Don’t let the dance origin of barre exercise scare you off. This popular workout focuses on simple movements that people of any ability can do to build strength, increase flexibility, improve balance, and optimize posture and core stability.
Barre is low impact, so it puts less pressure on the body’s joints that activities like running. It employs a combination of bodyweight movements and light weights for resistance training as well as high repetitions of very small movements called isometric exercises.
Barre exercises incorporate movement in all three body planes: frontal, sagittal, and transverse. The frontal plane divides the body into front and back. The sagittal plane divides it into left and right, and the transverse plane divides it into top and bottom halves. Multiplanar movement engages muscles and joints through their full ranges and helps to maintain optimal mobility.
A barre workout should incorporate both upper and lower body movements as well as exercises that target balance and core strength. If you take a class, you’ll use a ballet barre for balance. At home, you can use a sturdy chair. Here are four exercises to try:
Backward lunge. Stand upright and take a large step back with one foot. Lower your body until the opposite thigh is parallel with the floor. Keep your front knee over your front ankle. Return to a full standing position and switch sides. Do three sets of 10 repetitions. When you are in the lowered position, try adding in a set of pulses where you move up an inch up and down an inch 10 times.
This movement targets the gluteus muscles unilaterally, ensuring that both sides of the body are being worked equally, and improves balance when transitioning between starting and ending positions.
Lateral leg lifts. Lift your leg to the side and slowly raise it to hip height or as far as is comfortable, and lower it back down. Do three sets of 10 repetitions. You can also add in pulses when your leg is lifted.
This movement targets the gluteus medius, a hip muscle that is key for providing stability to the pelvis and maintaining balance.
Arm sweeps. Sweep your arms out to the side while rotating your palms toward the front of the room. You can do this exercise with or without hand weights. The lifting motion targets the shoulder muscles (deltoids), while rotating the palms forward encourages external rotation and activation of the rotator cuff musculature that stabilizes the shoulder. Bring the arms all the way back down and complete three sets of 15 repetitions. A set of pulses can be added at the top of the movement.
Seated core. Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat in front of you. Lean back so that your torso is at about a 45-degree angle. Holding this position for five to 30 seconds without using your hands to touch the ground or hold onto your legs for support will get the core muscles firing. When holding this position becomes easy, increase the challenge by adding dynamic arm movements, such as alternating arm lifts, or by rotating the arms and trunk from side to side.
While anyone can benefit from barre exercises, people with poor balance need to be careful. Dynamic movements such as lunges and single-leg exercises that alternate from one leg to the other can be challenging if performed without a barre or chair. Many instructors, whether in a studio or through an online video, provide modifications for different fitness levels.
Barre exercise does not offer cardiovascular benefits, so it should be part of a broader program. A fitness regimen should include both strength training and cardiovascular exercise to keep muscles, joints, and the heart and lungs functioning optimally. Walking is a simple and effective cardiovascular exercise that helps keep the heart healthy and is low impact on the body. Adults should aim for 30 to 60 minutes of walking at least three to five times a week in addition to some form of strengthening workout, such as barre, for a comprehensive exercise routine.
