See the dude in the red pants? Everyone else is all Swan Lake and he’s getting his ninja on. I heart him.
Pelvic thrusting is involved. And it’s every bit as awkward as it sounds. Especially when thanks to a lack of studios, the Gym Buddies and I were forced to use the railing next to the track as our ballet barre. One elderly gentleman actually grumbled “Are you serious?!” as he shuffled by. Yes, my friend, we are serious. Nothing says “serious workout” like doing “hip dancing” whilst clenching a rubber ball between your thighs, crowded around a 7-inch portable DVD plugged into the floor. Just ignore us. No really, please ignore us.
First position, hip shakes, our ankles tied together with rubber tubing – if you guessed ballet workout experiment then you win! (The prize: a 5-year-old who refuses to sleep. I ship for free.) For January the Gym Buddies and I are doing a particular kind of ballet workout called barre technique. If you are having deja vu, you’re not crazy. We did do a ballet experiment about three years ago but that was a different technique with a different perky instructor in black yoga pants and those funny socks with the dots on the bottom. It all started with a mistake. Mine, naturally.
Back in DecemberPure Barre contacted me about trying out their “16th Street” video series. The videos came with a cool little piece of equipment called a “double tube” which is like a Pilates ring crossed with a resistance band and so I said, “yes, please!” The day it arrived was right around Christmas and seeing as I do 99% of my shopping online I was getting boxes by the dozens. So when I saw it was blog stuff, I stuck it in a pile of other blog stuff to be looked at after I’d sorted out who was naughty (all of them) and who was nice (all of them – seriously how does Santa ever decide?!). The next day a book came in the package parade, also about ballet barre workout technique and so I assumed the two went together and put them all in the same box.
The holidays came and went and I read the book and watched the videos and the time had come to take this circus to the gym. Thankfully Gym Buddy Megan is a ballet dancer and Gym Buddy Daria can do the splits without even trying so I figured they had enough expertise to help me out. We did the videos, we tied ourselves up with rubber tubing, we plied holding onto chairs for balance, we did all the quad workouts in the book and the whole time we commented on how similar this program was to the one we did three years ago. After two weeks I finally realized: They’re not the same workout. AND. They’re exactly the same workout.
Pure Barre, the makers of the DVDs and the double tube, is a ballet fitness company founded by dancer Carrie Rezabek Dorr. The book, titled The Physique 57(R) Solution, is from a different ballet fitness company founded by dancers Tanya Becker and Jennifer Maanavi. The moves in each workout were so similar that I didn’t even realize they were supposed to be different until I noticed how similar they both were to the ballet program we tried out 3 years ago: The Lotte Berk Method.
Like any good thriller, this all goes back to World War II-era Germany. Lotte was a Jewish ballet dancer “at a time when ballet was considered a profession almost like prostitution” (remember this!) who fled the country with her dancer husband and daughter to England to escape the Nazis. After discovering that the English did not appreciate her singular style of ballet, she came up with a series of therapeutic exercises based on dance technique. Being possibly the most entertaining historical figure I have ever read about, she named the moves things like “the peeing dog” “the French lavatory” and, naturally, “the prostitute.” (See!)
Once you know this, suddenly all the hip gyrating and leg opening and shutting moves make a lot more sense, non? Lotte’s method was so popular that people came around the world to train with her and learn her technique. These people taught other people and each put their own little touches on it and started their own method which is where it all gets confusing and why I ended up where I did – offending old men at the gym. Oh wait. My point: Both Pure Barre and Physique 57 are derivatives of the Lotte Berk method (along with many other “barre” technique programs out there including “the Lotte Berk method” itself which was apparently copyrighted by someone other than the wildly entertaining-but-bad-at-business Lotte).
So far here are the practical things the Gym Buddies and I have learned about barre workouts:
1. Nobody has a barre. (And because of the way it’s spelled you will want to say it bARRRRRe! Don’t. Nobody likes a pretentious pirate.) Therefore, it is totally acceptable to use any stable surface. Chairs work great as do low wall walls, railings and unsuspecting Gym Buddies.
2. It burns. Do you know what a plie is? It may look all cutesy when little Clara does it in the Nutcracker but in reality it’s a squat – a deep, deep squat. And ballerinas do a lot of plies. After the first Physique 57 workout, I was toilet sore. Don’t be fooled, ballerinas are tough chicks and their legs are crazy strong.
3. Add equipment to make it a faster burn. The downside to bodyweight workouts – which is what ballet is – is that it takes a lot of reps to achieve muscle failure. So Pure Barre adds the “double tube” which you can thread over your ankles, feet, thighs or arms to increase the resistance of the moves. Physique 57 adds light hand weights and a playground ball that you mainly clench between your knees or hands. Either way, I loved adding resistance to the moves. Instead of having to do 100 plies, putting the double tube around our legs or squeezing the ball between our thighs (both?) had us burning out after 20. Excellent!
4. It gets a little porn-y. I imagine if you were doing this at home alone in your living room or at a Barre Studio with other women all doing the same thing it would seem totally normal. But doing pelvic tilts, hip shakes and “clam shells” and “lady frogs” (don’t ask) – well, let’s just say there’s no right way to aim your butt. I ended up facing towards the wall to camouflage my crotch antics but Allison was more comfortable facing away from wall (because, and I quote, “I feel like someone’s going to sneak up on me.” I’d make fun of her paranoia except that I would totally sneak up on her if my legs weren’t tied together with rubber hose.)
5. You don’t need to be a dancer, overly flexible or even very coordinated to do these workouts. These are not dance workouts. These are workouts based around dance technique. So there is no actual dancing. (Unless you count “hip dancing” which should really be called “floor humping”.) Whether you see this as a plus or a minus depends on if you secretly still want to be that ballerina princess! And hey, you can wear a tutu either way. Just saying.
Two things to consider if you are interested in trying these with us:
The Pure Barre 16th street video series comes with two videos. They are virtually identical. The music is the same. The people are the same. And, maddeningly, 90% of the moves are same. I honestly thought there had been a mix-up at the fitness factory and I’d been sent two of the same DVD until Allison pointed out that Carrie (cARRRRRie??) is wearing a different top in each one. If they come together for the same price then yay, you’ve got a backup! But if you have to pay for each one, well, I’d just buy one. Which one, you ask? Do you prefer purple or black tanks?
5. The Physique 57(R) Solution
So – have any of you ever tried a “barre” style workout? Any tips for us? Given the situation, would you rather face the wall with your butt pointing at the rest of the gym (like me) or keep your butt towards the wall but making it so you have to hip thrust at the gym (like Al)??
I’m sooo excited for this experiment’s results! Yay!
I signed up for an actual ballet class this last fall, and it didn’t feel particularly hard while I was doing it, but I’d always be so sore the following day. The goal was to improve my grace, and I think it did make me slightly less clumsy, or more so, just more aware of my limbs and where they’re located in space (this was a problem for a while).
I’m doing TRX bootcamp this winter (in addition to the regular spin and yoga), but I think I’ll do ballet again in the summer if it’s offered.
I always pick butt towards wall. I agree with Allison, what if someone sneaks up, planning a misdeed of some sort?!?
Good for you!! I always always wanted to take ballet but since my family made so much fun of what a klutz I was (am), I never had the courage to ask for lessons as a kid. Turning 43 this spring – maybe it’s time to try?? If nothing else, it would provide great entertainment to the other participants and, at this age, I no longer care how silly I may look as long as I am having fun!
Oooh I love TRX! I’m excited to see what you think of it! And “planning a misdeed of some sort” made me giggle. Totally working that one into a conversation today!!
Definitely butt towards wall. That way you can glare at anyone who is staring.
I have so so so many Austin friends who swear by this too.
when I get me some time (when Im 60? :)) I WANNA TRY.
You should try it! And let me know what you think!!
A Barr studio is opening this morning in my town, so I will be trying it out at 8:30AM.
And?! How did it go? What did you think?
I will try it again. It gives me something different than I am used to (I normally lift heavy or do a circuit workout, so I consider it fine tuning,) but would not do it more than once a week. The things that bothered me most were the other women moaning and groaning and the fact that when we did push ups, the instructor never mentioned that you could do regular ones, rather than on the knees. I started on the knees to see how many we would be doing and then moved to regular. The other students kind of looked at me like I was a freak. Also, I thought of you and the gym buddies laughing when the little squishy ball was between my legs and we were doing pelvic thrusts…;-)
My gym has a barre (and thick stretching mats, 4 across!) in front of a bunch of windows leading out to the balcony. This is good, because nobody ever uses the balcony, and most of the time the window reflections prevent anyone from sneaking up behind you.
The bad news: The other side of the stretching mats is a line of recumbent bikes, meaning that whatever is done on said stretching mats provides perfect viewing material for the bike users. So: Butt in or butt out? Depends on who is using the recumbent bikes.
So much about this comment makes me laugh! THis: “most of the time the window reflections prevent anyone from sneaking up behind you.” is excellent gym planning. And I love the butt strategy!!
