All About Barre

It was a rainy Saturday morning as I pulled into the parking lot of the cutest, most hipster barre studio in Knoxville. Have you ever taken a barre class?

Barre is a popular fitness craze that has popped up all over in the form of studios over the recent years. It is a combination of ballet, yoga and pilates with part of the workout being on a mat and part standing at a ballet barre.

As I walked inside of my local studio, Neighborhood Barre, I instantly noticed the light and airy white tapestries hanging from the ceiling and gold chandeliers scattered throughout the studio. The wooden floors creaked as I walked barefoot (no tennies needed here!) to the equipment room to grab a mat, tubing (resistance bands) and hand weights. 

The music was fun and upbeat, adding to the already delightful atmosphere.  While the decor and atmosphere are great, the quality of the training and instructing is what stands out to me. The instructor at Neighborhood Barre (and other barre classes I’ve taken) walked around during the entire class to correct and tweak mistakes in form, insuring that you are doing each movement correctly. This is so valuable, especially if you are a beginner. It is important to make sure your hips are in alignment as well as ensuring that you get the most out of each movement while avoiding unnecessary injury. Starting something new can be daunting so an attentive instructor can help make all the difference, especially in regards to form.

The instructor walked us through each move which covered dance conditioning, weight training, and pilates. The poses and movements require control, strength, and balance, making the exercise hard but still a fun challenge. My class was around 50 minutes and ended with a nice cool down and stretch.

If you are looking for a low impact workout that is still very effective, I would highly recommend trying barre. Most of the movements are very small but deliberate and get your muscles burning fast. It is known for helping create lean and toned muscles while burning fat, so you can’t go wrong there! Barre also improves your balance, posture and flexibility. Although it is not a high intensity workout, you will still get great results if you stick to it.

Look around for a studio in your area and go try it out! Most, if not all, studios allow for a free first class so what do you have to lose?

If you don’t have a studio near you, or if you just want to try this out at first alone in your living room, check out Barre3’s 40 minute workout! This video will help you get started and also give you a good idea of what to expect in a standard barre studio.

Thanks for joining me in my most recent stop on my Tour de Fitness as I investigate all kinds of different workouts! To read about my experience at spin class, and also to learn about running and marathon training, check out my previous posts below! There are so many fun ways to get moving and active -- let me know your favorite workouts or what you think of barre below!

Next up is swing dancing. See you then!