What happened? What kind of system is this that has suddenly declared itself on the Russian-language Internet? What's special about it?
Let's try to figure out this issue (it seems that after investigating the origins of the Maggi diet, the author liked the laurels of Sherlock Holmes).
Callan Pinkney
The founder of the Callanetics system, Callan Pinkney, is an example and idol of many American housewives - a woman who did not have any education, but possessed healthy adventurism and commercial savvy, was able to earn millions without inventing anything new.
And it all started like this. Barbara Biffinger Pfeiffer Callan was born in Georgia back in 1939. In a famous family of adventurers and explorers in the US South, 9 generations of whom played an important role in the creation of the state of South Carolina.
A girl was born with a congenital defect - a curved spine, which placed one of her hips higher than the other and prevented normal walking. She wore braces on her leg until she was 7 years old, and then was sent to a classical ballet school for 10 years to further correct the defect.
The girl was raised like a southern lady, studied in the best schools, but always had problems with teachers because of her violent character. Having barely completed high school, Callan, at the insistence of her father, who considered it obligatory for a lady to have a good education, went to college.
But her family's passion for adventure did not allow her to carry out her father's plans. After studying for a couple of years, at the age of 21, the girl drops out of college. Her stern father deprives her of financial support, hoping that she will come to her senses. But in 1961, after gathering his things, Callan escapes from his bedroom window (on the second floor). She boards a cargo ship bound for Germany and leaves her native shores for 11 years.
For almost a year she has been traveling around Europe doing odd jobs, and as winter approaches, she moves to London, where she shovels snow from the streets for $3 a day. Lives in a semi-basement, unheated room, drinking 40 glasses of sweet tea a day to keep warm. Despite the hard work, she is improving greatly. If upon departure to the USA the girl weighed 48 kg, then during the winter her weight reaches 58.5.
Next, her path lies to Africa. Callan visited South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Congo, Kenya, and Zaire. She worked as an animal migration research assistant, not shying away from taking extra work home. Not eating enough food and suffering from dysentery led to her weight dropping to 35 kilograms. Daily movements with a large backpack resulted in old problems with the spine.
Soon she leaves Africa and heads to India, and then through Sri Lanka to Japan. Back pain is getting worse.
While traveling from India to Japan, she meets a Canadian woman, to whom she shows ballet exercises during moments of relaxation. It was at this point that Callan realized that they were helping her fight back pain and improve flexibility and muscle tone.
In Japan, she is hired to narrate a documentary because of the “pure English pronunciation” she learned in South Africa. Then she worked in a restaurant, wrote notes in a magazine about her travels, and did sewing.
By the end of her journey, the girl again found herself in London. The pain continued to torment her and she went to the doctors. Doctors offered her surgery, but she decided to return to ballet, signing up for yoga at the same time. She also went to the rehabilitation center of the famous German dancer Lotte Berk.
Lotta received a severe back injury and came up with her own rehabilitation program. Here Callan understands how in demand this kind of service is, learns a lot from Burke and, having completely restored his form, returns to the USA.
In 1972, 33-year-old Callan crosses the US border, but she does not return home, but goes to New York, where she gets a job as a fitness instructor. Over time, she begs the owner to allow her to introduce the exercises she learned in London. But the owner sets the condition that if this does not lead to an increase in clients, then he will fire her.
Over the course of several weeks, Callan experiments with various ballet exercises, trying to find the ones that are most suitable for an untrained person. When a middle ground is found (by this time almost her entire group has scattered), she quits her job and opens her own courses in a rented apartment.
At the same time, turning to a psychic, she learns that her real name, Barbara, is not suitable for commercial success. And with the help of a numerologist, he chooses the name Callan.
Commercial success of Callanetics
Classes with Callan Pinkney are gradually gaining popularity, but they are still very far from fame. Callan takes the first step towards her when she calls on all her followers to speak publicly about her new set of exercises 10 times a day. She explains this action by an additional, psychological effect on the body during the day, which helps to better adapt to the system, but in fact this is a brilliant advertising move.
