Introducing Barre

Barre has been a roaring success with Yogis busting out some amazing new moves, sweating and getting their groove on. We sat down with Alan Lambie to ask him some of your questions about the class. Keep going until the end to watch a little video we put together of some of the things going on in a Barre class.

What is Barre?

Barre is a fitness class that has elements of Yoga, Pilates conditioning, and Ballet. A 45-minute class is all you need to work your full body and to get your heart rate up, usually by the second exercise, people are sweating. Classes are set to upbeat music (I’m happy to take song requests) to keep you motivated from start to finish.

Who is it for?

This is for anybody and no dance experience is required at all. This is for people who want long, lean legs and toned bodies.

What does it do differently to Yoga?

Barre challenges the body to move differently to Yoga, increasing everyone’s movement vocabulary. After the warm-up, you can expect your heart rate to go up, bringing in a cardiovascular element that is missing from most Yoga sessions, which tend to focus on winding down. Repetitive movements in a turned out position activates muscles that may not be accessed in other movement practices. There is still time dedicated to focus on the movement and breath.

What props does it use?

Firstly, the ballet barre is the primary prop used to help balance in some of the exercises. After that, a class will always use hand weights, and depending on what we are working on that day, can use a ball or resistance band.

Have a little look at one of our classes in action!