Barre for Weight Loss: Is Barre Good for Losing Weight?

You might think barre exercises are something only ballerinas do; however, it would appear that they may also be a good way to lose weight. But how does it work? How can barre workouts help to shed excess fat and keep the pounds at bay?

In this article, we shall answer the question: ‘is barre good for losing weight?’ as well as explore the type of barre workouts you can do at home.

What is barre class?

Before you panic, barre classes don’t involve countless hours of doing plies or pirouettes.

Instead, these exercises consist of a mixture of Pilates, ballet, and yoga which aim to break down muscle and build up strength, helping to stimulate your metabolism and increase calorie burn.

The science:

One thing you need to remember about barre classes is that their purpose isn’t to help you lose weight. Instead, their mission is to work your muscles to the point of fatigue, before rebuilding them again.

As a result, you’ll burn more carbs and benefit from an increased breakdown of fat stores, as your body tries to create extra energy for this muscle creation.

At the same time, you’ll witness reduced waistlines; a small amount of weight loss, and the appearance of toned abs and glutes as you’ll expend more calories than you consume.

Things to remember:

1. Barre workouts are low impact and combine the movement of ballet with strengthening and stretching techniques from Pilates and yoga.
2. They typically last 45 minutes.
3. Barres are used in class as a prop to help you balance so you can focus on performing isometric strength exercises.
4. They are whole-body workouts aimed at energizing your body.
5. Each class is designed to strengthen your core; tone and elongate your muscles and work on your build alignment.
6. There are different types of barre workouts including cardio barre (barre exercises paired with cardio); HIIT barre (cardio barre but more intense), and yoga barre.

Typical barre exercises

If you’re questioning ‘what kind of workout is barre’, then the easiest way to surmise it is as a challenging workout that focuses on exercising your lower body.

By combining elements of classical barre ballet with Pilates and leg exercises, you can enjoy a low impact workout that will tone your glutes, hamstrings, and calves, leaving you leaner and stronger.

Now, if you’re a newbie we recommend doing barre workouts with a trained professional, to begin with, as the only way you can experience barre weight loss is to switch up your routine every day.

Do the same workout day in, day out, and eventually, its effects will diminish.

However, take the time to learn multiple moves (by attending a series of classes) and you can ensure that you’ve got a variety of exercises to test out at home.

Let’s list a few exercise examples that you might get during a barre class.

• Isometric strength exercises

For these, you will have to keep your body still, while contracting small and specific sets of muscles in your body. These movements should be small and controlled to maximize your burn.

• Thigh exercises like the Vertical V

This one doesn’t use a bar, but it’s a classic during a barre workout.

Sit down on the floor with your legs straight outstretched in front of you and your hands placed in a prayer position.

Now keep your back straight, and slowly go back down a little. Don’t bend your back! You will feel this one straight away in your abs.

Note: you shouldn’t rely on barre workouts at home alone to lose weight, as on their own they won’t boost your metabolic rate. Instead, specialists recommend combining it with strength training and high-intensity workouts e.g. weight lifting, cycling, running, swimming, etc.