Ballet Barre Workout: The Latest Trend

You’re probably wondering: “What is a ballet barre workout?” Rest assured, you’re not alone.

A few years back, when visiting my cousin out of town, she invited me to take a local barre workout class. Since it was my downtime from the company (classical ballet) and since I can’t stay away from dancing for too long, I gladly agreed.

But I had no idea that ballet barre exercises were and still are the latest trend. Just do a quick search on google and you’ll find a class in almost every major U.S. city and around the world!

Classes, dvds, videos, reviews, magazines, forums and even barre workouts you can do from home is what I found. The most recent ballet-based program is Ballet Beautiful from former New York City Ballet dancer, Mary Helen Bowers, who trained Natalie Portman for her role in Black Swan.

Ballet barre workout enthusiast and creator of the Xtend Barre workout Andrea Rogers explains:

If you are staying on top of fitness trends you know that “barre workouts,” which are designed to give you a long, lean dancer-like physique, are all the rage these days. Barre studios are popping up in every major city across the globe, along with a variety of DVDs you can do at home. While all barre workouts differ slightly in structure, most methods incorporate exercises done at a ballet barre (you can use the back of a chair at home) combined with elements of ballet, Pilates, and yoga.

Barre exercises rely mainly upon one’s bodyweight for resistance, and the moves challenge your core stability and balance. Barre workouts are designed to help an individual achieve a “dancer’s body” — strong, sleek, and streamlined.

So why are barre workouts so popular among celebrities (think Madonna and Kelly Ripa) and regular folks alike?

One reason for their success is that they really provide results. Most barre enthusiasts rave about the physical benefits of the workout.  With consistency, participants find that their bodies become slimmer and more “chiseled.”  Others simply get addicted to the fun dance inspired workouts set to great music and challenging choreography.

As we say at Xtend Barre, “No tutus required!” There is no prior dance experience required to benefit from a barre program. You should feel more strong, flexible and coordinated and more like a dancer with every class!

Follow the entire article on ballet barre workout. View video here.

What a great idea: Body sculpting for everyone. You can get a ballerina’s lean chiseled body with an accessible total body workout. If you already did a google search for ballet barre workout I’m certain you’ll find a class in your vicinity.

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