by Carol G

Created on: December 30, 2006   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Best for thighs, calves, arms, stomach, neck and derriere and is gentle to the body Callanetics. More than a speedy return to my pre maternity wardrobe, Callan Pinckney's one-hour exercise program also kicked off a brand new facet of my life. When I saw her svelte figure on Good Morning America, I could hardly believe she was fifty. She talked with Fred Griffith and claimed impressive results with her followers. In the meantime, I took in the show with jaded eyes and guarded ears. The interview was only about five minutes, during which time she addressed the phony advertising claims depicting before and after weight loss. The after, thinner picture chopped off up to sixty pounds, however a skilled airbrush artist did all the work. Hoping Callan's claims were true, I jumped in the car and trekked to Barnes's and Noble. I bought her fully illustrated book and it was one of the best investments I've ever made.

Her namesake program, Callanetics, resulted from years of devising a way to get rid of her back problems. She discussed how ten years of traveling overloaded with a sixty-pound backpack eventually took its toll. Upon returning to the U.S. she decided to re-establish her involvement with ballet, the love of her life. During exercising to get her conditioning back, she used small movements so as not to exacerbate the muscle spasms in her back. With the restoration of her flexibility and strength, she decided to share her methods with the world. None of the movements are over three inches.

When I got started, I used up a lot of time going over the detailed instructions. I thought everything would be effortless since the focus was all on small movements. Well, they weren't easy, but they weren't strenuous either. Improvement photos of the students encouraged me to slog forward. I was astonished and elated to get rid of the saggy old maternity attire, but more than that, I felt energized, and relaxed all at the same time. An additional pay off was that I never got the knee surgery, which my physician deemed inevitable.

The only equipment I felt I needed was an exercise bar that I installed in the top of a doorframe for stretching and warm-ups. Some of the exercises required props such as chairs, or counter tops. In Callan's New York City studio, she had mirrors and workout bars installed all around.

Looking back, the one-hour program actually took about two hours at first. In the beginning, I rested between quite a few of the reps, especially the ones for the

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