Barre fitness, unfortunately, has still a reputation to be a “girly” sport, designed only for women. However, more and more men are taking barre classes. Surprisingly, I was so happy to hear that professional athletes such as football and rugby players, now do barre workouts as well, breaking the stereotypes associated with ballet and men. So why is barre fitness so good for men too?
Let’s break men’s preconceived beliefs about a barre workout
- It’s like taking a dance class
It is true that several professional football players and athletes actually do take real ballet classes but barre fitness is different from ballet training.
It is a dynamic whole-body fitness workout inspired by ballet moves, mixing them with bodyweight, Yoga, and Pilates exercises. It uses core ballet techniques and adapts them to the format of a fitness class.
There is indeed a ballet barre involved… and some of the vocabulary used for the moves is still in French such as “plié” for a squat.
- I am not enough flexible
One of the main reasons why men believe they can’t do barre is that they think that they are not flexible enough to perform the stretches. They are right! However, you don’t get flexible overnight and barre fitness helps you become more flexible. The key to seeing results is consistency.
- Stretching is boring
Where is the fun in holding a certain position for 30 seconds? Well, stretching is not about having fun like playing a football game, I must admit. But over time, as you start feeling the positive changes in your body and the health benefits to your joints, you get addicted to it and start asking for more because being inflexible is too painful in the first place.
Read here “Why is stretching so important?”
- It’s too easy and not challenging enough for me
There is only one answer to this belief: just try it, at least once in your lifetime! I have read that many guys are very surprised at how hard and challenging a barre workout is.
A lot of the exercises are isolated movements that target specific muscles that are “hard-to-hit” muscles. It is an intense workout with almost no rest between exercises, a bunch of repetitions on your toes, isometric holds, and quick pulses that set your quads and calves on fire and make you shake like crazy, yet relieving joint pain.
Barre Fitness is a great addition to complement your gym workout routine. As an example, many exercises in barre target the mid-glutes and if your mid-glutes are weak while doing your squats, that’s when you injure your back.
Barre will improve all your compound moves like deadlifts. You will work out the insides of your legs which are often forgotten at the gym.
You will also learn how to engage your core, focusing more effectively on your stabilizing muscles.
- To get a good upper-body workout, you need heavy weight-lifting
If your goal is to get huge “Hulk-like” arms, yes for sure! Barre fitness does not aim at getting you to look bulky but it does challenge your arms and core, hitting all those intrinsic muscles that you don’t target at the gym and neither use in everyday life. It is a brutal arm workout that makes you feel so sore.
The shaking that you experience while trying to maintain various positions, fires up your twitching muscle fibers, causing so much discomfort and pain. However, the trembling is how your body builds strength by breaking down muscle fibers.
Read here “Why do muscles shake during a workout? is it a good thing?”
Why do footballers and other professional athletes take ballet classes?
Improved flexibility
It can never be overemphasized how important flexibility is. On a football field, it helps players catch passes, avoid defenders, and decrease their chances of getting injured.
Enhanced stability
Ballet dancers need a good balance to perform all those jumps, poses and turns.
In the same way, a great balance helps the players stay stable when opponents try to tackle them and it optimizes those leaping catches.
Targets deep ignored muscles
Practicing ballet or barre fitness strengthens muscles that are not used during traditional body training.
Increased focus
Ballet improves your focus. Dancers need twice the concentration to perform challenging precise movements that appear effortless and gracious. Football players can only benefit from it on the field!
Optimized endurance
Ballet is an intense aerobic “HIIT workout” that requires great stamina. Players need a lot of endurance to keep them running on the field!
Improved running Speed
Strong legs, knees, and ankles boost your running speed. A lot of exercises in ballet are done on your toes, thus reinforcing those ankles. Speed is decisive on the field!
Read here “What is ballet barre fitness?” to learn some more about this subject.
Bottom line
I hope you understand better now why a barre workout is super beneficial to men and athletes of all kinds. What is most interesting to me is that it highly complements any traditional gym fitness routine because it targets smaller muscle groups (deeper muscles) that are missed.
What about you? Have your preconceived opinions (if you had any) been broken? I am curious to know your thoughts on this subject, so please don’t hesitate to leave your comments below.
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I have not yet tried a barre class though I have friends who are absolutely hooked on the practice (one just took her 1,000th class!). I hadn’t really thought of it as a practice that would appeal more to men or women, but it’s good to be aware of what pre-conceived notions might be floating out there. This really looks like a great way to get fit and strong without bulking up. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! That’s right, barre fitness is a great way to get fit without bulking up. You should try it!
