Ballet Fitness

hi guys, 

As many of you may already know, I am a dancer and have been since I was a baby! I started taking Ballet when I was two, and have been dancing and loving it ever since....I danced for a company and studio until I graduated high school and I danced 30+ hours a week, and most of those hours were ballet classes. I never realized how hard of a workout ballet was until I went back to take class today after almost a year and a half. 

Let me tell you, ballet is a freaking workout! It doesn't matter if you're a Cross fit guru or you work out twice a day, you still wouldn't be in "Ballet Shape". It uses so many muscles that you don't use when you're at the gym. I was dying during the barre exercises and can already feel that I am going to be VERY sore tomorrow. So I decided to make a list of the some simple "Ballet Workouts" for all of you to try out.

These workouts are Ballet Inspired, and anyone can do them!

1. plies and grande plies

Plies are such a good leg and core workout. It seems like a really simple workout, but when done correctly and repeated it can really tone and sculpt your legs. And we all want Ballet dancers legs! 

For an extra workout hold your arm out in the position above, and for an even better arm workout add some weights to your hands.

Here is a YouTube link showing exactly how to do Ballet Plies. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWfF0b6BX0E

2. relevé

(definition: to rise)

Releves are the best thing for your calves! It elongates and tones your legs. Your legs will be Summer ready, and you can rock those heels. Start by doing releves (calf raises) in first position. Start by doing 50 a day then add 5 to 10 more a day. Make sure you stretch because your legs will be sore fast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unv8TS3JO6U

3. stretching

Stretching is SO good for your muscles and can help to prevent any serious injuries. Ballet dancers stretch daily and consistently in class. That's why they are so flexible! Flexibility can help a lot in working out or just in completing daily tasks. (Bending over to pick something off the floor) So stretch. ASAP

Wish I could still do this.....

Xo.

CD

Winter city.

i love the holidays.
Time to shop and eat amazing desserts! And of course spend time with family and friends. Colten got this weekend off of work last minute so we have been spending a lot of time home together which has been nice since usually around the Holidays we don't get to see each other as much. 
We went to downtown SLC last night and went to The City Creek mall. It took us seriously about an hour and a half to get there because of the snow and bad bad roads. We initially went to go Christmas shopping for other people. But we ended up buying stuff for ourselves....whoops.
Anyway, here are some photos from this weekend and last week. ENJOY

Xo.

CD

Wise Words.

Hey all! I am not a huge fan of posting quotes everywhere all over social media. But I do have a Pinterest board dedicated to them! Everyone go check out my Pinterest page!

http://www.pinterest.com/cierandastrup/boards/

Here are some of my favorite picture quotes to share with all of you.

enjoy

Xo.

CD

The Holidays!

CHRISTMAS is just around the corner, which means I get to do my favorite thing a lot more then usual....SHOPPING. I seriously love shopping so so much, whether I am buying items for myself or for other people. 

I have five siblings, my oldest brother Scott is married to a lovely lady named Hillary and they have one son (Jude) and a baby girl on the way.

My older sister Arielle is married to a man named Nick. They also have one son (Beckham) and a baby boy on the way!

Then there is my older brother Jordan who is dating a girl named Anjali, and he has a dog named Nalla.

Then me. And I am ofcourse dating the hottest guy Colten.

And lastly my younger brother Carston, who is in highschool and a total nerd. (That's okay because one day he will be a doctor) 

So as you can see I have a big family. So buying presents for everyone can be expensive, but fortunately we draw names and just have to buy for one person. That way we can focus on getting that one person a nicer gift rather then buying everyone cheap thoughtless gifts.

I have Hillary this year :)

Earlier this year my family modeled for The Riverwoods outdoor mall in Provo, Utah. They barely posted them on their website, go check us out!

http://shopsatriverwoods.com/

My sister Arielle, her husband Nick & son Beckham.

Brother Scott, wife Hillary & son Jude.

Mom & dad on right.

Anyway, happy Holidays and spend a lot of time with your family because that's really what is most important!

Xo.

CD

Giving thanks.

So Thanksgiving is over, and Black Friday is coming to a close as well. Thank heavens. I had a pretty good Thanksgiving Holiday, but unfortunately didn't document it as well as I could have...I may have only taken a couple photos. That's alright though, because I was busy trying to enjoy the Holiday. I decided I would try to make a dessert this year to bring to my Grandparents house, I found the recipe on Pinterest and thought it looked interesting and fun and wanted to try it out. This was the recipe!

Super cute right?? The recipe looked super easy and pretty doable, but unfortunately easier said then done. They turned out pretty bad, and didn't taste good at all! I was so upset! It took me two hours....and I just had to throw it all away. 

Oh well, here are some (very little) photos I took yesterday.

Pecan Pie!

Me

My cute brother Scott, his wife Hillary and son Jude.

Love them!

BLACK FRIDAY.

With it being Black Friday, I of course took the opportunity to take advantage of the good deals going on in some of my favorite stores and honestly I just like being out during all the craziness to people watch.. I'm not crazy like some people are about waking up at 2 am or even going shopping Thanksgiving night though. That doesn't seem worth it to me at all. 

So I went shopping this morning, then went over to my brother Scott's cute house to shoot a video for a company he is working for. I absolutely adore his house and how they have decorated it. They have all their Christmas decorations up and I could not help but take pictures. Look how freaking cute!

Living space

love.

feet and fireplace

Judes so sweet

love hanging with my nephew

naughty list.

nice list.

cute freckles!

long day.

Happy Belated Holidays everyone.

Xo.

CD