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The Beginners Guide to Barre Classes

Barre is an accessible and beginner-friendly form of exercise for everyone, regardless of skill or fitness level. In this blog, we’ll walk through how barre was created, basic barre movements and terms, equipment used in barre classes, the unique benefits of barre classes, and explain everything you need to know before taking your first barre class.

What is Barre?

Barre was created in the 1950s by Lotte Berk, a ballerina who, after sustaining a back injury, began combining her traditional ballet routines with rehabilitative therapy exercises. Since then, barre has developed into a popular form of full-body exercise that combines movements and positions borrowed from ballet with low-impact, repetitive strength exercises.

Understanding Basic Barre Movements & Terms

Because barre borrows movements from ballet, several terms and movements may be unfamiliar to beginners. However, no prior dance experience or knowledge is required to participate in barre—you’ll get the hang of it in no time. To get you started, here are some common barre movements and terms to know:

Common Barre Positions:

First Position: Standing on the floor with your heels touching and your toes apart, forming a narrow V shape.
Second Position: Standing on the floor with your feet slightly wider than shoulder distance and your toes slightly pointing on an outward diagonal (also sometimes called “wide second”).
Parallel: Standing on the floor with your feet straight and facing forward (like the number 11), either together or hip-width apart.
Neutral Spine: A relaxed position where your back is perfectly in line from the tailbone to the spine to the neck and head, not straining in either direction.

Common Barre Movements:

Pulse: A small, controlled muscle movement typically done to the beat of music. Pulses involve a small range of motion, often indicated by the phrase “up an inch, down an inch.”
Relevé: Taken from ballet, this instruction simply means to lift your heel(s) off the ground.
Point/Flex: A point means to extend your toes pointing away from your body, lengthening your leg muscles outward. The opposite of a point, a flex means to pull your toes upward toward your body, stretching your calves and hamstrings.
Plié: Also from ballet, a plié indicates bending the knees then straightening them again, typically with hips and feet turned outward and the heels pressed together.

Gear and Equipment Used in Barre Classes

There are two pieces of equipment unique to barre classes: a ballet-style barre often used for support during exercises and a stall barre, which is a tall piece of exercise equipment with rungs of various heights often used for stretching and corrective exercises.

While many barre movements require only your body weight, barre instructors may incorporate light hand or ankle weights, resistance bands, exercise ballers, or sliders to further challenge and tone your muscles.

Different Styles of Barre

Not all barre classes are created equal. Franchise studios follow scripted formats—predictable sequences repeated for weeks at a time. Boutique fitness studios offer more variety and personality, with teachers who shape class based on their style, personality and expertise. And then there’s hot barre classes, where you get the sculpting benefits of barre with added infrared heat for deeper muscle activation and a detoxifying sweat.

The Benefits of Barre

Barre is often praised for its ability to help isolate and tone lean muscle throughout all parts of the body, including your core, glutes, arms, and thighs/legs. The use of repeated slow, small movements allows you to work these muscles in a more focused way than traditional strength training exercises and target deeper muscles that high-intensity workouts might miss.

In addition to gaining strength and toning muscles, barre exercises help to increase flexibility, build a stronger core, and improve posture and balance. This increased mobility and range of motion are not only helpful for your workouts, but for the quality of your everyday life. The low-impact movements of barre are also easier on your joints than high-impact strength training, which means quicker recovery times and a lessened chance of injury.

Like all forms of exercise, barre is beneficial for overall physical health and longevity. And because of the emphasis on the mind-body connection, barre is also known for increasing mental clarity and reducing stress through the release of endorphins.

What to Expect from Your First Barre Class

What to Wear: Women should wear a supportive sports bra with an exercise tank top or fitted shirt. We like the bra built into our tanks for barre class. We listed our favorite barre tank that we have in every color below! For bottoms, fitted capris, leggings, or exercise pants are all appropriate, but wearing shorts is discouraged.

Most barre classes require grip/sticky socks, as no shoes are worn during the class. Barre sox ensures unparalleled stability during your barre workout, offering a secure grip that outperforms other options.

What to Bring: All of the equipment needed for your class will be provided, except barre socks and hydration.

What to Expect: While classes vary in style and length, all barre classes will focus on a variety of mobility, range of motion, and strength/toning exercises. In most classes, these exercises will be timed to the beat of music.

Barre classes often rotate through sections focusing on arms, core/abs, and lower body, repeating small isometric movements until all muscle groups are fatigued and end with a cooldown/stretching period.

Modern barre studios in Grand Rapids may offer fusion classes that combine barre with another form of exercise such as cardio barre, HIIT barre, or pilates and barre. If it’s your first time taking a barre class in Grand Rapids, consider arriving a few minutes early to get familiar with the equipment and to ask any questions about the class format to the instructor. Your barre instructor is an expert there to help you succeed and get the most out of your class.

Ready to hit the barre in GR? Schedule a barre class at Fever | Yoga Cycle Strength today.

