What Can The Barre Do For You?

No, we don't mean drinking at the bar...we mean Barre as in Barre exercise class.  It seems to be the hot new trend in exercise classes, and I know why! 

Perhaps it's because so many ladies grew up trying dance or ballet and are channeling their inner ballerina (or is that just me?).  Or maybe it's because it's new and exciting, and it has everyone curious.  But I would argue that it's because it's an awesome workout!

The Barre class uses ballet-inspired moves for muscle strengthening and does so in a controlled manner that is more challenging for your muscles.  After 10 minutes in, I'm sure your legs will be quivering because I know mine was!  But this workout has some great benefits to it that might make you want to consider trying one out yourself.

Low Impact

The class emphasizes controlled movements that are often done without a ton of movement.  Rarely is there a lot of jumping or use of heavy weights, so it's a nice change from weight lifting and also is easy on the joints.  It might look easy to just stand in place at the Barre doing leg movements, but it takes a lot more demand from your muscles.  However, it is easy on the joints.

Challenges Your Balance

Working on your tip toes really challenges your balance!  And oftentimes, you may be encouraged to attempt certain positions without holding onto the bar in order to work your balance.  Whenever your balance is challenged, the body must rely more on the core for stability.  This leads us to...

Strengthens Your Core

All of the movements during a Barre class are working your core muscles as well.  The core stabilizes everything so you can move your arms and legs without falling over.  Granted, you will not "feel the burn" like you would doing crunches but you are working the core in a functional way.  During the day, we need our core muscles to work for us so that we don't end up with back pain or poor posture.  Barre class strengthens these muscles for those purposes all while still being gentle on the spine.