Barre is a workout I do weekly because I love the results I get! I recently went on Great Day St. Louis to talk about my obsession with barre. Watch the video below from my segment or CLICK HERE.
Barre classes first came about in a big way in the 1950's on account of ballerina Lotte Berk. Her prodigees went on to turn barre fitness into a successful business of popular, packed classes. Michelle Austin, founder of the Fluidity Barre, was one of her students among others like Exhale founder Fred Devito, who I interviewed HERE.
Barre fitness is all about using small movements to work trouble spots and tone every inch of your body by working multiple muscles in unison. The exercises are NOT easy. You will most likely discover parts of your body that you never knew were possible to work out or even move. And that's a good thing because it usually means THEY NEED WORK!
There are many variations of Lotte Berks original barre concept, which are taught in fitness studios across the country that I can easily gush about. These are my favorites that I regularly go to (with multi-city locations):
And then there's a way to do barre at home....with the Fluidity Barre. That's Michelle Austin below on the incredible piece of equipment she created for at-home use.
The Fluidity Barre is a portable and adjustable barre. I carried it from my car into the TV station all by myself if that's any indication of how easy it is to move. It isn't light, but it is made for rolling. In my opinion, it's the BEST BARRE that exists outside of a barre studio, and a great investment if you want to learn how to do barre from home or continue your practice outside of your favorite studio or gym.
The Fluidity Barre costs around $400 with the 30% promo currently being offered on Fluidity.com so in many ways it's cheaper than paying for individual classes, a monthly package or even a membership to a barre studio. It makes a wonderful addition to a workout room in your house if you have one. The greatest feature of this barre is that it adjusts to your hip height level, which is important so that you can train and tone correctly in neutral alignment.
I've heard that Fluidity classes are being taught in NYC but I haven't experienced one myself yet. Whatever barre method you end up trying out, you can expect to see a difference in your posture, body firmness, and your core will definitely strengthen out with muscle tone. It's not a bootcamp, so don't think you're going to bulk up. If you do the workout regularly, you will tighten up and lean out. That's why I love this workout! What women doesn't want that?
The other benefits you might not physically see but that you'll feel are improvements to back pain, strengthening of the pelvic floor (which combats incontinence problems) and better digestion. These are big deals for the 35+ woman...and post-childbirth mom.
I am not an ambassador of any barre method nor have I been paid to endorse the Fluidity Barre. I'm a barre fanatic...and that's the reason I created a limited barre sock collection with Pointe Studio (that's now SOLD OUT). If you have any questions about barre, I can definitely answer them for you. Just leave them in the comments section below or email me at info@mizzfit.com.