What is barre and how to pump the whole body with it

What is barre

Barre is a training method that combines classical dance moves, yoga and Pilates poses, and strength exercises.

The technique was invented by the German ballerina Lotte Berk in the 1940s. But since she did not file a patent, the barre was sold around the world in different variations.

As a result, the fitness program does not have a strict set of movements and combinations, as in Zumba or Pilates. Each trainer applies his own approach - in a free manner he combines ballet steps and stretching poses, adds cardio and strength components.

Barre can be practiced both at the choreographic bar and in the middle of the room, standing or sitting on a rug, with the weight of your body or weights in the form of dumbbells and resistance bands.

Why try barre

You should do this fitness program if you are interested in the following goals.

Dream of losing weight, but don't like running and other types of cyclic cardio

Barre exercise loads different muscle groups, raises your heart rate, and forces your body to burn additional calories.

Calm movement patterns are less effective for weight loss than long runs or high-intensity interval training, but they are easier to carry, look beautiful, and increase the chance that you won't quit after a couple of sessions.

What's more, there are intense barre elements that can burn as much as a run. The rule is one: the longer you work at a high heart rate, the more calories you will burn VO2 Tests Results per workout.

Want a toned body, but no relief

Some barre exercises involve doing small dumbbells or resistance bands. But there will be no barbell or heavy shells.

Squats (plie) and leg raises will strengthen the muscles of the hips and buttocks, bends and turns will load the abs and back, holding the arms in ballet positions and exercises in the supine position will tone the shoulders.

At the same time, such a load is not enough for a noticeable increase in muscle size and a distinct relief, even if you have a low percentage of fat.

Love ballet, but have no dance training

Unlike true classical dance, the barre does not involve long, hard training at the barre. There is no need to pull toes, sit on the twine and balance on pointe shoes.

At the same time, you will keep your hands in ballet positions, perform some simple elements and do it with music. Barre is your chance to feel like a ballerina, regardless of your fitness level.

Want to correct your posture

Almost all barre exercises involve keeping the back and neck straight, shoulders lowered, and shoulder blades flat.

To maintain this position, you will have to constantly strain your muscles. Together with stretching the chest and shoulders in yoga poses, this will help the body get used to the correct posture.

Strive to develop flexibility

Barre includes many stretching exercises - both static poses and active movements. As you work out, you will gently stretch your muscles and improve flexibility.

What does it take to practice barre

For training you will need:

Comfortable clothes, not restricting movement: leggings or shorts, sports top-bra and T-shirt. No shoes are needed - you will be doing barefoot.
Rug. Many barre exercises are done on the floor, and the mat is needed to keep it from slipping. If not, you can spread a blanket.
Gymnastic ball. Often in barre workouts, there are exercises with a small gymnastic ball - it is held in the hands or squeezed between the legs in order to better feel the muscle tension.
Lightweight dumbbells. If you want to put additional stress on your muscles, buy 1 kg dumbbells.

How to warm up before training

A few simple exercises will warm up your body and increase your range of motion.

Slopes

Place your legs together, straighten your knees, straighten and lower your shoulders, and draw in your stomach and buttocks.
Do a small, bouncy squat, raise your arms over the sides and reach up.
Lean forward with your back straight, lower your arms over your sides.
Without bending your knees, try to reach the floor with your hands.
Slowly return to the starting position, straightening your back - vertebra by vertebra.
Repeat 10 times.

Warm up feet

Place your feet together. Hold the right one on a full foot, bend the left at the knee, lifting it to half-toes.
Now put your right foot on the half-toes, and lower your left foot on the whole foot. Simultaneously with the change of legs, raise your arms up through the sides. Round your elbows, point your wrists with your fingers towards each other, palms towards your head. In classical dance, this position is called the third hand position.
With the next change of legs, bring your arms back across the sides and cross in front of your body.
Continue to move from half toes to the entire foot, accompanying the movements of raising and lowering the arms.
Do it 20 times.

Lunges

Put your feet together, right - on full feet, left - on half-toes. Straighten your back, lower your shoulders, and draw in your stomach.
Bend your right knee, step back with your left foot and place your foot on the floor.
At the same time, raise your arms to the third position.
Return to the starting position by lowering your arms and bringing them back.
Do 20 times, then switch legs and repeat.

