Barre workouts are all the rage!
When it comes to losing weight and getting a body like ballerina dancers, your average boring regime might not do justice.
You must have seen in the news and read in the magazine the barre workout program has garnered popularity in the past years.
The barre workout fever has not even spared the top celebrities.
“The famous pop star and “boyfriend” singer Selena Gomez has also been spotted doing some pure barre exercise on her Instagram just after her kidney transplant.”
This new fitness routine in town helps you gain core strength, killer flexibility, unimaginable balance & stamina, and weight loss as well.
And all this with much grace and elegance!
I know it’s a lot to take in all at once?
You must be feeling clueless concerning what actually a barre workout is and wondering is barre a good workout for weight loss and Is barre good for weight loss in a male?
Well! You are asking all the right questions.
So, is barre effective for weight loss?
Let’s leave the suspense behind and give your curiosity some insight.
First off…
What is Barre Workout?
Even though barre workout exercise gained momentum in 2010, it has a long past that goes back to the 1950s.
It all started when German Ballet dancer, Lotte Berk, combined her ballet moves with therapy sessions to recover from a back injury. Later she started a Lotte Berk Studio in her basement.
Fast forward 10 years, one of her students popularized it in New York.
However, it caught global attention in 2010 and got intense after the Hollywood drama “Black Swan”.
“Inspired by ballet, barre workout is an elegant combination of pilates, yoga, and ballerina.”
The deliberate barre workout movements require minimal equipment and rely on body weight for resistance.
Though it seems really easy, the isometric exercises of barre workouts will surely make you feel burned out at the end of the session.
What makes out barre attractive is that it frames hybrid workout sessions that target all different parts of the body at the same time.
It is a fun and super energetic routine that shows some efficacious end results and anyone can do it.
However, the popularity of barre has also given fuel to people asking is barre a good way to lose weight!
Well, what we know is a barre workout session starts with some conventional exercises. For instance, planks, lunges, tricep dips, and push-ups.
It is designed to strengthen multiple areas including the back, glutes, arms, thighs, core, and legs.
Adding to this, you must keep in mind that the movements of this workout may seem pretty slow and simple but are extremely effective.
To be precise, barre workout movements help you:
#1. Improve body posture
#2. Get a toned and sculpted body
#3. Get leaner muscles
#4. Build strength
#5. Gain more flexibility
#6. Develop better balance and stability
AND…
#7. Burn fat and lose weight as well
Yes, barre is good for weight loss, after all.
So, if you’re on a weight loss journey and looking for a new workout to sink your teeth in, you can try barre workouts.
It assists you to break calories and burn the stored fat.
But how is barre good for fat loss and, eventually, weight loss?
Let’s find out…
Does a Barre Class Help You Lose Weight?
YES!!
Barre workouts will make you sweat a lot, and you may even feel sore.
It is because even the smallest of the small muscles of your body undergo vigorous exercise during a barre workout.
But to know is barre a good workout for weight loss or not, let’s first know how barre works.
How Does Barre Work for Weight Loss?
The barre exercise majorly works to strengthen your core while improving the posture problems simultaneously.
“Moreover, barre exercise makes you work the upper section of your body by making the midsection stronger because the midsection of your body is the center of gravity.”
You hold your upper body against your whole weight making it work like lifting a heavyweight and holding it.
This way it burns more calories by causing micro-tears in your muscles, which come back stronger when it regenerates.
Furthermore, barre exercises help you burn around 300-400 calories per class.
This is more than ballet and yoga.
This amplifies your metabolism to another level and fires up your muscles.
“As a result, it builds lean muscles and helps you burn fat even when you have your rest mode on.”
Clearly, we now know how pure barre is good for weight loss and rapid fat burn.
Why is Barre Blend Good for Weight Loss?
In summary, why and how is a barre blend good for weight loss?
Barre blend workout is really good for weight loss because it makes you burn calories, break muscles, and build strength in typically every session.
However, there’s more to it!
If your primary goal is to lose weight, relying only on a barre workout may not necessarily do much for you.
Together with this, it must be backed with a diet made up of 80% fresh and healthy food to promote weight loss and a toned body.
To clarify more, since the primary focus of barre exercise is strengthening and lengthening of your body, if your goal is to lose weight, you must incorporate it with some HIIT or cardiovascular exercises like running or swimming 2-3 times a week.
Your body will burn more calories when it gets a variety of movements.
Fun fact…
Barre workout is as good for weight loss in men as it is for women.
Sadly, just like pilates and yoga, barre is typically associated with something that only women do.
Well, let’s just give rest to these myths and take a look at the facts.
Is Barre a Good Weight Loss Workout for Men Too?
Barre is a super beneficial and effective workout for men and athletes as well.
It might surprise you that many famous football players take professional ballet classes to improve their performance on the field.
For instance, Eddie George, a Heisman Trophy Winner and Nfl player, actor, and entrepreneur, once talked in a personal interview about him taking professional ballet classes.
