Intro to Barre Routine

This routine clocks in at just over a half hour.

Barre involves small movements and isometric holds. If you have 2-3 pound weights, grab them, along with something to be able to hold for balance (a chair or counter works just fine!). For the arm section, you want to actively engage (i.e. flex) the muscles you are working, so you will still get a lot of work with no weights - this is what makes barre easy to do anywhere!

Now to the actual workout.

Warm up for a few minutes. Walk in place, do some squats, do jumping jacks. Anything to get the blood moving toward your muscles.

Bum/Plank Series:

• One Legged Push-Ups: in a tabletop position, extend right leg behind you. Do 8 reps.

• Rainbow Swings: starting with right leg extended to the right. Lift up and around your bent left leg to the left of your body. Repeat over and around in a controlled motion. That’s one rep - do 10!

• Leg Pulses: extend right leg behind you in initial position. Pulse up (extending opposite arm for an added challenge). Bend knee with foot to ceiling, flex your foot, and stamp up 20 times.

• Donkey Kicks: Bring bent knee down to tap floor then extend back up to starting position with pointed toe 20 times, then pulse up 20 times.

• Fire Hydrants: On all fours, lift leg out to side. After 20 reps, pulse up 20 times.

• Full Arm Plank. Hold for 5 seconds, then kick each leg up with a flexed foot up 8 times, alternating legs.

• Forearm Plank: 15 seesaws. Shift weight forward and back. 10 single knee marches (touch each knee to floor). Hold forearm plank for 15 seconds.

  Repeat sequence on the other side, including planks.

Ab Series:

Transition to your back. A note about form here - remember to keep a neutral spine through this entire section. That’s an overly complicated way to say don’t arch your lower back or push it into the floor. This is especially important for moves that include lowering your legs to the ground; only go as far as you can without arching your lower back, which takes the work out of your abs and puts stress on your lower back. (It’s okay if you can’t lower them very far - by maintaining proper form, you’ll get lower faster!)

• Bent leg extensions to bicycles. This is my favorite ab move ever! Bring your legs to tabletop, extend left leg long while you crunch up. Lower head while you bring the left leg back to tabletop. Extend right leg while you twist left elbow to crunch up to meet it. (In other words, just alternate between crunching up and twisting to the side as you switch legs.) Complete 10 reps then switch leg and twisting to the other side.

• The Hundred (with an interesting twist!). In a tabletop position, extend legs and lower as far as you can go without your lower back popping off the floor. Crunch up, extend arms by sides down and up. Breathe in for 5 pumps and out for 5 pumps; repeat for a total of 10 cycles (hence the name hundred). INTERESTING TWIST: To up the intensity (and help you keep track with the counting, quite frankly), lower one leg closer to the floor for each exhale part of the move. So for your first and all odd numbered rounds, you’d lower your right leg, and for your even numbered rounds you lower your left leg.

• Straight Leg Lowers. Extend legs straight up to ceiling. With hands behind head, crunch up. While holding crunch, lower legs toward floor as far as you can with proper form. Do 10 reps.

• Double Leg Stretch. Bring knees into chest and touch your ankles. Inhale as you extend legs out toward ground and arms over head, then sweep arms around as you bring knees back into chest. Do 10 reps.

• Butterfly Crunches.

  • Part 1: Let bent legs drop outward toward the ground and touch the bottom of the feet together. With hands behind head, crunch up 20 times, then pulse at top 20 times.

  • Part 2: Same starting positing, but this time as you crunch up, bring legs together so that your knees touch as you crunch up. 20 reps.

• Boat Pose. 20 seconds.

Arms:

• Muscle Man. Etend arms to side and bend to 90 degrees. Pulse up 25 times.

• In and Outs. With arms still in muscle man, bring elbows together in front of you to touch then move back out to muscle man. Do 25 reps. Finish with elbows touching in frong of you.

• Front Muscle Man. With elbows touching or close to it, pulse up for 25 times.

• Front Bicep Curls. From front muscle man position, extent one arm then another, 25 for each arm.

• In and Outs. Another 25 reps.

• Bend and extend.

  • Part 1: Extend arms to the corners of the room. Bend your arms slightly, then extend fully. 25 reps.

  • Part 2: Extend arms straight out to the side. Bend slightly, then extend fully. 25 reps.

• Triceps Series. Bend forward slightly and extend arms straight behind you, lifted as high as you can and palms facing each other. Do 25 small pulses up then 25 small pulses bringing your hands closer to each other. Then do a bend an extend set - bend arms slightly then extend, keeping raised as high as you can.

Legs:

• Chair. Squat into chair position with feet together 10 times. Hold for 15 seconds.

• Side lunges. 10 times to one side, then pulse for 10 times. Repeat on other side.

• Curtsy lunges. 10 lunges alternating on each side. Pulse the the bottom on each side on the last rep.

• Plies. 20 plies to elevated toes. On last rep, hold elevated toes in plie position and pulse 20 times.

Repeat entire leg series.

There you have it - now go about the rest of your day!