When days are packed with appointments and to-dos, effective and efficient workouts are essential. Barre workouts offer a unique and popular way to achieve fitness goals. Over the past decade, barre fitness has gained significant traction in the United States. Founded by Lotte Berk, a Jewish dancer who escaped Nazi Germany, barre exercises first gained popularity in Europe after Berk opened her studio in 1959. The concept later caught on in America in the early 1970s. Today, over 3.8 million Americans participate in barre workouts, a significant increase from 2.9 million a decade ago. Barre is gaining popularity because it is a great option for those wanting to increase strength, improve posture, and focus on balance.
What is Barre?
Barre is a full-body workout technique that combines elements of yoga, strength training, dance, and Pilates. It's usually done in group classes within gym or studio settings. Barre workouts are inspired by ballet and use a stationary handrail for support. One of the biggest benefits of barre exercise is its small, controlled movements. The smaller the movement, the bigger the change. Such changes include increased strength, improved flexibility, reduced stress, better balance, and improved posture.
While some barre movements are done with nothing more than an exercise mat, common props include light handheld weights, resistance bands, and a ballet barre for support. Because some barre exercises are similar to Pilates exercise, the two workouts are sometimes confused despite being distinct. While barre and Pilates are low-impact and center on strengthening muscles, the workouts are quite different. Pilates workouts tend to be mat- or reformer-based. Barre workouts, on the other hand, typically include more dynamic movement.
Benefits of Barre Workouts
Barre workouts offer a multitude of benefits, making them a valuable addition to any fitness routine. The workout focuses on high repetitions and isometric holds, which engage and fatigue muscles without heavy weights. Barre targets the core, glutes, thighs, and arms, often working muscles to the point of shaking. Unlike traditional strength training, barre emphasizes posture and flexibility. It also includes stretching between sets to improve range of motion. Research on the specific benefits of barre is limited, but it may help improve:
- Strength
- Flexibility
- Posture
- Weight management
- Reduced risk of injury (compared with high intensity workouts)
- Focus and awareness
- Urinary incontinence
- Sexual function
- Joint inflammation
- Heart and lung function
Strength Training
You don’t have to lift huge weights to build strength. With barre, you can challenge your muscles using just your bodyweight and some light dumbbells. Barre workouts build strength primarily through isometric resistance training (contracting your muscles to hold your body in specific positions). Barre classes target every major muscle group, helping sculpt and define your body from head to toe. Instructors teach you how to isolate key muscles and keep them activated for maximum results.
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Flexibility
Flexibility, or the ability to move your joints through their full range of motion, is a key component of overall health. Stretching is a key ingredient in barre workouts. Every Bar Method class incorporates stretch intervals using both dynamic-active and static-passive stretches. Static-passive stretches are the most well known and most common type of stretch. They involve stretching a muscle as far as you safely can and holding that position for approximately 30 seconds, using some sort of external force to assist (i.e., a stretching strap, your hand, the barre, etc.). Meanwhile, dynamic-active stretches use movement to lengthen muscles. They involve repeatedly moving through challenging yet comfortable movements and actively contracting the muscle opposite the one being stretched. The dynamic-active approach generates more heat than static-passive stretches, giving your muscles a burning sensation.
Posture Improvement
Barre can help you sit up straighter. During barre classes, instructors provide subtle postural changes that encourage proper alignment and muscle activation in each pose.
Cardiovascular Fitness
While it mainly focuses on strength and flexibility, barre benefits cardiovascular fitness, too. That’s because it offers low-impact aerobic training, so you don’t have to pound your joints to build cardiovascular health. Every barre exercise in classes recruits multiple muscle groups and prevents muscles from relaxing between reps. Barre is low impact, so it puts minimal pressure on your joints and muscles.
Stress Reduction and Mindfulness
Evidence shows that exercise improves wellness by lowering stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Barre offers the added wellness benefit of mindfulness, a type of meditation in which you focus on how you feel and what you experience in the current moment. Barre class is a chance to shift gears to the present. To get the best workout possible, pay close attention to how you feel in different poses, staying mindful of any verbal and hands-on adjustments from your instructor.
Bone Health
As a muscle-strengthening activity, a barre workout benefits bones. When you work your muscles, they tug and push on the bones they connect to.
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Weight Loss
If weight loss is your goal, barre may help. Alongside proper nutrition, regular exercise is key for reaching the calorie deficit needed to lose weight (i.e., taking in fewer calories than you use). And the best way to stay consistent with exercise is to find a workout you like. Not only do Bar Method classes burn plenty of calories (approximately 250-500 calories per class), but they’re a blast! Strength training and increased muscle mass help your body burn more calories, even at rest.
