Dancers are known for having the most incredible bodies. Their long, lean muscles, balance, posture, and hidden strength creates a beautiful shape that women (and men!) all over the world work hard to re-create. Offstage, we as an audience can’t help but wonder how they do it. Well, wonder no longer, because today we’re going to explore the elements behind a dancer’s body and see if there are any tips to take away!

History of Barre

Today, people flock to studios offering what’s known as Barre Training, or, Barre Method. The origins of barre was popularized by German dancer Lotte Berke, who originally designed it as a two-in-one conditioning and rehab program to help herself recover from a back injury. Lotte would then go on to create the Lotte Berk Method in New York City, which soon branched off into other styles and franchises from former students and devotees. These include The Bar Method, Core, Fusion, Pure Barre, Barre3, Beyond Barre, and Physique 57. Other dancers like celebrity trainer Simon De La Rue, Tracey Anderson, and Mary Helen Bowers would soon step up to the plate and provide their own dancer’s spin on things with workouts like Body By Simone, Tracey Anderson,and Ballet Beautiful. [1] [2]

What is Barre Training?

Here’s what to expect from a typical barre-inspired workout. You’ll be using either a mounted or portable barre and perform a series of dance-inspired exercises. Classes that are streamed at home have you substitute a stable surface (such as a chair or counter) for the bar. Other pieces of equipment include bands, pilates balls, ankle and wrist weights, an exercise mat, and a set of light dumbbells (usually between 3-5 pounds, although some classes may allow go up to 8-12 pounds).

Barre training is known for using isometric exercises that have you working within small ranges and motions. At first, this may not seem like a lot of work, but in barre, you’re performing tons of repetitions. Enough to fire up all of your muscles, including the smaller groups that are often ignored in conventional strength training.

And don’t let the lack of heavy weights (or none at all) deceive you. Barre has you going into a variety of positions that initially feel uncomfortable but soon provide the most intense challenge and burn you’ll have ever felt. It gets you out of your comfort zone to help you build strong, sleek muscles.

The Benefits of Barre Training

There are plenty of compelling reasons to consider going to the barre; these include:

• Low impact exercise
• Posture
• Core strength
• Muscle endurance
• Functional strength
• Flexibility
• Mobility
• Low risk of injury (compared to lifting weights)
• Tendon and joint strength
• Strengthening the mind-muscle connection
• Targets multiple muscle groups, both big and small
• Foot strength
• Adding variety to for typical workout routines

Secrets of the Dancer

What are the secret ingredients behind a dancer’s physique? And where does barre training come in? Here’s what separates dancers from the rest when it comes to their bodies.

The truth behind a dancer’s physique has to do with their lifestyles, which is very different from the average person. Dancers dance because it’s their job. A very active job that requires constant training. It’s a never-ending battle to improve technique. Which is why they’re always taking classes, training, rehearsing and performing. Lead dancer for the Australian Ballet Cristiano Martino sums it up as follows, “…the artform is the best conditioning tool for your body… the best training for ballet is more ballet. They’re long days. It’s very intense. You just see how diligent and focused everyone is- it’s amazing.” Martino further explains, “If you’re a male dancer doing a variation [solo dance], there’s a long pas de deux [dance duet] that feeds into the variation, which goes for a minute or a minute and a half. So, it’s lots of short bursts of energy- you can get on top of [your fitness] that way rather than adding in cardio at the gym…. A lot of the gym work I do is based around injury prevention, stabilizing my shoulder joints and hip joints.” [3]

Upon doing a little digging myself into the matter, here’s what can be taken away when it comes to dancers and their physiques:

#1: They train in many different styles. From bodyweight at the barre to core-strengthening pilates, dancers often will mix and match a variety of workouts and training techniques to enhance their performance. Which can look like going out for a light jog, balancing on a Bosu ball, training with dumbbells, swimming, and practicing yoga.

#2: Being active is a daily choice, not a once in a while or “when I feel like it” mood. Consistency is the name of the game!

#3: They have a goal and know the importance of discipline when it comes to achieving it.

How to Train Like a Dancer

With all of this information at our disposal, here’s how we can adapt the dancer’s style of training into our own.

While we may not be performing on weeknights, we can remain active. Fitness should be a way of life, not a punishment or chore. Commit to doing something every day, even if it’s only going for a walk. It’s better than doing nothing!

And in order to create discipline,you have to be consistent, which is why it’s important to plan ahead. If you’re a ZGYM member, then you have the option of following a weekly schedule of workouts tailored to your level of fitness (beginner, intermediate, advanced). Sticking to the schedule keeps the guesswork out of programming your workouts and keeps you consistent. And dancers have this habit nailed to a T. They need to know their weekday schedule of events, training, classes, rehearsals, and performances, and we can do just the same with our workouts.

Finally, don’t confine yourself to one type of workout. Dancers mostly focus on bodyweight training but will do jump rope, swimming, pilates, and other types of workout styles. And that’s exactly what we do in the ZGYM! Although I’m all for bodyweight exercises, I do love a good kettlebell routine and love experimenting with different workout styles like HIIT, Tabata, and AMRAP. So, embrace diversity when it comes to your training!

Start Now

Speaking of diversity, the ZGYM offers a barre-inspired type of workout, which is the Legs Like a Dancer series. Go through the entire series or mix and match the routines with my other ZGYM workouts.

I hope you enjoyed this closer look into the training methods of dancers, as well as the benefits of barre-inspired workouts. Until next time everyone, keep crushing it at the ZGYM! Trust me, the longer and more consistent you remain with your training, the better your results. Enough to inspire you to take a bow to all of the effort you put in!

Sources:

[1] https://greatist.com/move/benefits-of-barre-workout#1
[2] https://tracyanderson.com/rowing-rebounders-boxing-among-2018s-top-fitness-trends-2/
[3] https://coach.nine.com.au/fitness/australian-ballet-cristiano-martino/82335271-622a-490f-a4d1-26c1c4d1ce5b