A new type of fitness class is becoming increasingly popular among young women all over the country. This new fitness phenomenon is the ballet “barre” trend, which incorporates ballet, yoga and pilates, while using a ballet barre, to create long lean muscles resembling those of a dancer’s body.
According to The Huffington Post, barre workouts are isometric strength training methods that use your own body weight as resistance to tone. Kelly Ripa, Drew Barrymore and Olivia Wilde are all fans. University of Maryland students are just in luck because a barre studio is just a few metro stops away in D.C.
B.Fit studio, which opened near Logan Circle in 2007, “Presents a customized blend of ballet barre work with pilates and yoga that targets every major muscle group through a series of tightly held contractions,” Linda Bachrack, owner and instructor of B.Fit studio, said.
“We work muscles in a different way than most fitness classes at the gym. Rather than contracting and releasing a muscle, we isolate one muscle at a time and hold on to a contraction until the muscle is completely fatigued, then thoroughly stretch the muscle,” Bachrack said. “We’re aiming for long, lean dancer muscles while having fun at the same time. Our classes are music-driven and high-energy.”
Anyone who consistently takes classes two to three times a week will see significant toning and will lose inches in a matter of a couple of months. Barre classes whittle waistlines, flatten abs, define arms and shape quads, Bachrack said.
Some students like Becky Tella, a senior kinesiology major, have already tried classes at B.Fit and have stuck with it because of the results they see.
“A B.Fit class is amazing,” Tella said. “It’s so much fun and different than any typical yoga or pilates class. The instructors play fun upbeat and popular music that keeps the class motivated throughout the challenging exercises. I liked how it used a variety of exercises like lifting weights, doing sit-ups and leg lifts as well balancing sequences, it keeps you on your toes. ”
Although barre classes do incorporate the ballet barre, individuals do not need any dance experience. Most of the participants in the B.Fit class seemed as if they didn’t have any dance experience. The instructors adjust everyone to fix their form and help everyone if they don’t understand something, Tella said.
“The instructors started with floor routines using weights and mats to warm you up, the class then went to the bar where we used ballet moves to work your thighs and gluts,” Tella said. “After, we did a series of crunches that ended in five minutes of relaxation and recovery. I felt sore but refreshed at the end.”
Although barre classes appeal to many young female adults, these new fitness programs appeal to many others. Most of the students at B.Fit are women between 20 and 40, but the studio does have several dedicated male students and many over-40s and over-50s students, Bachrack said.
“Barre classes became a major trend on the west coast and in NYC at least 10 years ago, but they were offered to a somewhat closed community of dancers, models and celebrities,” Bachrack said. “’Barre has really become popular and gained national attention in the last five years.”
“I encourage anyone who wants a fun, challenging, music-driven, high-energy class that’s never boring and always makes you feel like you’ve worked muscles you didn’t even know you had,” Bachrack said. “Come try B.Fit barre!”