Grand Rapids barre Archives - Fever

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Top 5 Fitness Trends in Grand Rapids for 2025

May 17, 2025/in Fitness /by Shannon Austin

1. Infrared-Heated Barre Classes in Grand Rapids

One of the most transformative trends in Grand Rapids fitness for 2025 is the rise of infrared-heated classes. Not to be confused with a “red light” designed for recovery. At Fever | Yoga Cycle Strength, we offer Grand Rapids’ only infrared-heated barre classes—designed to support detoxification, increase circulation, and promote joint mobility in a breathable, gentle heat.

Unlike traditional forced air, our radiant panels create an environment that feels therapeutic rather than oppressive. When you flow through heated barre, the infrared experience makes every movement more effective.

2. Hybrid Classes That Blend Strength, Cardio, and Mindfulness

Hybrid formats are redefining fitness in Grand Rapids—offering the best of strength training, cardio, and mind-body practices in one class. Fever’s popular offerings like Barre Heat and Ride + FIT are ideal for clients looking to maximize their time and results.

Our hybrid classes in Grand Rapids help clients tone and strengthen while staying mentally focused. These well-rounded formats resonate with people looking to avoid burnout and maintain consistency with a more mindful and efficient fitness routine.

3. Group Personal Training with Built-In Camaraderie

Fitness in Grand Rapids is becoming more community-driven, and group personal training is leading the charge. Unlike large gym settings where you’re left to figure it out on your own, Fever’s group personal training classes offer structure, accountability, and camaraderie—all in a supportive, expertly guided environment.

These small, technique-focused strength sessions help our Grand Rapids members stay motivated while improving form, safety, and strength. Whether you’re new to lifting or getting back into a routine, the group dynamic enhances the experience while helping each person grow.

4. Recovery and Safety as Core Pillars of Grand Rapids Wellness

In 2025, recovery and safety are at the forefront of every smart fitness routine. At Fever, we emphasize proper alignment, modifications, and nervous system support across all of our barre and yoga classes in Grand Rapids.

Classes like Glow Restore, classical alignment-based yoga (Iyengar) in Grand Rapids, and our targeted mobility practices offer clients a way to reconnect, release tension, and build resilience. Our instructors are trained to guide students with care, helping them avoid injury and build body awareness that lasts beyond the mat.

5. Community-Centered Wellness Events in Grand Rapids

Wellness in Grand Rapids is becoming more experiential and inclusive. That’s why Fever hosts pop-up yoga at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, seasonal outdoor classes, and donation-based community sessions.

These events invite new people into the practice while building community through movement. Whether it’s a special hot yoga session in Grand Rapids or a casual group meditation downtown, our events make fitness feel accessible and joyful.

Conclusion

As the Grand Rapids fitness community continues to evolve, Fever | Yoga Cycle Strength remains committed to leading with intention, quality, and inclusivity. Whether you’re drawn to hot yoga, barre, strength training, or restorative recovery, our studio offers something for every body.

Explore our full schedule of fitness class and see why more people are choosing Fever for yoga in Grand Rapids, barre classes in Grand Rapids, and mindful fitness experiences that last.

Barre vs. Pilates: Which Is Right for You?

April 25, 2025/in barre, Barre Grand Rapids, Featured, pilates /by Shannon Austin

At first glance, barre and Pilates might look similar—both use small, controlled movements, focus on core strength, and are often practiced in studios with mats, light props, and playlists that cue mindful movement. But while they share some DNA, they offer very different experiences. If you’re wondering which one is right for you, the answer depends on your goals, your body, and the kind of experience you want from your workout.

Barre is rooted in ballet, blending strength, balance, and flexibility with an athletic flow. Barre classes typically involve isometric holds, pulses, and compound movements that fatigue the muscles quickly—especially in the legs, glutes, and arms. It’s known for its high-rep, low-impact format that leaves your muscles shaking in the best way. Barre often incorporates light weights, balls, bands, and bodyweight resistance to tone and sculpt, making it ideal for people looking to build strength and stability without heavy lifting or high-impact cardio. If you’re new to barre visit our beginners guide to your first barre class.

Pilates, on the other hand, focuses deeply on core strength, spinal alignment, and breath control. Mat Pilates uses precise, controlled movements to strengthen the deep core muscles and support postural awareness. Reformer Pilates introduces spring resistance and guided tracks to amplify that work. Pilates tends to have a more clinical feel—it’s often used in rehab and physical therapy settings—whereas barre classes tend to lean more rhythmic and performance-based, with a stronger influence from dance and music.

So, which one should you choose? If your goals are sculpting, endurance, posture improvement, and a sweat that feels fun and musical, barre might be your perfect match. If you’re seeking core rehabilitation, back pain relief, or low-impact strength training with a methodical, breath-led pace, Pilates might be the better fit. Of course, many people love doing both—there’s no need to choose one forever.

One of the biggest differences between the two is the energy in the room. Barre classes tend to have more of a group fitness vibe—think energy, music, community—while Pilates often has a quieter, more focused energy. Neither is better than the other—it just depends on what lights you up.

If you’re curious about barre, you can check out our barre class breakdown and join a session that meets you where you’re at. And if Pilates is calling your name, it’s worth trying a few styles (mat, reformer, classical) to find the right fit for your body.

The Beginners Guide to Barre Classes

December 13, 2023/1 Comment/in barre, Barre Grand Rapids /by Shannon Austin

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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