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Barre vs. Strength Training: What is Best for Your Workout?

February 17, 2023/in barre, Featured, strength training /by Shannon Austin

The vast array of fitness classes and workout options available today can be both exciting and, let’s face it, overwhelming. With so many styles to choose from, it can be difficult to know what workouts best suit our lifestyle and will benefit us most in the long run.

In this blog, we’ll unpack the basics of a few popular workouts, barre and strength training, discuss the unique benefits of each workout, and explain what workout is best for your fitness goals.

Understanding Barre vs. Strength Training

Barre is a form of full-body exercise that combines movements and positions borrowed from ballet with low-impact, repetitive strength exercises, designed to isolate and strengthen muscles. Barre classes often rotate through sections focusing on arms, core/abs, and lower body, repeating small, isometric movements targeting one muscle area until all muscles are fatigued. While barre can be done without equipment, classes typically incorporate a ballet barre and light weights, resistance bands, sliders, and/or exercise balls.

Strength training (also known as resistance training) is a form of exercise focused on gaining muscle mass, building strength, and increasing endurance. Strength training encompasses a wide variety of exercises, using body weight or equipment, with a focus on building muscle mass in all major muscle groups. Bodyweight exercises like lunges, squats, push-ups, and planks are examples of strength training, as are movements that incorporate weights and resistance machines.

Pilates is a form of strength training that focuses on deep core muscular engagement and utilizes different props such as pilate rings, foam rollers, free weights, and bender balls.

For in studio strength training, we prefer SPRI dumbbells lined in vinyl. If the weights are not protected, they will start to peel and shed rather quickly. If you’re new to strength training, start with a low weight of 5 pounds. After curling a few reps, those light weights will feel much heavier. Continue to progress to heavier weights until you meet your new “edge” and comfortability. Typically functional training will allow 10 – 25 pound weights per rep once you reach comfort.

The Benefits of Barre

Barre offers a full body workout, toning your core, glutes, arms, and thighs/legs. Due to its use of small, isometric movements, barre often targets the deeper muscles in the body that are missed in other workouts. And, because barre is low-impact and easy on joints and muscles, there is a decreased chance of injury and recovery is often faster than higher-intensity workouts. Expect to use light weights such as 3 pound weights with a lot of reps to “burn out” the muscle groups.

Barre classes focus on both strength and flexibility, often incorporating stretching and lengthening exercises throughout. These exercises contribute to increased mobility and range of motion that are beneficial in everyday life and lead to better posture and balance, as well.

The mind-body connection and focus required for barre classes help reduce stress and increase mental clarity—not to mention the feel-good endorphins that come after.

The Benefits of Strength Training

The most obvious benefit of strength training is an overall increase in muscle mass and a toned physique. However, strength training also helps build bone density, joint flexibility, and balance—all of which lead to a higher quality of life and a lower risk of injury overall.

Strength training may also be an ideal form of exercise for those pursuing fat loss, as increased muscle mass leads to a higher resting metabolic rate. This means that your body consistently burns more calories when at rest, rather than just during your workout.

Alongside its physical benefits, consistent strength training also contributes to overall health and longevity, better sleep, and mental clarity.

Barre vs. Strength Training: What is Best for Your Workout?

The simple answer is that both exercises can be extremely beneficial for your overall health and what workout is “best” will depend on your unique fitness goals and preferences.

We recommend incorporating a combination of barre, strength training, pilates and other exercises into your routine to increase your overall strength and help you avoid injury, mental boredom, and burnout. Switching up your workouts will continue to challenge your body and help you see more consistent results over time.

However, when it comes to exercise, it’s also important to do what you love—if a barre class gets you excited to wake up in the morning, do that! If a strength training or pilates class plan helps you unwind after a long day, do that! Prioritizing the forms of exercise that you enjoy the most will ensure you stay consistent over time and see exercise as a gift to your body and mind, not a punishment.

Whether it’s a strength class, a barre class, or one of our pilates options, Fever would love to be a part of your fitness journey. Schedule a strength class today.

Barre Class: Terms to Know Before You Hit the Barre

January 31, 2023/1 Comment/in barre, Barre Grand Rapids /by Shannon Austin

Barre is an increasingly popular form of full-body exercise, combining movements and positions borrowed from ballet with low-impact, repetitive strength exercises. Although somewhat similar to other toning workouts like mat pilates, there are many pieces of equipment, positions, and movements that are unique to barre.

To help prepare you before you hit the barre, here are some common terms to know:
Barre Equipment Terms: Ballet Barre: In barre classes, a ballet-style barre is often used for support during exercises (hence the name!).

Stall Barre: A stall barre is a tall piece of exercise equipment with rungs of various heights, like a ladder. The stall barre is often used for stretching and corrective exercises. Typically, people hold the very top rung and allow their bodies to hang and lengthen.

Different Styles of Barre

Not all barre classes are the same. Franchise studios follow preset, scripted formats—predictable sequences repeated week after week. Independently owned studios offer more variety and personality, with teachers who shape class based on their style and expertise. And then there’s the growing hot barre classes, where you get the sculpting benefits of barre with added heat for deeper muscle activation and an energizing sweat.

Barre Positions to Know:

● First Position: In first position, you are standing on the floor with your heels touching and your toes apart, forming a narrow V shape.
● Second Position: In second position (also sometimes called “wide second”), you are standing on the floor with your feet slightly wider than shoulder distance and your toes slightly pointed on an outward diagonal.
● Parallel: In parallel position, you are standing on the floor with your feet straight and facing forward (like the number 11), either together or hip-width apart.
● Neutral Spine: A neutral spine is a relaxed position where your back is perfectly in line from the tailbone to the spine to the neck and head, not straining in either direction.
Barre Movement Terms:

● Pulse: A pulse is a small, controlled muscle movement. Typically done to the beat of music, pulses involve a small range of motion, often indicated by the phrase “up an inch, down an inch.”

●Relevé: Taken from ballet, this instruction simply means to lift your heel(s) off the ground.
Point/Flex: A point is when you extend your toes pointing away from your body, lengthening your leg muscles. The opposite of a point, a flex is when you pull your toes upward toward your body, stretching your calves and hamstrings.
●Plié: Also taken from ballet, a plié means to bend the knees and straighten them again, typically with hips and feet turned outward and the heels pressed together. Tuck: A tuck is a movement involving your pelvic muscles, done by dropping your tailbone down and then pulling your abdominal muscles up toward your spine. This move is often performed lying down, pushing the hips forward rhythmically to a beat.
●Seat Work: In barre, seat work refers to exercises and movements focused on your hamstrings/upper thighs and glutes—the area that touches a seat.
If it’s familiar with the equipment and to ask any questions to the instructor beforehand. If you still feel confused or unsure of how to use the equipment or how to perform certain exercises, your barre instructor is an expert there to help you succeed and get the most out of all barre has to offer!

Ready to get started? Schedule your first barre class at Fever | Yoga Cycle Strength today!

What to Expect from Your First Barre Class

January 24, 2023/in barre, Barre Grand Rapids /by Shannon Austin

Are you considering trying out your very first barre class? Barre is a great exercise option for beginners and fitness pros alike! Barre classes combine movements and positions borrowed from ballet with low-impact, repetitive strength exercises, designed to tone and strengthen muscles—but no prior dance experience is required.

Before you head into your first barre class, here’s what you can expect:

What to Wear (and Bring) to Your First Barre Class

You may be wondering what type of athletic wear is best suited for barre class (no, tutus and ballet shoes are not required!). We suggest that women wear a supportive sports bra with an exercise tank top or fitted shirt. For bottoms, fitted capris, leggings, or exercise pants are all appropriate, but wearing shorts is discouraged.

Some barre classes may require grip/sticky socks, as (typically) no shoes are worn during the class. Grip socks are available for purchase at the studio or can be purchased online beforehand. Honestly, you can go barefoot and be just as productive + safe. All of the other equipment needed for the class will be provided for you, so you simply need to bring yourself, maybe socks, and some water to stay hydrated!

What to Expect from Your First Barre Class

While classes vary in style and length, all barre classes focus on strength training, mobility, and range of motion Barre classes often rotate through sections focusing on arms, core/abs, and lower body, repeating small isometric movements until muscles are fatigued (prepare to be shaking!) At most classes, these exercises will be timed to the beat of music.
Alongside the use of bodyweight and the ballet barre, many barre classes also incorporate resistance bands, sliders, hand or ankle weights, or exercise balls to further challenge and fatigue muscles. Modern barre studios may offer “fusion” classes, such as cardio barre, HIIT and barre, pilates and barre, and more. It would be helpful to arrive a few minutes early to your first class to ask your instructor any questions about the class format and to become familiar with the equipment you’ll be using.

Because barre borrows exercises and positions from ballet, there may be terms to know for your first barre class and movements you are unfamiliar with. Don’t worry—your instructor is there to help you through it!

What to Do After Your First Barre Class

Once your first class is over, congratulate yourself: You did it! Enjoy those post-workout endorphins. Although classes typically include a cooldown and stretching period at the end, don’t forget to give your sore muscles some extra TLC after class. Hydration, stretching, and rest are the keys to ensuring proper muscle recovery after exercise.

Because barre is low-impact, recovery is often quicker than more high-intensity workouts. That means after a day or so, it’s time to schedule your next barre class!

Posts

What is Barre?

Understanding Basic Barre Movements & Terms

Common Barre Positions:

Common Barre Movements:

Gear and Equipment Used in Barre Classes

The Benefits of Barre

What to Expect from Your First Barre Class

Different Styles of Barre

Barre Positions to Know:

Classes

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