You’re right: that picture is epic. And makes me smile.
The woman who does my hair has done ballet for 40 years and is a prima dancer for most of her career. She is as fit as anyone I have ever known.
How much do I love that you have a “woman who does my hair”?! And she sounds like a peach!
I took ballet lessons for 12 years (ballet, modern jazz, highland dancing in there somewhere when, for a year, there was no ballet teacher). I even had a barre at home for practicing! And you’re right, it makes your legs wicked strong. (even now, some 30 years later, I can….. oh, umm, never mind – TMI.)
Have fun with your barre workouts (ballet studios are generally full of full-length mirrors so you can see whether your technique is correct, so we always did our movements side-on to the barre…. imagine 8 skinny girls in a row, doing thrusts at each other’s butts…. now there’s a mental picture!)
No, not TMI – I want to know! What can you still do??
…. whup even the biggest guys at what we (so politically incorrectly) call squaw wrestling. It’s probably been renamed something PC like First Nations of North American Female flip-em-over wrestling….. or leg wrestling or something, but to us old folk, it’s still squaw wrestling, and I am the Queen of SW. (that sounds slightly dirty, doesn’t it?)
(And there are other benefits to having wicked strong legs, but this is a family-rated blog, isn’t it?)
And now I love you even more!! hahah – hadn’t thought about “squaw wrestling” in years!
Good for you!
I have an irrational fear of all things ballet–sort of like people who are scared of clowns I guess. The tutus, the little pink shoes, the way that ballerinas walk around with those long angular bodies and their heads held high, all graceful and scary–doesn’t make sense but the whole enterprise makes me profoundly nervous.
However, even though a barre workout is not for me, I love the hilarious review!
Hmmmm.. this is a tough one. I think I might have to go with butt towards wall. Just to be safe. I took ballet as a kid, but I think it may have just compounded my kluzty nature. Although I can still do a mean spot-turn.
I also heart Mr. Red Pants.
And you never know when a mean spot-turn will come in handy! 😉
I am so uncoordinated and lanky and just not a ballerina in any sense of the word that I avoid all things ballet like the plague. However, red pants guy above makes me think I can do it. I can ninja with the best of them.
I did a lot of ballet as a child (even pointe shoes!) and my dad built me a barre so I could practice. I had an uncle who collected stuff and the two of them created a barre with two manhole covers (!), metal posts topped with oar locks as uprights and a stair railing as the barre. To this day I don’t know how they got the manhole covers into our basement, but my uncle was built along the lines of a circus strongman, so he likely just carried one under each arm.
Butt to the wall for sure.
The picture of your uncle walking off with two manhold covers makes me giggle. Hopefully he didn’t just leave them uncovered??
I LOVE barre workouts! Specifically because “You don’t have to be a dancer, overly flexible,or even very coordinated” to do them. I am none of the above, so having something to hold on to while I work out is an added bonus :).
I’ve tried a bunch, and I’m not crazy about Pure Barre (I only tried the earlier workouts, without the bands) or Physique 57. I first tried Lotte Berk Method (on VHS) and really liked it but it’s been discontinued. There are a whole bunch out now, as you said, and my favorites are the most recent Bar Method (2 DVDs), The Dailey Method, Cardio Barre, Ballet Beautiful, and Cathe Friedrich’s new one called Turbo Barre (holy hamstrings, that one hurts!). All of them except Ballet Beautiful incorporate hand weights.
BTW, you can rent some of them on Amazon as streaming videos.
(I can also send you my Cardio Barre book if you’d like! It’s one of those workouts people either love or hate. Basically you do the moves at a quick pace so your heart rate gets up.)
I’d love to try cardio barre! I’d be happy to pay you for shipping!! (BTW, I still get a TON of use out of that cookbook you sent me!) And I think I really need to try a live barre class one of these days. It would probably make a big difference.
Hmm…always wanted to try it but have never gotten around to it. I am not the least bit graceful, so I ended up going the bellydance route instead.
We’re doing a bellydance class this month and I’m SOOOOO excited! P.S. I don’t believe that you are not graceful.
I’ve been dying to try a barre workout, so I’m looking forward to reading your results on this one!
I had to giggle about not wanting someone to come up behind while doing barre. I’m probably in that same camp.
I worked out at a Bar Method studio for 2+ years and loved it! We didn’t have to worry about which way to point since we were all doing the same thing. I would always recommend checking the transparency of your pants/leggings/bottoms though because there’s lots of bending and stretching-I’ve seen some things I’m pretty sure should have remained private.
