How Does Barre Change Your Body? Hint: From Head to Toe

If you work out with The Bar Method consistently, you’re bound to notice results ­­­­— often after your very first class. While your muscles will likely feel the action right away, you may be wondering how exactly does barre change your body, and how these changes benefit your health.

Let’s break down the process for a deeper understanding of your workout

Understanding answers to questions like “does barre work?” and “can barre transform your body?” is key to staying informed and motivated with your Bar Method workout. Find answers to these and others below, and keep these facts in mind the next time you’re in a challenging Bar Method class for a deeper understanding and appreciation of your workout routine.

Does barre work for those seeking a full-body challenge?

Yes! The Bar Method uses a unique, results-driven approach to fitness called synchronous activation. This is a lesser-known type of strengthening that happens after exercise, and has been found to give women most of the results they get from working out through improved mind/body coordination. 

 Before starting Bar Method, a new student may not yet have the neural connection between the brain and certain muscles to perform the exercises with proper form. While the emphasis on precision can make it challenging at first, this is completely normal, and a crucial step for building the neural pathways that allow you to engage your muscles more efficiently. By focusing on precise movements during exercise, Bar Method students connect to and work their muscles more intensely for better results over time.

How can barre transform your body?

Mark A. W. Andrews, an associate professor of physiology, explains it this way: When exercise focuses on form and precision, it creates “the ability to recruit more muscle cells — and thus more power strokes — in a simultaneous manner.” The Bar Method does exactly this, emphasizing both proper technique, or form, and moving with accuracy, or precision. 

 As you learn about answers to questions like “does barre build muscles?” and “does barre build glutes?” below, keep in mind that Bar Method builds strength when practiced consistently, transforming the body at a deep level.

Does barre build muscle?

When you think of building muscle, you may think of specific types of strength training exercises or machines. While there are many ways to build lean muscle mass, The Bar Method uses proven exercises in combination with a strong alternative approach, which includes these two key components:

• Isometric movements: These small, controlled moves are deceptively challenging — and effective.
• Emphasis on smaller supporting muscles: Our program incorporates muscles beyond those in the main groups, strengthening your entire body for noticeable results.

Does barre build glutes? 

When you lift heavy barbells or cycle through reps of squats, you’re using larger-range movements to contract and lengthen your targeted muscles, like glutes. With barre, however, you’re using smaller contractions to work your muscles to fatigue. Many choose this over traditional strength training to burn body fat and define muscles. While these small movements don’t significantly change the size of your glute muscles, they do build strength, add definition, and increase overall flexibility — all while visibly changing the muscle shape.

How does barre change your body vs. weight lifting?

There are two kinds of muscle fibers activated during exercise: slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Working out causes micro-tears in these muscle fibers which then heal themselves, building new fibers that are stronger than their predecessors. The more intensely you exercise and the heavier the weights you use, the more micro-tears you’ll create.

So, does barre change your body with slow-twitch or fast-twitch fibers? Hint: Bar Method uses both! Slow-twitch fibers work to keep us in motion and help with endurance — we use these when we walk and run long distances. These muscle fibers are filled with capillaries, giving them a rich blood flow that, along with muscle cells, provides continual energy. Fast-twitch fibers are designed for power and speed, with less blood flow. This type ultimately has the biggest impact when it comes to reshaping your muscles. During strength training these fibers get firmer, and they’ll get larger over time. Women’s muscles don’t increase size very easily, so women can use heavy weights and still not become bulky.

How are muscles activated during barre vs. weight lifting? 

Regardless of gender, your workout choice helps determine the body shape and physique you achieve. When it comes to barre vs. weight lifting, if you use heavy weights with few reps for several months, your fast-twitch muscle fibers will increase in size. If your routine employs lighter weights with lots of reps, the result will be muscles that are firm and shapely but not significantly larger. People have both types of these fibers in their muscles in varying proportions, and each of our muscles has a different amount of slow-twitch and fast-twitch cells according to what that muscle does. 

 Which areas of the body benefit from Bar Method?

The Bar Method supports your entire body, while also targeting your backside. This is where your largest, most powerful muscles are located, including the:

• Latissimus dorsi: This is the largest muscle in your torso.
• Triceps: This is the largest muscle in your arm.
• Gluteus maximus: This is the largest muscle that moves your legs and the most massive muscle in your entire body.

It’s important to pay attention to this region when you work out. During your Bar Method routine, try imagining your back in your mind’s eye and focusing on feeling each movement. By doing so, you’ll use more muscles and burn more calories while improving your overall posture.

Does barre class make you bulky?

The Bar Method’s practice of performing several reps with light weights targets slow-twitch muscle fibers, sculpting muscles without bulking them up. By doing lots of aerobic exercise with barre vs. weight, you’ll build your endurance while infusing your slow-twitch fibers with even more capillaries. Slow-twitch fibers happen to burn a lot of calories, which means you’ll also burn more fat. Traditional strength training targets fast-twitch fibers for more powerful muscles and increased speed.

After a Bar Method class, one sign of a great workout is called delayed-onset soreness, which can be noticeable 24 to 48 hours after your routine. This soreness is caused by your fibers’ healing process, indicating your body had an effective workout and is getting stronger by the second.

Does barre help you lose weight?

Persistence with Bar Method classes pays off in many ways, including with weight loss goals. It’s very common for new students to struggle with coordination or engaging “harder-to-reach” muscles at first, but these challenges become second-nature with commitment over time. If you’re still wondering “does barre work?” keep in mind that Bar Method instructors are pros at helping you fine-tune your form, leading to a rewarding workout that leaves you feeling energized. By sticking with our program, you’ll dramatically improve your mind/body connection — and that means you’ll start seeing results fast!

Ready to take care of and strengthen your body? You’ll love these Bar Method classes

• Bar Strength: This class format uses compound weight work, like squats to overhead press, or weighted moving lunges. It also includes standard weight work, like bent elbow lifts or lat pulls, performed twice with progressively heavier weights — all fast-twitch muscle exercises.
•  Bar Cardio: The overall effect of this class is slow-twitch, stamina-based, complemented by active exercises. These include simple active thigh work, active second to passe, and active tilted seat, which tap into fast-twitch muscles.
•   Bar Method: In traditional Bar Method classes, foldover is a classic seat exercise and a good example of a two-in-one exercise. The working (lifted) leg builds muscle in the glutes (fast-twitch muscles), while the standing leg bears your body’s weight to strengthen stabilizer muscles and improve endurance. 

Ready to take your first barre class? Find a Bar Method studio near you to get started, or sign up for online classes here.