Barre workouts can burn anywhere from 300-400 calories for an individual who weighs 155 pounds. After only 8-10 classes, you will see results. As with any exercise, one's diet is especially crucial in healthy weight management.
Barre workouts have unique and low-impact ways of building muscle, and that the workout is also great for boosting one's metabolism. The combination of strength training and cardio increases caloric expenditure without adding bulk or size. Also, your lean body mass determines your resting metabolic rate or the number of calories you burn at rest. Afterburn is a common term in fitness.
Specific Studies
In a 2023 study, researchers compared the effects of barre and dance fitness on 35 women ages 21 to 35 years. After the program, the barre fitness group showed significant improvements in physical fitness, including reduced waist and hip measurements and better heart and lung function. The dance fitness group also experienced improvements, but these weren’t statistically significant. These results suggest barre fitness may be more effective than dance fitness for enhancing body condition and overall fitness in young adult women.
Another 2023 study in 25 women with urinary incontinence found that taking 10 Pure Barre classes over 2 months significantly improved symptoms. Participants reported less urgency and stress-related leakage, reduced pelvic discomfort, and better sexual function.
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Who Should Consider Barre?
Barre workouts can benefit people looking for a low impact, full-body workout that helps build strength and improve flexibility. It’s especially helpful for those who want a workout that’s gentle on the joints but still effective. Consider trying barre workouts if you are:
- Recovering from injury or managing joint pain
- A former dancer or enjoy structured, graceful movements
- Looking to improve posture and core strength, especially if you spend long hours sitting
- Managing urinary incontinence or pelvic floor concerns
You may also simply wish to try barre workouts for something new.
Potential Risks
Barre workouts are generally low risk, but some potential issues may include:
- Balance challenges for beginners, as some moves require stability and coordination
- Difficulty managing form, especially in small, controlled motions, which can strain joints or muscles
- Lack of cardiovascular intensity for those seeking high intensity training
Proper instruction, attention to form, and listening to your body can help minimize these risks.
Getting Started with Barre
Barre is great for beginners, and you don’t need any ballet experience. While it’s inspired by ballet, the movements are simple, controlled, and easy to follow. Instructors guide you through proper form and offer modifications, so you can adjust the intensity to your fitness level.
What to Expect in a Barre Class
A typical barre workout lasts 30 to 60 minutes and targets the whole body using small, controlled movements.
Here’s a sample barre routine:
- Warm-up (5 to 10 minutes): light cardio and dynamic stretches
- Upper body (5 to 10 minutes): light weights, arm circles, and isometric holds
- Lower body (10 to 15 minutes): plies, leg lifts, calf raises, and pulses
- Core (5 to 10 minutes): planks, seated crunches, and leg extensions
- Cooldown (5 to 10 minutes): static stretches for flexibility
Equipment
If you take a barre class at a gym or studio, most facilities provide all the equipment you’ll need, including:
- A ballet barre or sturdy support
- Light weights (typically 1 to 3 pounds)
- Mats for floor exercises
- Resistance bands, balls, or sliders, depending on the class style
You’ll usually just need to bring:
- Comfortable workout clothes that allow movement
- Grip socks (required at some studios for safety and hygiene)
- Water bottle
- Hand towel
If you’re doing a barre workout at home, a sturdy chair and a yoga mat are enough to start. Optional props like light weights or resistance bands can be added over time.
Barre vs. Pilates
Pilates and Barre differ in their focus and structure. Pilates mainly involves floor exercises with a strong emphasis on core strength, stability, and controlled breathing. Barre, on the other hand, combines standing, ballet-inspired movements with small, repetitive actions, called pulses (tiny movements that keep muscles engaged), to tone muscles.
Integrating Barre into Your Fitness Regimen
With consistency, you can expect to see (and feel!) more sculpted muscles and greater flexibility after taking three to five barre classes a week for three to four weeks, though you may feel a mood boost after just one class. Barre can add balance to any workout routine, whether your goal is weight loss, building strength, or improving your overall health and well-being. You’ll likely see the best results by doing three to five barre classes a week, but find the frequency that works best for you.
Aim to make one to two Bar Cardio classes per week part of your routine, or include additional cardio activities in your routine. Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, rowing, and water aerobics are all great options. Because there are so many barre workout benefits - from strength to flexibility to cardio - barre can play a starring role in your fitness routine. The fact that it’s low impact also means you can take barre classes frequently without stressing your joints.
If you’re new to barre, consider starting with 2 to 3 sessions per week and gradually increasing to 4 times per week to avoid overtraining. Always listen to your body and take rest days as needed.