Finding the right workout can be challenging. Pilates and barre are both low-impact workouts that offer unique benefits. This article breaks down the key differences and similarities between barre and Pilates to help you determine which workout is right for you.
What Is Barre?
Barre workouts have roots in formal ballet. While there is a ballet barre in some studio classes (or an equivalent, like the back of a chair, for example, if you’re doing a Peloton barre class), you don’t need to be a classically trained ballerina to reap the benefits of this workout. Barre routines are low-impact, yet high-energy. If you gravitate toward traditional weightlifting classes that focus on your major muscle groups, barre can help target your accessory muscles. These smaller (and often hard-to-reach) muscles are critical for building strength and stability.
Benefits of Barre
The principles of barre help “create a well-rounded, low-impact workout designed to empower everybody,” says Tanya Becker, instructor and barre studio co-founder. Here are some of the biggest benefits you can expect from this workout.
Builds Strength
Barre improves your overall strength through low-impact, high-rep exercises. While it’s a full body workout, it’s particularly helpful in targeting your lower body and abdominal muscles, Becker says.
Improves Posture
Ballerinas are known for their grace, poise-and good posture. And while you may never become a professional dancer, barre workouts can help you build better posture and prevent slouching. “Barre emphasizes proper body alignment and engagement of core muscles, promoting good posture,” Becker says.
Read also: Maximize Pilates Gains
Increases Flexibility and Mobility
Many barre classes combine strength moves with targeted stretches to maintain and improve your flexibility and range of motion, which can reduce the risk of injuries, Becker says. Building mobility is critical not just for your exercise routine-but also for regular everyday activities such as walking, sitting, and climbing stairs.
Works on Cardiovascular and Muscular Endurance
Barre workouts incorporate elements of cardiovascular training and aerobic activity into every class. Moves like knee repeaters, inchworm planks, active second position passe, and active fold-overs help improve cardiovascular endurance. The Bar Method’s interval training format targets multiple muscle groups at once, so they remain activated between reps, improving muscular endurance.
Helps Reduce Stress
Exercise releases feel-good endorphins, which can boost your mood. Due to their emphasis on specific movement patterns, barre workouts provide “an opportunity to focus on movement and breath, promoting relaxation and stress reduction,” Becker says.
Strengthens Your Mind-Body Connection
Barre requires you to concentrate to remain present and maintain your balance. “Consistent practice can help you develop better body awareness, increase mobility, and enjoy more ease and grace during everyday activities,” Becker says.
What Is Pilates?
Like barre, Pilates is a low-impact workout that focuses on controlled movements and targets those smaller, stabilizer muscles. The method was created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s as a rehabilitation movement practice. Today, the six key principles of the practice-breath, concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow-are still applicable, regardless of whether you’re on the mat or a reformer.
Read also: The Pilates and Diet Connection
Benefits of Pilates
Pilates emphasizes strengthening your core, which helps improve your posture, body alignment, and overall strength, Becker says. And building muscle isn’t limited to young Pilates enthusiasts. A 2017 study published in Experimental Aging Research found that practicing Pilates for a month increased lower body strength in a group of elderly participants. Here are some of the other benefits of this low-impact workout.
Helps You Connect to Your Body
“Pilates makes you tune in and connect to yourself on a deep internal level,” says Peloton Pilates and yoga instructor Anna Greenberg. “The focus on proper functional movement, breathing, pelvic floor health, and the way everything connects and works together can have a hugely positive impact on everything else you do.” As Anna explains, “it can be easy to do movements (or even go through the motions in life) from the outside in, just making shapes. Pilates helps to ensure you do everything with integrity from the inside out, fully embodying every exercise and experience.”
Develops Deep Core Strength
“Pilates exercises focus on strengthening deep core muscles, [including] your back and the pelvic floor,” Becker says. “[This] improves postural alignment, reduces the risk of musculoskeletal imbalances, and increases body awareness and stability.”
