T-Tapp Form: Just Smile and Nod
T-Tapp Form: Just Smile and Nod
by Charlotte Siems
Don’t feel bad if you don’t “get” all of T-Tapp. Even more importantly, don’t give up.
I remember being told to pull belly button to spine during a workout at the annual T-Tapp Retreat at Safety Harbor, Florida. I tried. The problem was I couldn’t even feel my belly button at that point. Even the skin on my tummy was numb. So I sort of smiled and nodded and acted like I knew what they meant.
At another point I received some tips on doing Hit the Floor. A trainer who reviewed my form told me to lift ribs and activate my core. My what?
Although I eventually came to a better understanding about T-Tapp form, at first I just didn’t have the mind-to-muscle connection to get my body to do what it was supposed to do. I was doing good just to mimic Teresa Tapp on the DVD and get through a workout without collapsing.
The biggest thing in my favor was that I kept going. But I didn’t just go through the motions, I learned about form from the T-Tapp forum and the book Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes. That kept me progressing and led me to lose an inch and then another inch.
Guess what? I still don’t have perfect form. Really, none of us do. We are where we are, at our point of position, our fitness level, our health and our history. It’s a journey and we don’t ever arrive and stop exercising.
I know it can get confusing at first. When people feel confused they usually do….nothing.
Don’t fall into that trap. Believe in yourself and believe in T-Tapp. Keep it simple. You’d be surprised what a week (or a month) will do. For now, just smile and nod and act like you know what I mean. Before you know it you really will.
I’d love to hear your thoughts…..leave a comment below…
I always love your posts. They are so encouraging. This one was really helpful!!! Quick question-to sign up for your 30 or 60 day T-Tapp virtual coaching program which T-Tapp DVDs would one need to have? Thank you!!
Thank you so much for that encouragment! I get so discouraged by knowing I am not doing the form correctly, and there is so much emphasis on form, that I will quit. I’ll pick it back up in a few weeks only to quit again – and the cycle has continued. So thank you for making me feel like it is ok if my form is not perfect and if I am not doing it all correctly but instead to just keep trying. So I will try again 🙂
Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement I’m struggling with staying consistent. In the back of my head I keep telling myself it doesn’t matter because it won’t work for me so I quit. I see your pics and read your words and I KNOW that if worked for you, it CAN work for me. So, I’ll keep trying. Thanks again.
Gabrielle (and Stacy)–SO glad to encourage you!! For the 30-day coaching program: Basic Workout Plus and Step Away the Inches. For the 60-day program you have 3 choices: 1) MORE, 2) Basic Workout Plus and Step Away the Inches, 3) Total Workout. If you choose the Total Workout, it’s divided up into shorter workouts. And some people have gone through the program three times, using different workouts each time, to make it stretch to 6 months! (You can go back and re-do it as many time as you wish). Hope this helps!
You are just such a blessing Charlotte! Always encouraging in so many ways. I have been doing T-Tapp for just over 2 years now (just the BWO plus, with some added neighborhood walking, as I deal with fibromyalgia and any more than the 15 min feels like too much for me) and I have noticed that as I continue to watch and listen while I’m following my dvd I will occasionally keep seeing, hearing and understanding more about form; then I incorporate it as mine. I love how T-Tapp helps keep me limber and how I can actually feel some core muscles and more strength now! Its like little light bulbs keep going on… and so do I! Bless you dear one.
I needed to read this today! I’ve been doing T-tapp for a month and a half and having incredible results! I do the MORE workout 6 days a week. But the last two weeks I have lost no weight and only 3/8 inch this last week. I’m ready to cry…but not give up. I’m just going to keep smiling and nodding and praying. You where the encouragement I asked God to send my way. Thank you.
Hi Charlotte-
I clicked the Word Press Admin link to register for the Free homeschool Q & A. Did I just create a word press account or am I registered for the one hour webcast? Thanks.