Plie to the side

Stand up straight with your knees, belly, and buttocks drawn in. Take the first toe position: heels together, toes apart.
Round your elbows and cross your wrists in front of your body.
Take a wide step to the right with your right foot and lower yourself into a squat - plie. Simultaneously with plié, spread your arms to the sides to shoulder level, palms down.
Stretch your knees to the sides, do not bend your back, keep your neck straight.
Substitute your left leg, returning to the starting position.
Repeat to the right side, and then take two of the same steps to the left, returning to the place where you started the movement - this is one repetition.
Do five reps.

How to do barre

Find a low, stable support to hold onto during exercise. A table or windowsill will do.

Do all the exercises in a row, follow the technique and do not try to perform in a range for which you are not ready. It is better to raise your leg low, but with a straight back and straight hips, than higher, but with a skewed body.

Plie on half fingers

Exercise loads the muscles of the thighs, pumps the calf muscles.

Stand next to a stable support at the level of your waist and hold onto it with your hand. Place your other hand on your belt.
Put your feet together, connect your heels, and spread your toes to the sides, rise on half toes. Pull in your knees, abdomen and buttocks, straighten and lower your shoulders.
Without touching the floor with your heels, plie in a small amplitude.
Turn your knees to the sides, squeeze your buttocks. At the top, fully straighten your knees and contract the muscles on the front of the thighs.
Do it 20 times.

Swing forward

Exercise strengthens the muscles in the thighs and lower legs.

Stand with your left side to the support and hold on to it with one hand. Place the second on the belt.
Connect your heels and spread your toes to the sides - this is the first position.
Straighten your back, lower your shoulders and bring your shoulder blades together, draw in your stomach and knees.
Swing forward, keeping your knees straight. Try to raise your leg higher, but at the same time make sure that your back does not bend, and your hips and shoulders do not unfold.
Swing 10 forward.
Climb up to half fingers, lower back to first position and swing forward again.
Perform 10 of these combinations of half-toe curls and swing.
Turn your right side toward the support and repeat on the other leg.

The transition from plie to half-toes

This exercise will strengthen your glutes, thighs, and calves.

Stand with your left side to the support, put your left hand on it. Round the elbow of your right hand, turn the hand with the palm towards you.
Put your feet in the third position - turn the toes to the sides, press the heel of the right foot to the middle of the foot of the left.
Straighten your knees, straighten and lower your shoulders, stretch your crown up, pull in your stomach and buttocks.
Slide your right foot to the side and lower yourself into plie. Make sure that the toes of the feet and knees are turned to the sides, squeeze the buttocks.
Return to third position while lifting to half-toes. Move your hand over the side to the third position: round the elbow, turn the hand with the palm towards the head.
Continue down into plié and out onto half-toes. Do it 10-12 times.
Turn your right side to the support and repeat the same with the other leg.

Bent over hip flexion and extension

Exercise strengthens the muscles of the hips, improves mobility in the hip joints, and stretches the muscles of the shoulders.

Stand facing the support and move two steps away from it.
If you have a gymnastic ball, squeeze it between the knee and the thigh of your right leg and continue pressing throughout the exercise. If not, just bend your leg.
Lean forward with your back straight until your body is parallel with the floor, place your hands on the support and straighten the knee of your supporting leg.
Bring the thigh of your working leg back and lift it up as high as you can.
Move your hip forward, trying to reach your chest with your knee, and at the same time, rise to your half-toes. Do not bend the knee of the supporting leg - it remains straight throughout the entire exercise.
Perform 10 of these movements, trying to increase the amplitude a little each time.
Change legs and repeat.

Bent over leg raises

Exercise perfectly pumps the buttocks.

Stand facing the support and take two steps back. Bend over and put your hands on her. Straighten your back and arms, make sure your body is parallel to the floor and that the angle between your body and legs is 90 degrees.
Lift one leg back as high as possible, straighten your knee and try to turn it to the side to open your hips. Do not block the knee of the supporting leg - bend it slightly.
Smoothly lower and raise a straight, tense leg, keep your back straight, try not to turn the body to the side.
Do it eight times and leave your foot at the top.
Move your leg up and down in a small range. This is called ripple. Do 16 times and repeat from the beginning.
Perform three bundles of this exercise: eight lifts in full amplitude and 16 pulsations in the top position.
Change legs and repeat.

