Some of you may have heard of the new “barre” workouts, which have been gaining popularity as quickly as I drink (chug?) wine. The craziest part of this new fad is it’s not a fad at all, it’s here to stay: more and more people have started to discover it actually works!
I won’t lie, I have new obsessions all the time. I mean, have you tried Biscoff? Or maybe I should show you all the “skinny belts” I have in my closet from when I negatively associated every normal width belt with a country music star. This, my friends, is finally a healthy (and normal) obsession, and it definitely deserves the attention and obsession of every person who loves to sweat, tone, stretch and of course, tuck their way to a South Beach body.
“Stop Talking About Yourself and Tell Me What It Is
There are several variations of barre workouts, including The Bar Method, Pure Barre, Barre3 and more. All incorporate elements of ballet, yoga and pilates, along with isometric movements and bodyweight resistance, to give you an intense workout without high impact on your joints. I attend the Bar Method, so I’ll be focusing on my experience there, however other brands will be very similar.
Barre workouts originated about 50 years ago in London when a former ballerina with a back injury, Lotte Berk, decided to utilize her ballet technique to create a low impact, high intensity workout, otherwise known as the Lotte Berk Method. An avid student of Lotte Berk Method, Ellen Burr, opened up her own Lotte Berk Method studio, but noticed that some clients were having trouble with certain aspects of the class due to pain in the back, knees or wrists. She decided to combine physical therapy with the Lotte Berk Method to develop a technique which avoided impact on joints. This workout became so different from the original Lotte Berk Method, that Ellen Burr became the founder of what is now known as the Bar Method and opened up her first studio in 2001.
Shaking, Tucking, and Explaining Barre
This 60 minute workout class focuses on working your arms, thighs, seat (Bar Method talk for butt) and legs. Every class works all four aspects and incorporates stretching in-between every part. The workout uses the ballet barre to assist in exercises which aim to tone and elongate your muscles and give you that coveted dancer’s body. The best part is that you don’t even have to know anything about dance! The aim is to work your muscles to fatigue until they shake from exhaustion…and keep going. Trust me, it doesn’t take long at all to start shaking, and even those who have taken classes for years continue to shake, which shows the workout never gets easier! Six minute thigh work seems a whole lot longer when you can barely keep standing from the shake of fatigue and the burn of creating new muscle fibers.
The “tuck” and “lifted chest” are terms you will hear often in class. Tuck simply means to grip your glutes and point your tailbone directly to the floor while lifting your chest up to create an impeccable posture. Posture is extremely important in class, and honestly who doesn’t need to work on their posture nowadays? One of the testimonials stated that the Bar Method corrected a woman’s posture so much she went to the doctor’s office and had grown! As someone who has participated in sports that are hard on joints (think running and rugby), I was ecstatic to find a workout that not only had a fun and exclusive atmosphere, which most at Miami love, but prevented me from being hard on my joints for once.
I Love to Tuck and Why You Should Too
Barre classes are a great complement to your current workout, whether that be running, swimming or just the walk to class. Ladies, rejoice, for this can act as your weight training. For me, not having to awkwardly venture over to the “boy’s side” of the gym and lift my measly 20 pound weights is well worth it, even if the Bar Method wasn’t amazing. Luckily, it is one of the most enjoyable and effective workouts I have ever done.
I know what you’re thinking: “alright this sounds pretty great, but $125 a month is a lot to ask for when I have a gym membership on campus.” This is a great argument…if you actually use that gym membership. Isn’t getting Khloe-esque obsessed with exercising worth the extra effort? After deciding to test out the first month for the $100 new client special, I found that I actually used the campus gym more! Before, I wasn’t prioritizing my workouts. Barre brought back the motivation to workout even if it meant less sleep and more laundry, and has carried those extra endorphins to other areas of my life.
A barre class needs to be experienced to completely understand it. Luckily, we have Spring Break and two barre studios less than a mile from campus! The Bar Method is next to the Sunset Plaza, and Pure Barre is in Merrick Park. All you need for these classes are a pair of socks and leggings, so what are you waiting for?
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