Here’s the link for the Free Homeschool Q&A Call: https://charlottesiems.com/homeschool-resources/homeschool-call
I watched your video on positioning my feet and I nodded and said “Oh, boy I would just like to see my feet let alone get them that close together…… I have thought about giving up again but I said, “Paula which is the “harder choice” in the long run? Thanks for that insight too? I stuck it out and flopped around and did my t-tapp….but I think I will study the slower version and work with it till my two sides of brain decide to work together. I’m sure I look like a scare crow blowing in the wind. LOL
Thanks Coach, your exactly what I need to shed some of my 198 inches….
I keep repeating something I heard a long time ago that is true…..Inch by inch it will be a cinch….and try to remember it didn’t come over night and it’s going to take a litttle time. Then I visulize myself at 150 lbs.
Paula, I totally get that! Right now, just go to YOUR point of position, which may be feet farther apart. The first time I did Hoe Downs I’m pretty sure I heard the china rattling in the next room, ha! You’re on the right track, visualizing yourself at your goal. Carry on!
Hey Charlotte, I had a quick question that maybe you can answer….I have heard or read somewhere(not sure at the moment :0) ) that when pregnant and T-TAPPing that you should not do organs in place…do you know if this is true?? But I do know that T-TAPP in general is perfectly fine for pregnancy just was questioning the organs in place thing! Thanks for any info you have for me!!
You are correct, Organs in Place (standing or lying down) should not be done while you are pregnant. Other than that, moves are safe to do but you might have to adapt as you get bigger (like Oil Wells–my daughter found them hard to do in the last trimester). Congratulations!!
I am sitting here reding all the comments and am totally encouraged . I have been doing T-Tapp since July and have lost a total of 38.5 inchs and am so excited . I have done other exercises before and nver had this kind of success . I truly love T-Tapp and do it 5 to 6 days a week .
Charlotte,
I am spending a couple of days reading much from your site and getting my heart right with what my brain already knows. I am all bound up in my neck, shoulders, and low back….my joints are aching…my gut is sagging…this is what got me to research T-Tapp. Reading your story touches me very closely. I am 42 next month, am a homeschooling mom of nine ages 2-21, and our oldest is going to make me a grandma in the spring!! I just don’t have it in me to homeschool another 18+ years with this already tired body! Our younger children look at photos of years ago and wonder why we never take day trips to the zoo or a museum anymore. I recently lost almost 40 pounds (I have 30ish pounds more to lose) with diet alone but I can see that quitting that diet could land me back where I started. Thank you for the encouragement.
Hi Charlotte! I’m doing my own little 60-day challenge and this post was most encouraging! I’m familiar with T-Tapp and love the Basic Workout, but I’m always hard on myself because I don’t have perfect form or don’t know how to do what Teresa is doing or “fill in the blank.” But this post was great – it’ll help me keep going when I get frustrated because I can’t do something just yet. Thank you!
Thank you for this post! I just found your site and can’t wait to check it out more. I recently started SATI and find it hard to keep the form, especially when starting the arm moves. I will keep on, I’m sure with practice it will come. Also, I am sweating, so I know it’s doing something.
Ha Ha. I needed this. Yesterday (day 6 of 10 day bootcamp), I thought that I’d try that new move I’d discovered on the site–organs in place/half frogs before starting my total workout because I was so discourage about my lack of inch loss. At some point it says to put your fingers over your abdomen and tighten those muscles underneath. …Tighten….what? I couldn’t even figure out what to flex, you know? Then to the half frogs: i think it said to do 10 and advanced to do 10 more. Yeah right. I did FOUR with such intensity (trying to do them correctly) that when I finished I had to go through my entire total workout with a headache and nausea. I knew my double c-section tummy was weak but….wow.
Naomi, T-Tapp can get pretty intense when you’re working on form, so feel free to do fewer reps if you need to! Extra water and walking around a bit can help with the detox-y feelings. T-Tapp is so lymphatic, it can cause those feelings when it starts moving the junk. So that’s actually a good thing–but not exactly pleasant!