A Workout Everyone Swears By: The Ballet Barre Workout

03.29.2012 | 2 min read

I love new, fun and innovative ways to work out and the ballet barre workout is no exception. This is a comprehensive total-body workout that incorporates major muscle groups in a unique way that reshapes the whole body. The ballet barre workout offers fun exercises that that challenges the body’s strength, endurance and increases overall fitness.

The ballet barre workout uses a ballet barre to perform small isometric movements set to upbeat music. It tones the whole body by burning fat fast, lifting the booty and toning the thighs, abs, hips and arms. Each session is accompanied with stretching to elongate muscles, looking taller and leaner. (The Pure Barre workout, now a nationwide franchise of exercise studios, was reportedly founded in Birmingham, Mich. in 2001.)

Comparisons to Yoga and Pilates

There are many benefits to doing this type of workout that differ from more common workouts. The ballet barre workout differs from Pilates and yoga in the following ways:

Pilates works smaller muscles that realign the core and help to stabilize it, while the ballet barre workout works most muscles, small and large, by using body weight to isolate these muscles.

Yoga offers a more comprehensive approach to health because people can work on their physical, mental and sometimes spiritual dimensions of health. The ballet barre workout focuses on fitness specifically by strengthening and stretching the muscles to provide overall power, grace and stamina.

Plié Please

The ballet barre workout is a one hour, non-impact workout that integrates fat-burning with interval training and muscle-shaping isometrics to improve posture and overall body image and shape. Other benefits include:

High calorie burn rate

Increase in lean muscle mass

Assists in weight-loss and sculpting the body

Workout design from physical therapists to ensure joint safety

Improves mental focus

Since this concept is still relatively new, there aren’t a ton of studios dedicated only to the ballet barre workout in Michigan. Some studios, however offer these types of classes: