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Over the last two decades, barre workouts have exploded from a niche boutique offering to a fixture of the fitness scene — taught at hundreds of specialized studios, gyms and Y.M.C.A.s — as word has spread about their power to build strength, balance and flexibility using mostly your own body weight.
Barre workouts were first created by a German ballerina in 1959. They train every major muscle group through a series of exercises that involve small movements, with the goal of isolating and stressing your muscles to the point of fatigue.
“Every muscle has to show up, all your ancillary muscles and your larger muscle groups,” said Tanya Becker, a longtime barre instructor and co-founder of the franchise Physique 57. To effectively engage all of these muscles, many barre exercises involve several incremental steps.
Barre also has a reputation for being deceptively hard — all those tiny movements can add up to a rigorous workout. (Many barre instructors encourage their students to strive for a “shake” with each exercise: the point when the muscle is so fatigued that it begins to quiver.) But you can tailor it to meet you where you are, said Nicole Davey Hilliger, a barre and Pilates instructor in San Clemente, California. Like all effective strength-training workouts, it never gets easier, she said. But as you get stronger and more flexible, your abilities expand.
For all barre exercises, maintaining proper form is essential, said Whitley Miller, owner of the Healing Barre studio in Washington, D.C. If your form starts to break down, it’s better to “shake it out and come back” into the correct position, picking up where you left off, than trying to push through, she added.
The Times enlisted the help of Ms. Hilliger to create this 10-minute introductory routine that you can do anywhere.
Overview
What you’ll need
Adjust for you
Before you begin, turn on a playlist that inspires you to get moving, ideally one with a medium tempo.
Change how long you hold each movement, or how many reps you do, to fit your ability. After the warm-up, the goal is to perform each exercise to the point where your muscles feel like they’ve reached their maximum capacity.
Knee lifts with arm raises
Stand with your legs hip-width apart, and lift each knee high, alternating between legs, while keeping your hands on your hips or clasped in front of you. Repeat for 20 seconds.
Now add arms: Raise your arms above your head, while continuing to raise each knee. After a few reps, with each knee raise, begin lowering your arms, with a gentle bend at the elbows. As you move, focus on maintaining good posture and keeping your core engaged. Repeat for 20 seconds.
End with an upper body twist. With each knee raise, touch your elbow to the opposite knee, alternating sides. You can keep your gaze straight ahead, or gently turn your head in the direction of the twist. Repeat for 20 seconds.
Planks
Lie face down, then lift up into a forearm plank position, with your legs straight and hip-distance apart. Engage your core and slightly tuck your tailbone. Hold for at least 20 seconds.
Now move on to side planks, supporting yourself with your forearm. Hold each side for at least 20 seconds. For an extra challenge: Reach your top arm up then wrap it around your waist, repeating four times, or lift your hips while holding your arm straight up, repeating four times.
If planks feel too difficult, you can do these exercises with your knees touching the mat, or do a straight-arm plank against a sturdy chair or countertop, or the wall.
Upper body work
Stand tall, with your feet hip-width apart and your knees gently bent. Engage your core and elongate your tailbone toward the floor. Keep your neck muscles relaxed, and your shoulder blades pulled down and together. Optional: Hold three- or five-pound weights.
Slowly lift your heels about two inches off the ground, while keeping a soft bend in your knees. Reach your arms forward into a low diagonal, with your palms up. While balancing on the balls of your feet, do 20 bicep curls, fully opening and closing your arms at the elbows.
Now start pulsing your legs — lowering and lifting your hips about an inch up and down, using your glutes to fuel the movement. While pulsing, do 20 tiny bicep curls, only contracting at the elbow by about an inch. Finally, while curling and pulsing, open your arms out to your sides, then close your arms.
With your feet flat on the ground again, close your arms to an “O” shape in front of your chest, with your palms facing each other. Open your arms up to a “T” shape out to the sides, then close. Repeat 20 times.
Holding the “O” shape, lift your heels as high as you can while maintaining balance, then lower them. Repeat 20 times.
Finally, raise your heels as high as you can and contract your chest muscles while holding your arms in the “O” shape, then pulse your lower body, using your glutes to lower and lift your hips about an inch up and down. Repeat 20 times.
Lower body work
Stand an arm’s length away from a chair, countertop or other support, with your legs together. While holding onto your support, bring your heels together, with your toes apart. Now raise your heels a few inches off the ground. Bend your knees, so they are directly over your feet in a plié position. Engage your core and drop your tailbone down by an inch.
Begin by pressing your thighs back by an inch or so, repeating 20 times. Next, lower and lift your legs a few inches, with the movement coming from your glutes. Press your thighs back as you pulse up and down. Repeat 20 times.
For an extra challenge, while you pulse, let go of your support and reach your arms overhead.
Bridges
Lie face-up on your back. Bend your knees and position your feet hip-width apart and flat on the ground. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to lift into a bridge position, and hold for at least 20 seconds. For an extra challenge: Lower and lift your hips for eight to 10 reps.
Optional cool-down
Finish the workout with a few stretches, such as a figure-four stretch and cat-cow exercises, and three to four deep, diaphragmatic breaths. This section of the routine is meant to slow down your heart rate and leave you feeling refreshed, Ms. Hilliger said.
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