HI, Anne-Caroline,
I’ve never practiced barre fitness, but I must admit I’ve been curious about it. I don’t think there is such a thing as workouts for men or women. They can all be adapted.
In my experience, I practiced Pilates for years, something which is considered a workout for women. In fact, most of the people I knew that did Pilates were women. There was only a handful of men. However, the benefits you get from it are tremendous. You get to work your “powerhouse” (your core), develop lean, sculpted muscles, and increase your flexibility and coordination. I can attest to the many benefits.
What do you recommend for a newbie? Is this something I can do at home? Do I need any special equipment? I’d love to know.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello, you can definitely practice barre at home and you only need a chair to replace “the barre” used in the studio. The benefits you get from a barre workout is very similar to the ones from Pilates (sculpted lean muscles, increased flexibility, and coordination). Thank you for your comment!
Thank you so much for providing this for us men. I don’t know how many other men need to hear this but Barre Fitness is EXTREMELY good for you! I have been doing it for a month and it has done nothing but good to my body. I will be sharing this article on my social media so that more men understand this. Thank you for sharing
Thank you!!
I personally think that all types of work outs are great for anyone and also for any gender as well. As long as you get yourself moving and have some variation it is great for you. No wonder why the barre workout is great for men and athletes. I am going to share your post with my male friends.
Absolutely!! It is essential to diversify and engage all the muscles in your body. Thank you for your comment!
Thank you for such a great introduction to barre fitness. I have been seeing ads for this kind of exercise for a while now and I am glad I learned what a great experience it can be. I will try to find it on a beach body. Maybe they have a program there? Or maybe you have a recommendation for a trainer I could follow?
Thanks,
Sunny
You are welcome! Yes, you can find a barre fitness studio near you I am sure. You could also find free workouts on youtube as well.
Do you have any more posts on this subject? This was really useful
My wife and myself were great fitness fans in our younger years. We have never come across “Barre Fitness” while we were exercising, but when I showed your website to my wife she looked very much interested. So I am wondering if “Barre Fitness” is recommended for our age group (early 70s but still fit)?
Thanks for your early response Anne-Caroline.
John
Hello John, thank you for your comment! Yes, Barre Fitness is an excellent workout for people aged 70! It is a low-impact workout. You may enjoy reading my article about floor barre fitness and its awesome benefits! https://fityourselfbarre.com/what-is-floor-barre-fitness-its-awesome-benefits/
To me exercise is exercise and I have heard ballet can have massive health benefits to compliment other sports – it’s not something I have done myself but I have heard that boxers have used ballet classes to help them be lighter on their feet and more balanced. Great article, thanks for the read
Yeessss! Ballet barre fitness is excellent to get more balanced. Thank you for reading my article and so happy you’ve enjoyed it!
I’m thankful I came across this post. I used to believe that barre workouts were solely for women, but now I believe that I can benefit from this type of training because I want to increase my flexibility, reduce my risk of injury, and maybe enhance my running speed.
Excellent article.
WOW, I am so happy this article changes men’s wrong beliefs in regards to barre fitness! Thank you for your comment, Lionel! Check out my new article about ballet plié squats awesome benefits here!
The truth is that I have never practiced barre fitness, in fact, I did not know it, nor would I have thought of anything similar if I had not found this article.
The closest thing I have practiced are martial arts where elasticity and stretching are essential, it is true that the body hurts and trembles, as well as the benefits it brings in return.
I will be happy to resume the exercises and stretches with barre fitness since I interpret that it also requires discipline, which I really like.
Greetings!
Hello Antonio and so glad this article inspired you to do barre fitness! That is why I have written it! You may be interested in reading my new article about12 ballet plié squats awesome benefits here!!
I have to agree with you on barre classes – it wasn’t until I got sick around three and a half to four years ago that I got back into working out – working with a local trainer to her introducing me to her training partner who is a Pilates instructor and then doing Pilates for years – then she had me do some barre movements and I was simply blown away at how difficult they were yet how easily she was performing them – one thing let to another and now I have been working out at our local Pure Barre studio for over a year now – I am up to nearly 200 classes and couldn’t feel better or be happier with the barre workouts – they are difficult like NOTHING I have ever done before but am I seeing wonderful results- I wish I would have known about this years ago – also being the only guy in class is ok too for I have met some of the most beautiful and strongest women ever – crazy cool stuff – surprised more guys haven’t figured this out yet……….thanks for sharing your barre blog with us
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I agree with you, it is surprising that more men are not into barre fitness, that is why I have decided to write this article! A barre workout is truly an amazing total body strengthening, including deep core abs burn.
You may be interested in reading “15 Strong Core Health Benefits | Why Core Strength Is Crucial”