I love barre!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just took a free class. The thing is I am nearly sixty and fat. I could only do about half of the exercises correctly but I enjoyed it and felt sore the next day. Is it a good way for someone fat and out of shape to get in shape?

I'm in a similar position (over 50, obese BMI, easily worn out and not at all strong) -- maybe one of us should make a spin off post about this question? Asking for recommendations for getting in shape in our condition? Where to start?

I’m 52 and very obese after several years of chronic insomnia and a vitamin deficiency both of which drove insane weight gain. I’ve been on HRT a couple of years now and insomnia is resolved as is the deficiency allowing my body the capacity to rebuild muscle which it lacked while deficient.

I started by cleaning my diet of nearly all UPFs and nearly all added sugars, and boosting my consumption of all the good fresh whole food categories that are conducive to health.

I just recently began doing barre in my kitchen, by myself, no audience but my nonjudgmental dog. I would like to do it in studio eventually but at this point I’m not willing to do it in front of others. I love the barre work because I took ballet briefly as a preadolescent so there is comfort and familiarity.

Yes, this exercise will help you lose weight. Depending on the routine you do it may or may not have much cardio aspect but it is more like strength training. It builds core strength and other muscles like nobody’s business. I remember that after ballet classes for a few months in jr high school I beat my brother at a push up challenge and he couldn’t believe it - but your arms get very strong from holding the positions over and over for endless repetitions.

You might not see the scale number go down very quickly at first, because you’ll be building muscle which is heavier than fat. But muscle is smaller than fat, so you’ll see changes to how your clothes fit within a few days of starting a barre routine.

Lots of great routines on YouTube - happy barre!

Good for you PP! This is really inspirational! Barre3 is great for a good mix of barre and cardio - they have a daily livestream class if you're interested!

[Anonymous]

I’ve taken and taught classes at Bar Method, independent studios, and am now a client at Pure Barre. The teachers at Pure Barre don’t focus on correct form, for better or worse. I know people who have tried BM are turned off by all of the corrections but if im paying that much money for a class I want to get the most out of it!

For those of you who are trying barre for the first time I would recommend asking the teacher to keep an eye on your form and offer corrections and also ask questions after class. The foundation of Barre is small, sharp movements. I see a lot of clients making big moves and flailing around and they’re wearing themselves out without getting the benefit of the workout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taken and taught classes at Bar Method, independent studios, and am now a client at Pure Barre. The teachers at Pure Barre don’t focus on correct form, for better or worse. I know people who have tried BM are turned off by all of the corrections but if im paying that much money for a class I want to get the most out of it!

For those of you who are trying barre for the first time I would recommend asking the teacher to keep an eye on your form and offer corrections and also ask questions after class. The foundation of Barre is small, sharp movements. I see a lot of clients making big moves and flailing around and they’re wearing themselves out without getting the benefit of the workout.

But how would we even know if the teachers are actually correcting our form? This is one of my top concerns. I need exercises to strengthen my core and have no idea what to look into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taken and taught classes at Bar Method, independent studios, and am now a client at Pure Barre. The teachers at Pure Barre don’t focus on correct form, for better or worse. I know people who have tried BM are turned off by all of the corrections but if im paying that much money for a class I want to get the most out of it!

For those of you who are trying barre for the first time I would recommend asking the teacher to keep an eye on your form and offer corrections and also ask questions after class. The foundation of Barre is small, sharp movements. I see a lot of clients making big moves and flailing around and they’re wearing themselves out without getting the benefit of the workout.

But how would we even know if the teachers are actually correcting our form? This is one of my top concerns. I need exercises to strengthen my core and have no idea what to look into.

I would tell the teacher before class that you’re new to barre and want form corrections. They will either come over next to you, move the mic,and give you a verbal correction while demonstrating next to you, or they may give you hands on corrections to help guide your body into proper form. If you are or are not ok with hands on, you should tell the teacher. Hands on will give you the best form but it also involves the teacher touching your body.

I would also recommend sending an email to the studio and asking which classes are taught by lead or senior teachers and also which classes tend to have lower attendance. I have found that newer teachers can be too distracted trying to remember choreography and don’t pay as much attention to client form. Also if there are fewer students in class you can usually get more attention from the instructor.

[Anonymous]

Pp above here and I will still flag the instructor down in the middle of a move if I’m not feeling the work or if something feels funny. Don’t be shy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also love barre. My favorite studio is Barre 3– I just like the vibe and the way the classes are structured.

I think you’d have to go daily and/or combine it with other stuff to lose a substantial amount of weight there. But I think it’s great for building strength and endurance and maintaining fitness.

NP here. This is what I do. I take long walks/hikes and occasional jogs or bike rides for some cardio. Barre is a supplement for me because I realize strength training is just as (maybe more) important than straight up weight loss in my 40s. I am back down to pre-baby weight but nothing is as toned, so I’m hoping Barre will help with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, so going to try this. Do you get muscle tone doing Barre? Can you talk about the results you see after doing Barre regularly? I want to get muscle strength, but can't consistently get into lifting.

I have done 100+ barre classes. In my experience, if you don’t already have a solid foundation of muscle and lean body fat % so the muscle shows, it’s not going to visibly do much. Though you may feel and be stronger, which is its own benefit.

If you are going in already pretty lean with some muscle, it will absolutely chisel out and refine that muscle definition. You see both body types in barre - the lean ones who are so chiseled they now look like beef jerky (I mean this in the best way, I love this look) and the softer ones who don’t have much muscle definition but are clearly strong and good at barre.

Beef jerky??

Yeah just like so lean with so much visible definition. Again, I don’t mean it as an insult, I personally love that look. They just look SO tight and toned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm intrigued! I love pilates, how does barre differ?

Well it isn’t on a Pilates machine. It’s floor work and ballet barre work. Very tight small movements .

[Anonymous]

This is how I felt about Pilates, but my schedule and budget wouldn’t work anymore.