Plié your way to a stronger body
A fast-growing fitness trend is taking the world by storm from celebrities, supermodels to the average human- US, wanting to try this elegant form of work-out for toned and taught bodies that being, Barre.
Barre is a dynamic fusion of Ballet, Pilates, Yoga and exercises to strengthen and isolate particular muscle groups to tone and sculpt your whole body from your fingertips to your toes!
Being loved by supermodels to keep their long, lean and perfect posture for the runway, Barre is body-weight based with high lots of reps with a small range of motion movements.
Classes are aimed to create a leaner physique, and emphasises posture- the key to alignment, to allow one to have the perfect poise. This ballet-inspired workout mixed with interval training and isometric strength training is designed to burn more calories, tone and to trim your entire body!
With many studios opening up around Australia and the world, Barre is surely becoming a go-to workout for many to gain a bit of extra flexibility, strength and work on their posture for everyday life.
Our Creative Director, Michelle Greene goes to Barre regularly for a workout and here is what she thinks of the new exercise trend:
1.How long have you been doing Barre classes? And how many classes would you do a week?
I started Barre around March this year, I try to do two classes a week sometimes three but I have to shuffle my classes around depending on work and my children's schedules.
2. Have you noticed a change in your body in terms of posture & feeling the burn in isolated muscle groups?
Yes! At first I was sceptical about how good the workout would be as I had never associated dance or ballet with working out but I did want to see what the buzz was all about. I quickly ate my words when I could hardly walk the next day. During the classes the instructor gives lots of options to advance the moves so I always try to take those, as I like to feel the burn and know I've made the most of my workout. It's a great all over workout and it really gets in to muscle areas that are hard to target. I definitely feel like I'm gaining muscle tone and my flexibility and balance have also improved.
3. What do you like most about the classes?
I love my weekday routine straight from school drop off I grab a coffee with some school mums and then we head over to Xtend Barre Bayside in Hampton Street, Melbourne. I love that every class and instructor are different, there's a lot of variety in the moves, and always great tunes pumping in a room full of smiling faces there to have fun but also work hard. It's the perfect start and I always leave feeling energised to tackle the day.
Jaggad is also currently stocked in two Xtend Barre Studio’s in Queensland- Cairns and Burleigh- be sure to keep an eye out if you pop into the studios!