Helps Rehab and Prevent Injuries
The low-impact nature of Pilates exercises, coupled with the intense focus on alignment and balance, can help you recover from injuries as well as prevent them in the future, Becker adds.
Helps You Maintain Strength
Pilates supports longevity and has mental health benefits, as well. Regular Pilates exercises can improve posture, increase stability, and enhance body awareness.
Read also: Walking and Pilates for Weight Loss
Reduces Stress
The method emphasizes mindful movement. “Pilates exercises require a deep mind-body connection as well as deep breathing, which can help calm a racing mind and relieve tension,” Becker says. A regular Pilates practice can also improve your mental clarity and potentially relieve burnout, she adds. A 2020 study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine of 87 young men found that a 30-minute Pilates session reduced stress, lowered fatigue levels, and increased energy in participants.
Pilates vs. Barre: Key Similarities
There are a lot of parallels between these two practices. One of the biggest similarities is that both Pilates and barre are appropriate for all fitness levels, Becker says. Your instructor will be able to offer modifications throughout the workout to make certain exercises easier or more challenging. You can also adapt movements for any injuries or limitations you might have.
Barre and Pilates both focus on controlled, low-impact strength training, posture work, as well as mobility and flexibility, she says. If you’re an avid runner or cyclist, both of these modalities can act as a slow, calmer pairing to your more intense cardio workouts.
Plus, both barre and mat Pilates can be done without any equipment, making them ideal workouts to do while traveling or when you have limited space.
Both classes have similar exercises. There’s a lot of crossover between Pilates and barre, and some exercises will crop up in both, especially if you’re taking a mat Pilates class. Both mat Pilates and barre won’t use a lot of equipment - usually, classes will focus on your body weight, or add light weights, resistance bands, or an exercise ball. Both classes will feature a lot of isometric exercises and isometric holds. Isometric exercises are when the muscle fibers are fixed in length throughout, like a pulse squat in barre or a plank in Pilates. Both increase flexibility. Both Pilates and barre aim to increase flexibility in the body. Barre does this by focusing on elongation in the entire body - you’ll often find your teacher reminding you to stand up straight like a ballerina during class. Pilates also improves flexibility and posture by focusing on full-body alignment. In other words, whether you pick Pilates or barre, the aim is to work on longer, stronger muscles.
Pilates vs. Barre: Differences to Know
However, despite all the similarities between the two, Pilates and barre are still distinct modalities. One of the most notable differences between them is in their equipment or tools. If you’re taking a Pilates reformer class, you’ll use a reformer with springs and straps for the majority of your exercises. Mat Pilates, on the other hand, can be done without equipment, or with some small Pilates props. Barre classes will often utilize light weights, a small exercise ball, and resistance bands. “Barre targets individual muscles with a more isolated approach, while Pilates targets multiple muscle groups working together and often has more of a continuous flow to its format,” says Anna.
While both methods can push the pace, barre tends to up the cardiovascular challenge more so than Pilates, Becker says. “Barre classes combine isometric exercises with bigger more dynamic movements that include intervals to elevate the heart rate,” she says. Barre accomplishes toning through isometric movements, which engage muscles for extended periods of time; it’s what causes that signature barre shake.
Additionally, barre classes tend to follow the beat of the music and emphasize having a tucked pelvis, Kristin McGee previously told The Output. In comparison, in Pilates, you typically focus on maintaining a neutral pelvis.
The equipment used is also different. Here’s where things get a little more complicated - if you opt for a reformer Pilates class or a Megaformer class, the equipment will be different. Reformer Pilates is practiced on the reformer machine - a large frame-like structure with a sliding bed called a “carriage” that you can lay or stand on. Various coiled springs attach to the carriage to add intensity through resistance to Pilates exercises, alongside various pulleys and handles that diversify the workout further by working your entire body. The focus of the two classes is also slightly different. While barre works muscles to exhaustion, Pilates doesn’t. Barre also tends to focus more on the lower body and isolating muscle groups, whereas Pilates has a strong focus on the core - all Pilates exercises start with the core, and the fundamentals of Pilates are around stabilizing the back, hips, and core.