Every day, for months, her followers, many times a day, in various companies and public places, mention Callan Pinkney’s exercises. New clients, in turn, are included in the process. Information begins to spread exponentially.
It was at this time that the word “callanetics” was born. Every time in public conversations it is not very convenient to mention “a set of static exercises developed by Callan Pinkney” and one of the regular clients begins to use the term “Callan-ETICS”, which was later transformed into “callanetics”.
7 years after starting her own system, Callan still gives lessons in a rented room, but her fame is already spreading far beyond the United States.
In 1984, followers persuade her to write a book and help with its publication. The manual is equipped with many photographs of her from different periods and a story about her life, it contains many photos of her followers and even several photographs of her mother, one part is devoted to the exercise system itself. The book “10 Years Younger in 10 Hours” is published in September of the same year. The main advertising slogan of callanetics is “in 10 workouts you can look 10 years younger.”
Within two years, the book becomes a bestseller, selling more than 2 million copies. Demand for Callan herself is skyrocketing. Although she still teaches for $25 an hour in the same rented apartment, people who want to recover from all over the world are already coming to her.
The small premises do not allow for more than 6 patients to be treated simultaneously, and in 1986 Callan released a commercial video with his program. The video soars to the very top of the charts, it is so actively sold out that it is still the champion in sales of this type of product of all times.
According to experts, the miracle of the video’s implementation is due to the fact that a very small number of people actually had contact with the author, which practically excluded negative reviews of the system and the author himself. And all the criticism that appeared was explained by the incorrect individual interpretation of the book or video lessons.
Finally, in 1987, Callan decides to take a step towards publicity. She begins to train instructors according to her system and, recruiting a team from her former patients, goes to the elephant polo championship in Nepal. The Ladies Callanetics team, in stylish red and white uniforms, made a splash at the championship. And although they finished in 6th place, losing their only match 4-1, the effect of the advertising was amazing.
Returning to the United States, 48-year-old Callan wrote a second book, Callanetics for Your Back, which was published in 1988 and also became a bestseller. Soon another video appears. The following year, 1988, a more complex set of exercises was developed and “Super Callanetics” video tutorials appeared, which became the most popular among all Callan Pinkney products. This is the peak of the heyday of Callanetics.
Already at this time, the first signs of a decline in interest in the technique began to appear and Callan decided to use the unplowed field of high society and celebrities.
“Simple” exercises before practicing callanetics
Before training, you need to warm up your muscles.
Here are some exercises:
1. Tighten your muscles with your feet shoulder-width apart. And so breathe evenly for about a minute. Next, relax.
2. Feet shoulder-width apart, raise your arms up and stretch. Now lean forward and down, stretch your arms back. Unbending, the pelvis forward and to the starting position.
3. Do a half squat, arms forward, back straight. Stay in the pose for as long as you can.
4. Stand in the position of a swimmer about to jump into the water: straight arms back/forward, straight back, chin forward.
5. Bend forward to your legs alternately, pressing your chest to your knees. Try to touch your toes and hold for a few seconds.
These exercises will help you avoid injuries during training.
Callanetics and high society
Through his followers in Australia, Callan promotes the benefits of callanetics to the Duchess of York, Sarah, who is on the continent at the time. The duchess, interested, upon arrival in England, contacts Callan Pinckney and invites her to London. It's December 1988.
Callan was given a hotel near the Palace, and for several weeks she has been caring for the duchess, who has become plump after giving birth.
Callan's adventurous genius shines through here too. She chose not just a lady from high society, but one who had recently given birth, whose return to her previous form did not require noticeable external influence.
After a few weeks of training, the Duchess of York becomes noticeably slimmer, and Callan returns to the States in a blaze of glory. Almost all major US publications devote their front pages to the American who managed to return the royal lady to her previous form. The rich and famous are starting to turn to her. For example, Barbara Streisand becomes one of the ardent fans of Callanetics.
But the main sales of her books and video lessons are collected in Britain. She returned here several more times in 1989, participating in the advertising campaign for her books.
Pros and cons of the program
Pros:
1. The Callan Pinkney program will help you tighten your body, improve your silhouette, and create a beautiful and slender body.