He mentioned how ballet helped him in building strength, maintaining better balance on the ground.
And how can we forget Arnold Schwarzenegger who took ballet lessons to perfect his pose which was about “bodybuilding”.
However, even though barre workout is different from ballet classes, it is inspired by ballet moves.
It is only more interesting and highly compatible with any type of traditional gym workout.
And when it comes to weight loss, men can also benefit from it in the same way as women.
Just like for women, it hits the mid-glutes and targets deep ignored muscles in men that are often not used in the traditional training methods.
Hence, breaking the stereotype linked with ballet and men, many rugby players, football players, actors, athletes of all kinds, and even common men are now no more shy to join the barre workout classes for better.
Talking about barre and why it is good for weight loss, here are some of the barre exercises to help you in getting a toned body and burning fat.
Barre Exercises for Weight Loss [Burn Fat at Home]
Here are 4 fat-burning barre exercises to help you burn more and lose more.
#1. Flatten Abs
Targets: Core and obliques
How to Do It
- Sit on a mat with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Lean back and put a barre core ball (or rolled towel) between your shoulder blades on the mat.
- Along your spine, root your backside into the mat. Next, rest the weight of your head on to your hands at the back and engage your core.
- Inhale and exhale slowly.
- And while you inhale, slightly open your chest over the ball.
- Lift your head, neck, and shoulders while drawing your belly inside when you exhale. Then slowly angle your right elbow towards your right waist and make a slow cinch.
- Repeat it on the left and continue for around 60 seconds.
#2. Sculpt Your Seat Area
Target: Core and Glutes
How to Do It
- Stand tall while resting your palms on the counter (kitchen counter will do).
- Slightly bend your knees and draw your right foot behind you.
- Lift the leg a few inches directly behind you and try to hold the position.
- Make sure your left standing knee is soft and you’re engaging your core.
- Keeping your spine long, lean slightly forward.
- For about an inch, lift your right toe up then lower; then again slide the same leg to the right for about an inch and pull it back to the center making an “L” shape.
- Perform this for 30 reps and repeat on the left side.
#3. Firm Arms
Target: Arms, chest, and back
How to Do It
- Rest your palms directly on the table or chair to support your weight and step back on the balls of your feet while your shoulders are a distance apart.
- Draw your chest towards the counter while bending your elbows.
- Next, extend your arms and bring yourself back to the start position by pressing your palms on the table.
- Continue it for 60 seconds and maintain a solid form.
#4. Strong Arms and Core
Target: Arms and core
How to Do It
- Stand on a mat with your legs wide apart and ankle facing each other.
- Take 3-pound weights (you can do it even without weights). Hold them nicely in your hand. Keep your shoulders straight and elbows out.
- Bring your hand in front and away from your chest keeping your elbows out and bend it a little to make it appear like a bow and hold this position.
- Now, while you hold your upper body’s position, bend your knees and then stretch.
- Repeat it for 60 seconds.
- Bring your hands in a 90-degree position with palms in front of your face and elbows to your chest.
- Keep them together and then slowly move them away and bring them in level with your shoulder. It’ll appear like opening a window. Repeat this open and close step 10-20 times.
These four exercises can be performed easily even at home.
Since, barre is a hybrid combination of pilates, yoga, and ballet, I’m sure you must be wondering which one is better.
Is Barre Better Than Pilates for Weight Loss?
So, which is more effective: pilates or barre?
Well, if you are indecisive about which one to choose for better results, go for barre.
It’s because barre mixes the strengthening technique of pilates with its own method and gives you results sooner than others.
Furthermore, it has been found that doing yoga and pilates individually serves you results in weeks and months, whereas visible results can be seen in barre participants in as minimum as 8 weeks.
So, when it comes to which burns more calories: pilates or barre, then know that adding cardio segments to each barre workout session increases your heart rate to help burn more calories.
“As per popular barre studios, Physique 57, one hour of barre class with designated cardio helps you burn around 500-850 calories.”
No wonder pilates is an excellent choice when it comes to building strength and stability. But barre blend, which has the plus points of yoga, pilates, and ballet moves, helps you attain lean muscle and revives your metabolism for fat loss.
Adding to this, when combined with cardiovascular exercises, barre is good for weight loss.
55 minutes of each barre workout session will make some visible changes in your overall fitness including weight loss.
WORD OF ADVICE
The bottom line is barre is the new workout regime in the town that is winning attention for all the right reasons.
Not only does it have the elegance of ballet but the strengthening of pilates and flexibility of yoga.
If fused with regular cardiovascular exercises, it acts as a cherry on the cake for those looking for weight loss.
“What excites me more when it comes to barre workouts is that it doesn’t need any prior preparation or requirement or qualification.”
Many assume that since it’s inspired by ballet, they must know dancing to join a barre class.
This is actually a myth.
Barre blends can be done by anyone whether they know dancing or not and irrespective of their gender.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go join your nearest barre class and shed some pounds gracefully!