Discover the latest in on-demand barre workouts, fitness challenges, meal plans, and motivation by downloading the Start TODAY app! Barre workouts are gaining popularity for their light-weight, high-rep strength training approach that sculpts lean muscle mass and boosts endurance. Trying a barre class for the first time can be daunting, especially without a dance background or familiarity with the training style. These classes blend dance, Pilates, and yoga elements for full-body strength training suitable for all fitness levels.
Katelyn DiGiorgio, Pure Barre’s director of training and technique, explains, “We focus on each major muscle group with high repetitions and light resistance to fatigue each muscle group. We also incorporate stretching between sections for flexibility, mobility, and strength training in every class.”
Learn more about barre’s benefits, what to expect in your first class, and exercises you can practice at home. The barre method originated in the 1940s when Lotte Berk, a German ballet dancer recovering from a back injury, combined her dance background with physical therapy to create this training style. Over time, barre workouts have evolved to be more accessible to non-dancers while maintaining ballet-based postures.
For beginners and advanced fitness enthusiasts alike, barre offers numerous health benefits:
– Low-impact and gentle on joints, making it suitable for those with arthritis, joint problems, injuries, or pregnancy.
– Builds muscle endurance and strength with high reps and light resistance without straining joints.
– Targets small muscle fibers often overlooked in traditional strength training, boosting heart rate and challenging muscles.
– Enhances posture by strengthening the core, chest, and shoulders, crucial for desk-bound individuals to improve alignment and stability.
– Promotes spinal lengthening and posture awareness, translating to better posture in daily activities.
Integrate barre into your workout routine to experience these benefits and more.
Standing tall and engaging your core can help alleviate pain in the neck, back, and hips caused by poor posture, according to experts. A person with severe scoliosis shares that consistent practice of barre has not only improved their posture but also enhanced spine mobility and mindfulness in how they carry themselves. Barre exercises are effective in boosting flexibility and mobility, offering a dual benefit of improving range of motion and building strength. Through a combination of strength exercises and stretches incorporated into a typical barre class, participants can challenge their mobility while enhancing joint and muscle flexibility.
For example, performing wide-second positions akin to sumo squats can stretch the hips and inner thighs while engaging the core and maintaining proper posture. Barre’s low-impact nature makes it ideal for individuals recovering from injuries as it aids in muscle strength and endurance without added stress on the body. By focusing on controlled movements that deepen the mind-muscle connection, barre can assist in rehabilitating injured areas by honing specific movement patterns and enhancing the brain-body connection.
Attending your first barre class can be intimidating, but instructors encourage beginners to join introductory sessions tailored for those new to the practice. Most barre exercises utilize bodyweight and minimal equipment like light weights, Pilates balls, resistance bands, and yoga props. Class structure typically involves a warm-up stretch, arm work at the bar or on the mat, bar exercises, mat work focusing on abs and lower back, and a cool-down. To maximize results, experts recommend attending barre classes two to three times a week while incorporating other forms of exercise and rest days into your routine.
Before starting, warm up with some stretches such as pigeon pose, seated side bends, flexing and pointing your toes, and a kneeling quad stretch. At Pure Barre, DiGiorgio guides you through a workout that targets each major muscle group in sections, beginning with core work and progressing to arms and upper body exercises. You’ll then move on to lower body stretches and finish with more core work and stretching, all done seamlessly in a flow.
Barre Positions: While all exercises will be explained in class, it’s useful to be familiar with these key barre positions.
– First position (“small V”): Stand tall with hands on hips, heels together, and toes turned out at a 45-degree angle from the hips.
– Second position: Feet wider than hip distance, toes and knees turned out, hips aligned with shoulders, and a neutral spine.
– Tuck: Legs together, squeeze glutes, and engage abdominals to create a slight lower back curve.
– Chair: Face the bar, hands on it, feet close together, toes forward, heels behind, knees bent as if sitting in a chair, maintaining a neutral spine.
Try these 3 sample barre exercises:
1. Parallel Lunge Pulses: Stand in a lunge position, hold light dumbbells, and pulse up and down, alternating legs.
2. Attitude Back Extensions: Shift weight forward, lift back leg into attitude position, engaging core and glutes.
3. Triceps Press: Lie on back, hold dumbbells by head, press weights above chest as you lift hips off the ground, targeting glutes, hamstrings, abdominals, and triceps simultaneously.
For a taste of barre class at home, try these moves demonstrated by Sweeney.