2. Callanetics helps to work out the deepest muscles that are not involved in regular exercises.
3. The complex is divided into segments: you can study the whole video, or you can select only individual parts.
4. Callanetics will help make your legs straighter, slimmer and longer without forming sculpted muscles. You will get rid of problem areas on the stomach, thighs and buttocks.
5. The program offers a non-impact load that is safe for the back and joints.
6. The video has been translated into Russian, which means you can understand all the explanations from the trainer-creator of callanetics.
Callanetics franchising
By 1990, sales continued to fall and Callan decided to create a franchise at the Callanetics studio. She opens the Callanetics Franchising Corporation, with headquarters in Denver, where she trains instructors from all over the world, prepares guidelines for centers opening around the world, and sells licenses for them.
Again through his students, Callan takes out a bank loan and opens his own instructor training centers around the world so that those who wish do not have to travel to the USA. She herself trains teachers, who then train instructors, and at the same time continues to publish her books and video lessons, which are becoming less and less successful.
Each new book was practically a repetition of the previous one. There were no new thoughts in them, because... the system was not her own know-how, but a hodgepodge she had gleaned from a German dancer in her distant youth. The new teaching aids were either shorter (increased) lessons in time, or with reduced (increased) complexity.
Tips for beginners
To get the maximum benefit from classes, you need to adhere to several rules:
- At the initial stage, practice in front of a mirror to control the correctness of the exercises.
- Monitor your breathing and do not hold.
- Practice in silence so as not to lose your breath to the rhythm of the music.
- Increase the load gradually.
- Do not strive to immediately perform the maximum number of repetitions: it is better to do 20 times, but correctly and at full strength, than 50, but in a semi-fainting state.
At the initial stage of training, a slight weight gain and an increase in abdominal volume are possible. You shouldn’t be afraid of this: when weakened muscles get used to the load, the volumes will begin to rapidly decrease.
Decline of callanetics
In the early 90s, having launched the franchise, Callan focused on publishing, hoping to repeat the success of the first books. Having exhausted herself in callanetics, she turns to her connection to nutrition, healing from stress and the negative impact of menopause. In 1994, the book “Callanetics: Health Forever” was published, intended for middle-aged women. But this book, not the subsequent “CardioCallanetics”, where the author turns to aerobic exercise and weight loss, are no longer successful, although they were published in more countries than previous works.
The lack of at least some education, a naive view of many serious problems, an attempt to cure humanity of all its global ills with the help of a limited set of ballet stretching exercises, turned the thinking part of society away from callanetics. Callanetics is becoming a refuge for housewives who prefer self-soothing “lazy” fitness.
In the same year, 1994, the Callanetics franchising corporation collapsed. Nobody wants to pay for a license for an outdated system that has not shown anything remarkable in the 20 years of its existence. More effective and advanced techniques, such as Pilates, are entering the market.
Callan stops writing and retires completely. There are still callanetics studios around the world - islands of a collapsed empire, even new ones are opening in the countries of Eastern Europe, where enterprising adventurers present the system as the latest know-how, but the development of the Internet and access to English-language sources is cutting off the oxygen here too.
In the 2000s, Callan made another attempt to resurrect callanetics, outraged by what her brainchild had become at the suggestion of “leftist” instructors. But this attempt was doomed to failure. People stopped perceiving her as a fitness guru, and without a big name, the system could not withstand competition. In addition, it turned out that callanetics has many contraindications.
Barbara Biffinger Pfeiffer Callan died on March 1, 2012 at the age of 72, an ordinary retiree.