Side Raises

This exercise will strengthen the muscles in your arms, abs, and thighs.

Lie on your right side, put your right hand on the ribs on the left side, place your left palm on the floor in front of your body.
Leave your right leg on the floor and bend your knee slightly, straighten your left leg and lift it up.
Leaning on your left hand, squeeze your body up. Drop back down and repeat.
Do 20 times, then turn onto your left side and repeat with the other hand.

Push ups

For this exercise, you will need a rolled-up blanket so it doesn't hurt on your knee.

Take an emphasis while lying down, place your hands on the floor slightly in front of your shoulders.
Place one leg on one knee on a rolled blanket, raise your lower leg up. Straighten the other leg and place it on the foot of the bent leg. Your body should be in a straight line from the top of your head to your toes.
Bend your arms and lower yourself into a push-up, keeping an even body line. Do not raise your head - lower yourself until a few centimeters remain from face to floor, and then squeeze yourself back.
Make sure that the body remains straight, do not bend the knee of the raised leg, do not bend the lower back. If push-ups are hard for you, reduce the range - drop only halfway and climb back up.
Do it 10-12 times. Then change legs and repeat.

Exercises for the press with the ball

This is a long combination for pumping your abs, arms and hip flexors.

Lie on the floor on your back, raise your legs to a right angle with your body, pull your knees in, put your hands behind your head. If there is a ball, squeeze it between your legs at ankle level.
Lift your shoulder blades off the floor, keeping your hands behind your head.
Without lowering your shoulder blades to the floor, extend your arms along your body.
Put your hands back behind your head, and then return to the starting position lying on your back. Repeat the combination 10-12 times. Take your time - fix each position for one second.
Don't lower yourself back down to the floor for the last time. Fix the position with the shoulder blades and arms torn off the floor along the body.
Move your straight arms up and down in a small amplitude. Strain your abs and legs, do not place your shoulder blades on the floor. Perform 30 arm movements.
Without stopping waving your arms, gently lower and raise your straight legs in a small range. Still do not touch the floor with your shoulder blades. If the abs are very tired, rest for a few seconds and continue. Do eight ups and downs.
Lock your legs in the extreme position for 10-12 seconds. Keep moving your arms.
Lower the body to the floor, put your hands along the body. Raise and lower your pelvis. Do it 16 times.

Raising the legs in support lying

The exercise will strengthen and stretch the shoulder muscles and improve the mobility of the hips.

Stand upright, place your wrists under your shoulders, pull in your stomach and buttocks.
Bend one leg and pull the knee towards your chest, keeping your back straight.
Bring your pelvis up, and straighten your working leg and lift it back as high as possible. Your body should take the position of an inverted V - arms and body are in line.
Lock the position for a few seconds, do not bend your knees, pull your working leg as high as possible.
Return to the support position, bend your working leg and pull the knee towards your chest.
Take the starting position and repeat on the other leg.
Perform eight times with each limb.

Side plank with leg raises

This beautiful exercise will do great work on your abs and hips.

Sit on the mat on your right thigh and straighten your leg. Bend your left knee and place your foot behind your right foot on your toes. Straighten your right hand at the elbow and rest your palm on the floor.
Moving the center of gravity to the right arm and left leg, lift the pelvis off the floor and stretch the body in one line. Leave the right foot on the floor, the left one on the half toes.
At the same time, raise your left hand and move it over the side up, behind your head.
Stretch well with your whole body, lock the pose for a second and return to the starting position.
Lift your right leg off the floor and lift it up. Lock for a second, put it back in and repeat the combination from the beginning.
Do it 10-12 times, then switch sides and repeat.

Where to get a training program

There are many long programs on YouTube with barre workouts, both intense with cardio and strength elements, and more relaxed. They last from 25 to 45 minutes and include a warm-up and the main part.

All videos are in English, but everything is clear and without words.

How often can you do barre

To get started, try exercising two to three times a week for 30 to 45 minutes. Then, when your body gets stronger, and the muscles stop sore after exertion, you can increase the number of sessions up to five times a week.

Relax, monitor your condition and enjoy your activities.