to a mile per day), crunches, squats, step aerobics, and she also used the elliptical trainer.
It’s impossible not to be motivated by Natalie’s performance, but remember staying in shape is a process, one that requires human spirit and determination. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
Did you know?
- Ballet began as a interpretive dance… of fencing!
- Most ballerina’s retire around the age of 40
- The highest rank of “Prima Ballerina Assoluta” has only been officially bestowed on 11 ballerinas in over 100 years.
- “If I can’t dance then I’d rather be dead.”, the words of Anna Pavlova, the most famous ballerina in history, when told that the operation that could save her life would also mean she would never dance again. She died from complications caused by pneumonia three weeks later.
Health and love,
Summer
I like Natalie Portman not only she’s beautiful, she maintains to have a degree in spite of her showbiz career. I watched Black Swan I must say that she’s really very good! I thought that she is a true ballerina, in all fairness, she gave justice to her role. Yes, she deserves an award for this
This is true. Staying in shape requires determination and discipline. It is hard but the outcome is very rewarding.
We have different approach on how we can attain our goals. Natalie belongs to the few female Hollywood celebrities who maintains a low profile. She has disciplined herself through the years she has been in the industry (she started at the age of 13). Now, she reaps the reward by bagging the coveted Best Actress award in the recently concluded Oscar Awards for her role in the movie “Black Swan”. I watched it and I can say that she did a great job in toning her body like a true ballerina. Imagine, she has been training for that role for a year! Meaning, sticking to a healthy regimen will yield good results!
I am much more beautiful than natalie and much better ballerina than her!
We need to have the motivation, determination and the discipline in order to succeed in every endeavor we have. At first it would be hard but once your system is used to it, it will be effortless.
Take the first step and enjoy the rewards afterwards.