This Barre Boot Camp workout was recently featured on FitnessMagazine.com!
Barre workouts have been trending for many years and there is good reason! They are amazing, super challenging, addictive, and, for us women, quite feminine. (Don’t worry, guys, while they are feminine feeling for us, they are incredible cross-trainers for you! So man-up and try barre!). However, in my 16 plus years of teaching barre workouts, I have noticed a trend in many barre techniques that isn’t the best idea to me. That is to focus solely on the micro-movements sometimes known as “down an inch, up an inch” or “little pulses.” Don’t get me wrong, I use these moves in my method, BarreAmped, but I don’t get stuck on these moves as the only way to perform barre exercises. Barre routines should be taught with tiny movement emphasis at the start so that a beginner can learn the form of the exercises, which are likely very new to them, and also so that that beginner can get strong, especially around the joints. But a good barre technique should include in its repertoire bigger ranges of motion, cardio, and aligned stretching so that the body doesn’t adapt and “stop changing” or stop getting stronger, leaner, and more limber.
I have created this quick BarreAmped Boot Camp inspired workout for you to do to add to any barre training (or any resistance training, such as Pilates or yoga), that you feel needs to be revved up. Adding this interval based cardio and strength routine that is designed for your heart rate to go up and down will truly help you ignite that metabolism furnace and help you achieve faster, better, and healthier results. All you need is a stop watch and a mat. Please make sure you are warm before you begin.
Stand with legs turned out at the hips. Knees should be above heels or mid foot, feet should be turned out in relation to the thighs. Bring hands to heart center. Stand and twist right knee to left elbow. Move back into the Plie’. Twist to the left.
Repeat this at your own pace for one minute.
Mainly Works: quads, inner thighs, core. Revs up heart rate.
Stand with legs in a military squat position. Bring hands to heart center. Keep back straight. Lift up into a controlled jump with arms swinging back. Land, repeat at a good tempo for you.
Do this for up to one minute.
Mainly works: Quads, glutes, calves. Revs up heart rate.
Bring hands underneath shoulders and knees under hips. Place a hand weight behind the knee (I suggest between 2-5 pounds).
Pulse leg up without letting back move for one minute. Change sides.
Mainly works: Glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Allows heart rate to slow.
Bring hands below shoulders and knees back. Keep spine neutral and gaze ahead. Inhale. Bend elbows back and on a diagonal to target the triceps as well as the chest. Exhale and press back up.
Repeat up to one minute.
Tip: If you feel your back sag or head drop, you are most likely moving too low for your strength level. From the top, lower your body down less so that the only thing that is changing is the action at your elbows and shoulders.
Mainly works: Chest, triceps, and core including diaphragm. Heart rate will begin increasing steadily.
From a Long Arm Plank position with hands underneath shoulders and balls of the feet tucked under, draw the front knee in to the front shoulder. With impeccable form, switch the knees back and forth. Do not let anything sag and try not to let hips lift. If this is too hard, you can always bend alternating knees down toward the mat.
Do this for up to one minute.
Mainly works: Shoulders, chest, abs, hip flexors, and quads. Revs up heart rate with this big move. The faster you go the bigger the rev, but don’t sacrifice form in order to perform this move. Faster is not always better. Form first!
Repeat this BarreAmped Boot Camp Interval Workout up to three times through. Super quick, super effective, super charged moves that you will feel shaking things up so you continue to change. As we say in BarreAmped, “Shake to Change!”
You can find the full BarreAmped Boot Camp DVD HERE – voted in the Top 10 Fitness DVD’s by Fitness Magazine!
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