Barre expert Reena Vokoun walks through five chair-based exercises you can do at home. Barre participation has grown from 2.9 million to 3.8 million Americans in the past decade, thanks to its low-impact blend of ballet and Pilates that strengthens muscles, core, and flexibility.
Barre is one of the fastest growing fitness trends blending ballet-inspired moves with core conditioning and strength training. And Reena, I love that you are in studio today because you're going to talk about the popularity and why, but also show us things that we can do at home. So why do you think barre is like exploding again right now?
Yeah, it really has exploded. Honestly, in the last 10 years it's gone from 2.9 million to 3.8 million Americans doing doing barre according to USA Today, and I think it's because it's low impact, so it's easy on the joints. It's obviously ballet, um, and Pilates inspired, and it really helps with muscular strength and endurance, um, core stability, spinal alignment, mobility, flexibility, and bone health. And it's a great mind-body workout because you have to be very conscientious of what you're doing.
Well, there are so many great barre studios in San Diego County, but you said we can also do a lot of these moves at home. So if you're at home right now, feel free to grab a chair and do them with us. Hopefully you're chairs aren't as high as ours, they're gonna make our workouts a little more difficult. So what are we gonna do right now?
Yeah, so yes, all you need is a simple chair and we're gonna do a couple of exercises starting with a first position plié squat. So again, this is ballet-inspired. You're gonna bring your heels together. You can do relevé, which means you come up on the balls of your feet. That is an option but not required. And then what you're gonna do is you're gonna come down either halfway or all the way down. So demi or grand plié. So you're gonna come down with your arms and then bring them up overhead as you come up. So you come down and then come up again. Great, Ashley, let's do 2 more.
This is hard for me cause I worked out this weekend and I'm really sore, but this is good cause it's getting a good stretch.
I know, I'm with you. And release. That's awesome. Um, and then the second one is the second position plié squat. So you're gonna turn your knees and toes out. Again, you can come up on the balls of your feet, relevé is an option. And here you're gonna bring your arm forward, and when you come down, you're gonna push the arm back using your shoulder blade. So we're gonna go down either halfway or all the way, and then you're gonna come up. Good.
I can feel the look of concentration on my face right now.
I know, I'm feeling this too, Ashley. You are not alone. And we're gonna do one more like this. Second position plié squat, and come on up and release.
Alright.
So these exercises, the two we just did, really work the the inner thighs, they work the core and the glutes. So we're gonna get a little bit deeper into the inner thighs next. So this one, you will start again in first position, plié squat. So your heels are gonna be together. You can gently hold your chair or your bar, and you're gonna slide your leg up into the standing leg in passé, and then you're gonna extend that leg and arm out. Wait, I have the wrong leg. And then slide the foot back in. So you come in into passé, good. And then extend out and then pull back in. Let's do 2 more like this.
You're doing great. Our floor walkers are making faces at me. It's as if they're saying I'm not graceful or something.
No, not at all. I think you're very graceful. And you come out and in. So that is a passé into a leg extension. What we're gonna do next is a curtsy lunge. So you're gonna take your left leg and you're gonna keep your knees and toes together. You're gonna step behind as you bring the arm overhead. And then you're gonna extend that leg out. We'll have to watch out for the chairs. And then we're gonna come back down. Get over here. So we're gonna go into that curtsy lunge and then leg extension out, pointing your toes down towards the ground. We'll do 2 more like this. We're getting the outer thighs and the core and glutes and the upper body. And 1. And release.
Well, I love that we're getting the tight shots of our legs, 'cause you are in pink today, all in the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's important to stay active and moving as women.
Absolutely. Being active and exercising like this helps for not only breast cancer prevention, but also management as well. So yes, representing with pink today. We have one last movement.
Okay, let's see if we can squeeze it in.
So we're gonna work the upper body a bit as well. So you can be flat-footed or up on the balls of your feet, and we're gonna do 2 push-ups on the chair or the bar. So chest to the bar, elbows out, and then push back in. We'll do one more. And then we're gonna do an arabesque. So you're gonna lift your outside leg, so left leg up, and I'm gonna back up so you don't hit the chair, and then release. And then we're gonna go to the other side, lift the other leg up, point that toe behind you, and release. We'll do two, uh, one more sequence. So two more push-ups, and then we're gonna—
No, I'm not doing anything you're saying. I'm just watching.
That's okay.
I'm just trying to look in the monitor and see if I look fat or not.
No worries. And then two leg lifts behind. This is called an arabesque.
Alright, you keep going. I gotta wrap up our show. Feel free to continue. Continue getting reps in. Everybody, before you get on with your day, don't forget to download our new app. If you have Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire, you can download the Fox 5 KUSI Now app and watch shows 24/7. Today's show was sponsored by Albert Einstein Academies, Game Changer Publishing, La Vida Real Retirement, and of course, PassionFit. If you'd like to be on the show, send us an email. And, uh, guys, get out here and work out with us. Just sitting there laughing at us.