Pilates vs. Barre: Which Burns More Calories?
When it comes to which modality burns more calories, barre is the clear winner. This is mostly because, while both classes are low-impact, barre is a little more demanding on your body and heart. Keeping that heart rate elevated will lead to more calories burned, says Reed.
On average, and according to this calorie counter (modeled on the Compendium of Physical Activities) a 160-lb person engaging in one hour of Pilates can expect to burn around 200-250 calories. This increases slightly on the reformer to 220-300. The calories you burn through exercise vary from person to person, and factors like age, weight, and duration come into play. For a more accurate idea of how many calories you’ve burned, it’s a good idea to invest in one of the best fitness trackers.
On average, a 160-lb person will burn around 230-250 calories in a barre class, but again, this can vary based on the intensity of the class. As you can see, there’s not an awful lot of difference between the two forms of exercise from a calorie-burning perspective.
Both barre and Pilates can be an effective way to support your goals. Barre workouts incorporate elements of cardiovascular training and aerobic activity into every class. In addition to cardio, strength training is a key component of any fitness routine, especially if weight loss is one of your goals. Strength training leads to increased muscle mass, which helps your body burn calories at a faster rate, even while resting. Pilates can further improve your body composition through muscle toning, which can help you look slimmer.
How to Choose Between Pilates and Barre
If you’re ready to hit play on your next workout and can’t decide between Pilates or barre, consider your fitness goals and preferences, Becker says.
If you’re looking for a low-impact, active recovery workout, the slower pace and core-focused aspect of Pilates may appeal to you. “Pilates classes have a seamless flow of continuous movement,” explains Anna. “It is also an excellent core workout, always!” Conversely, if you’re seeking a cardiovascular challenge coupled with holds and pulses to strengthen your muscles, turn to a barre class.
Still torn? Integrate both into your routine. “Both modalities are excellent for creating internal stability and the ability to move with greater ease and fluidity in everything you do,” says Anna. “They work beautifully together to create a strong & graceful foundation for movement of all kinds.” Take a few classes with different instructors and see what you enjoy. Chances are you’ll find elements of each you love.
When it comes to which you should choose, the answer lies in which style of low-impact exercise you enjoy more. Both strengthen and sculpt your muscles, can help relieve stress, get your heart rate up, and benefit your mental health. That said, if you’re looking to build a rock-solid core, Pilates is the better choice, whereas if you prefer a dance-style workout, you might enjoy the repetitive beat of a barre class.
Ultimately, the choice between Pilates and barre workouts comes down to your preferences, whether you prefer a slow and controlled workout class or a rhythmic, high-energy workout.
Regardless of which option you choose, you can’t go wrong with making both Pilates and barre a part of your regular workout regimen.
Getting Started with Pilates and Barre
Here’s how to decode classes:
- 10 min classes: These classes are ideal for stacking together to build your perfect workout. They hone in on specific muscle regions, so you can take two or three together for a full body workout, even mixing between the two modalities.
- 15 min Express classes: When you’re short on time but want a full workout, these classes are your secret for getting it all in on a busy day.
- 20 min music and theme classes: Our signature class format, these classes are slower-paced and great for beginners, while still providing a comprehensive workout. Look for your favorite music genres, like Rock and Hip Hop.
- 30 min Barre: Sculpt & Pilates: Power: If you’re comfortable with barre and Pilates and want a faster-paced challenge, these pack a punch in just 30 minutes with less time for rest. Some classes may feature equipment to add resistance.
- 45 min Barre: Get the full in-studio class experience from anywhere with our most comprehensive class offering. Barre classes include additional time spent on lengthening movements, while Pilates classes features a classical, slowed-down approach to go deep in every movement.