The advantages of callanetics over other types of fitness
If the difference between the gym, aerobics classes and callanetics are obvious, then the differences between calm types of fitness are completely invisible to the untrained eye. To figure out what you want to get as a result, you should look at the table.
| Callanetics | Bodyflex | Pilates | Stretching | Yoga | |
| Do you need an instructor? | The exercise technique is easy to learn on your own | An instructor is needed to establish breathing and monitor the correct execution of exercises at the initial stage. | You can study on your own | You can study on your own | You should only practice with an instructor, especially at the beginning. |
| What do you need for classes? | Mat only | For a complete workout - a mat. But if necessary, you can practice anywhere, even at work during your lunch break, without having any equipment at hand | You will need a mat, dumbbells, rubber shock absorbers and a fitball. | Need a mat, resistance bands | Mat only |
| Required level of training | Satisfactory initial training, many exercises are difficult | Suitable for people in poor physical shape | Suitable for people in poor physical shape | Suitable for people in poor physical shape | Satisfactory initial training, many exercises are difficult |
| Main effect | Models the body, mainly the abdomen, hips, buttocks | Reducing body volume | Focuses on strengthening the spine | Improves joint flexibility and mobility | Strengthening the body, eliminating muscle tension, calming the mind |
| Is it suitable for weight loss? | Very effective for weight loss | Effective for weight loss | Aimed at promoting health, not shaping the figure | Doesn't have a goal of losing weight | The weight loss effect is insignificant |
| Breathing technique | Smooth, calm breathing throughout your workout | A complex breathing system, the correct execution of which determines the final result | Breathing is smooth, deep, without delay, exhaling while tense, inhaling when relaxing | Breathing is not given much attention | Breathing is given great importance. It is different in each exercise. There are breath holds both during inhalation and exhalation. |
| Contraindications | May increase blood pressure, contraindicated for hypertension. Difficult for people with high weight | May increase blood pressure, contraindicated in hypertension | Has no contraindications | No contraindications | The program is adjusted individually by the instructor, depending on the health status of each student. |
Callanetics in RuNet
Until the end of her life, Callan Pinkney tried to fight those who she essentially was - commercial adventurers.
Having a huge printed and video base left after the collapsed empire, enterprising amateurs, former athletes, failed fitness instructors rushed to master callanetics and adjust it to their ideas about fitness. After all, for the commercialization of a product its effectiveness is not important; external attributes and presentation matter much more.
And if in the English-speaking environment the most uneducated people fell for the bait, then in RuNet, where there is no reliable information about the system, pseudo-callonetics flourished. Not only callanetics groups are being created, but also studios and even centers that teach this system to instructors. Apparently, each of the adventurers secretly dreams of repeating the success of Callan Pinkney.
Callan Pickney - a short photo essay of her life's journey
Callanetics video lesson from ancestor Callan Pinkney
Unfortunately, finding videos of normal quality is becoming increasingly difficult, because... all callanetics training directly from Callan Pickney is blocked due to a complaint from the copyright holder (video courses are still sold, for example, on Amazon).
PS. Of course, it’s better to do callanetics than to lie on the couch and watch TV. But if you set yourself some specific goals, then it is better to use more modern fitness complexes.
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- Home Walking Leslie Sanson
- Slim figure in 30 days
- Face lift exercises
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- Facial massage (self-massage)
(=== >>)
Indications and contraindications
With the help of her exercises, Callan intended to correct her figure. Static poses and stretches, which supposedly should give peace and tranquility, and at the same time burn energy, should simultaneously use the muscles of the abdomen and sides, hips and buttocks, including internal muscles that are difficult to reach for gymnastics. It contains exercises for losing weight on your arms and even your face.
While enterprising Americans are suing and dividing up their inheritance, our Russian craftsmen are shamelessly replicating lessons that can often be downloaded for free and without registration. Fans claim that callanetics is effective for weight loss. For example, you can take an interest in the 2021 video, getting the latest ideas about the issue.
Not everyone can use a set of 29 exercises.
They are contraindicated:
- people with a diseased spine, due to large static loads on the ligaments;
- those who have never been involved in fitness or sports and are not physically developed enough;
- for those who have heart and vascular diseases, varicose veins;
- after surgery, especially caesarean section;
- for those who have problems with the fundus of the eye, intraocular pressure (high load on the blood vessels of the eye);
- contrary to popular belief, it is better not to exercise during pregnancy;
- patients with bronchial asthma.
Heavy static loads can only be carried out by those who are well prepared. Otherwise, instead of benefit, you can get serious injuries, the consequences of which will affect you for a very long time. Exercises for beginners should correspond to the level of physical development.
