It was a book that she had around the house when I was growing up.
"Callanetics: 10 years Younger in 10 Hours"
It is basically pilates type moves, deep core muscle exercises which Callan Pickney, the creator, claims you only need to do 2 times a week for dramatic results. She also claims that the 1 hour of Callanetics equals 7 hours of conventional exercise.
Here are some pictures from her "Portfolio of Proof"
YOWZA!
These pictures mortified me as a teenager! But now, hey -- I don't think model Jeanne here looks too bad : )
Believe it or not these exercises actually work. Well here's the rub. Yes there is always a rub . . .
My sister and I were doing these last summer, but I think we only made it through six sessions. We cried till we laughed. Yes, I said that right. .... You will see results after 2-3 one hour workouts if you really do them right--i.e. go to the depths of hell in exercise pain.(Oh and it usually takes me closer to 2 hours to actually do all of the exercises properly). The thigh exercises make me want to kill someone. Seriously, they are that bad. My sister and I would end up cracking ourselves up by screaming profanities at (and in the name of) Callan Pickney.
This is one of my favorite exercises in the book.
It looks pretty easy right? TRY IT! I promise you that if you do all 100 of these the way she instructs, you, yourself, will curse Callan the next day because you will not be able to move your arms. FYI, this particular one is a good stand alone and one you can do while you are on the treadmill or just watching TV.
Since this book was written in the early 80s, it also has some laugh-out-loud worthy advice/tidbits:
"Belted exercise uniforms are more fashionable than functional, I have seen women cinch their belts so tightly their waists look gorgeous, but they can hardly breathe properly, much less bend over. "
"We are in the decade of the derriere. American women and men are more concerned with their hips and rear ends than with their bustline. However, many beautiful women have let their buttocks lose their peach-like roundness, settling for a pear-shaped bulge."
You can't help but get swept up in Callan's enthusiam with passages like this . . .
Laugh at yourself if your body wont cooperate. Talk to your muscles, caress them, cajole them, tease them and soon you will be able to get them to do anything you ask. Each hour of exercise you do, your body becomes stronger and firmer and lovelier.
That's it. I am ready!
PS: I read somewhere once that Madonna does these exercises.
