What Does Barre Do for Your Body? 6 Barre Workout Benefits You Should Know

Barre is a low impact, high intensity energizing full-body workout that is suitable for everyone, from beginners to experts. Each barre class is designed to improve proper alignment, core strength, and muscular tone and length. It could also help improve flexibility and agility. 

It is a fitness workout that combines traditional elements of classical ballet with contemporary leg exercises to offer a low-impact, challenging workout focusing on the lower body. It will tone the glutes, hamstrings, and calves, creating that long, lean dancer that looks like ballerinas who are not bulky but strong. 

In short, a barre workout is a ballet-inspired workout routine combined with elements of yoga and pilates. 

What Does a Typical Barre Class Look Like?

Most barre workouts begin with a brief warmup, incorporating some small weights and others beginning at the barre. To get the most out of every motion in every exercise, the teacher instructor will show the technique and then provide encouragement and corrections to every participant. All classes will have to use and perform a part of the exercises at the barre and on the yoga mat. Unlike Pilates, where you’ll largely rely on breath signals, expect to move to upbeat music in a barre class. You’ll have to follow some choreography or rhythmic patterns as well, but not as much as you would in a more traditional dance class.

Of course, in performing workouts, one’s gear and comfort is a factor to be considered. A form-fitting outfit is recommended such as leggings and fitted top in order for the instructors to see if you are performing the barre exercises correctly and if you are doing the proper form so as to prevent any injury and to correct and do necessary adjustments on the form when needed especially when participating in an online barre class.  In addition, to prevent slipping during barre workouts, socks with grips at the bottom is more recommended than wearing shoes in classes. But this may also depend on one’s preference and on what gear they are comfortable with. 

6 Facts About Barre

1) When you do barre, your core muscles are worked out

Barre classes are resistance training and it focuses on strength training workouts that could help strengthen muscles on your core, thigh, arms, glutes, and pelvic floor. It also incorporates moves of a cardiovascular exercise in its routine creating an intense workout.

In maintaining proper functional movements of the body, the physical benefits of barre class such as a strong muscle core are of great help.  For example, in pregnant and postpartum women, strong muscle group of the pelvic floor is of great help in controlling the bladder.

2) A barre workout involves pulsing

Barre workouts include movements that are small isometric, targeted and repetitive in motion which is known as pulsing. It helps to develop endurance by isolating muscle groups that are active and quickly putting fatigue on them. This helps in maintaining muscle strength. 

3) It burns a lot of calories

Barre is an effective workout to also help a person burn fat and in losing weight since it increases cardiovascular system endurance and metabolism. Due to intense workouts, a barre class could help a person have a calorie burn of an estimated  250-500 calories per barre class.

However, the amount of calories burned varies according to a person’s height, own body weight, muscle mass, fitness level, age and overall exertion. But if you want to experience weight loss, barre can help by increasing the amount of time alloted for bar method classes and doing an overall healthy lifestyle such as eating a healthy balanced diet, healthy habits.

4) You learn how to engage specific muscles which may be difficult

Barre helps in toning the muscles without bulking. It greatly helps to stabilize the muscles of the shoulder, hip girdles, enhancing flexibility, and body alignment, and bringing improved postural alignment. 

5) It is not enough to take one class

In order to see the results of barre workouts, one class isn’t enough. It may take three to five times of barre class a week to see the best results. However, it is not recommended to take barre classes everyday since muscles need time to recover. 

6) Your body will ache from barre but it will be worth it

It is normal that every after workouts, our muscles would feel sore and this is the time you would feel like giving up. But don’t do that, this is the time you should continue to pursue and go back to that barre class!

Having sore muscles just means that you worked it right and that the muscles actively participated in the routine. They are in the process of being strong and toned. If you engage in doing barre in a regular routine, you’ll feel less sore until you’ll get used to it.

All the benefits of barre exercises are promising!

How Often Should One Do Barre?

The benefits of Barre vary with each individual so here’s a few things to know how often one should do barre: 

1) Start with what’s doable

In order to make us feel fulfilled and motivated, one must set goals and standards but remember to set goals that are achievable and doable for us to not disappoint and put too much pressure on ourselves.Setting a high number of barre sessions in a week as your goal as a starter is good but try to start first with numbers that are realistic and achievable. It is recommended to start first with 2 sessions a week and this is enough to see its results  and  realize its benefits in your overall health and entire body. 

2) Up the Ante

Upon seeing the results barre has in store for you, it’s time to increase the classes you attend. You can progress from two times a week to three-four times a week. The more you do these exercises, the more results you’ll see. Just stay mentally focused and motivated. 

3) Don’t Burn out

When you are on your recovery days you should still keep the muscles working by taking a walk with your dog or taking a yoga class. You have to make the muscles work, move and train instead of just rest and restore. Always listen to your body and to what it needs. Always remember that it is important to have more days of doing exercises than the days you don’t. If you feel too lazy to go out or if you find it difficult to find gyms or studios that conduct barre classes, you can find online barre classes and do it at home. 

Other Benefits of Barre

1) Improves muscle endurance

Regularly attending barre lessons will improve your muscle endurance. Your heartbeat and breathing patterns are affected by endurance. Your stamina will improve as your endurance improves, allowing you to maintain a higher level of activity in your daily life. You’ll also be able to exercise for longer periods of time and perform harder routines. Endurance also reduces your chances of getting diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

2) Flexibility

Stretching is a big part of barre routines. This will enable you to increase your joint flexibility and range of motion. Maintaining flexibility throughout the day makes it much easier to move around. Even when you sit for lengthy periods of time, doing regular barre workouts can even avoid stiffness.

3) Improves posture

Almost every exercise routine in a barre class Singapore works your abs and core. You’ll gain strength to improve your posture, balance, and overall agility aside from working toward a stronger, more defined core.

After barre, you may notice that you sit or stand more upright and this influences what happens inside your body. It can relieve strain on your spine, lowering your risk of injury and back pain. It also aids with deep breathing.

4) Improves mental clarity

Time spent at the barre is also good for your brain. Exercise releases endorphins, which help to keep your mind alert. According to research, barre can increase mental clarity and cognitive performance while also making you an optimistic person. 

Final Words

You may start achieving your physical fitness goals may start with taking a few classes of ballet barre workout which is designed to improve posture, the strength of different muscles, etc., thus helping you have a lean body and a boosted self-confidence for a better everyday life. It also gives you better body awareness by being more in sync with your body through a better mind body connection. High-class studios like Sweatbox Fitness are great ways to learn how to do them properly.