I only stopped recently because I did something wrong and strained my shoulder. It’s hard to do pushups with one shoulder.
Good point about the transparency of spandex!! I too have seen some accidental crotch-flashes (and not just in ballet – helllo squat rack!)
This is so cool. I would try anything and I love dance stuff. I’m getting into Zumba! Once I went to this pilates class that was like half ballet and we used a barre. I hated it but mostly I think it was just a shitty class.
I really really love Zumba! So fun!!
I just started doing the Physique 57 DVDs (the first series of three DVDs, there’s a second one, too) a few weeks ago and I definitely see new definition in my thighs. You would think that just doing a few hip shakes and thigh dances with a playground ball wouldn’t hurt….but wow, does it ever!
Oh yes, the thigh dancing with the ball was a killer! Like I said, Physique 57 made me toilet sore the first time!
I do bar method classes at least 4 times a week at Exhale Spa (and they have a bunch of dvds, but since I live in NYC and lack any motivation to work out at home I go to class). It’s wicked hard and amazing at the same time. Lots of hip thrusting and sex moves, but who cares, it’s exercise. The exhale classes (and dvds I hear) incorporate yoga moves too, so after thrusting your hips for 10 minutes your in a standing split showing the world your sweaty crotch. 🙂
On a side note, after doing these classes for 2 months, I can run soooo much farther and my legs are not sore at all. In fact, I only now stop running out of boredome or breathe, but never because my legs are sore.
Enjoy!
That’s great it helped your running so much! I wish I could do an Exhale class with you – sounds great!!
I tried barre very briefly and would like to do more…I may have to give it another shot after reading the comments here.
And I definitely think it should be called pure bAAARRRGH…I am a pirate at heart 🙂
Ooh your spelling is much better! Matey!
I did ballet until I was 18, and I did all my exams up until the professional level. I’ve tried a lot of different things fitness-wise, but nothing gives you a better workout than ballet. Seriously. As a bare minimum you have to train five times a week, and your muscles are constantly engaged. I had some serious abs from contracting my stomach all day long, and don’t even get me started on my butt! My arms were almost as strong as they are now, and that was purely from holding them up. I feel like ballet and dance is often downplayed as a ‘sport’, and I’m not even sure I would call it that myself, but it involves a lot of hard work.
I would call dance a sport! And I’d love to do a REAL ballet experiment where I train like you just described. Unfortunately unless there’s a teacher around here feeling super generous it’s not gonna happen, lol
I took Bar Method classes for a while, and I loved it! They seem a little weird at first, but once you get used to it, the classes are fun and the hour passes really quickly.
I am a fitness-lover like you, and my friend insisted I try a Pure Barre class last Friday. When she handed me 2 pound weights I scoffed thinking “This is such a waste of time.” There were definitely times I thought I was in a porno, but oh my gosh, it burned so good. I teach spin classes and my legs are enormously muscular. I ran a half marathon the weekend before and wasn’t sore one bit. But when we were at the bar working out lower body for 30 minutes my muscles couldn’t handle it. They were shaking like a leaf. And I was sore for 4 days. It was amazing.
I love it! Yes, the first physique 57 workout made me toilet sore even though I’ve got a decently strong lower body too. I think part of it is the novelty (our muscles aren’t used to those movements) but I also think it’s a great wokrout…
Ship your five year old to me. He can hang with my five year old and between the skating, running around and turkey studded pasta dinner I will have him in a drooling carb coma in no time.
The barre workout sounds like fun. I might give that a try
Thank you for making me giggle, but not for making me almost pee myself in front of teenage boys at the middle school.
I love your experiment reviews. And if that “try this for your blog” pile gets too overwhelming, I am MORE than happy to become a GFE Guinea pig from a distance. I’ll even take the not sleeping 5 year old, but just to warn you I don’t pay for later in life psychological counseling as a result of the trauma. 😉
Charlotte!
I’m so excited for this experiment! I love barre as much as I love Rachel Cosgrove. (Which is a lot!) Did you know that Physique 57 has DVDs? 6 to be exact. They are awesomely brutal. My husband thinks I’m some sort of masochist.
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I took ballet a VERY long time ago…the last time I remember being skinny, like when I was 5. I still find myself doing movements that I can’t remember the name of while I am waiting for something to boil in the kitchen. I don’t see many “big girls” doing barre, but I am thinking of becoming one of the first! A friend of mine teaches in town but she said the class is pretty advanced. I see some of the Physique 57 vidoes show modifications. Do you know if any of the other DVDs show beginner or level 1 techniques?