Throughout barre studios, whether in-person or online, there is a growing number of barre-adjacent class options on the menu, particularly cardio offerings. As the barre landscape evolves it appears that now more than ever, there are more hybrid options available to clients as demand grows for heart-elevating classes that feature cardio sequences while still giving you the proper barre burn.
Within the barre world, there is one subject matter expert who stood out as having an acute awareness of changing barre trends. To walk me through this topic I turned to Lauren George, co-creator of the enhanced Barre Above® program among many other equally commendable accomplishments.
Is it just me or are cardio-infused barre classes growing in popularity?
First I had to ask if she also felt like there was a growing appetite for cardio-based barre classes. “That’s really where the barre industry is trending, ” she said. “If you’ll notice Pure Barre and The Bar Method and all of these [franchises] have a cardio-type format now. People like to get the most bang for their buck, especially now when people’s attention spans are only about 45 minutes,” referring to the surge in virtual workouts amidst the pandemic.
“When you’re adding in that cardio element they’re feeling breathy, not necessarily breathless but breathy, they’re sweating, they feel like they’re getting a lot more bang for their buck. They are also improving their cardiovascular endurance along with their muscular endurance!”
Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that people are either seeking out fusion classes that marry some sort of high-intensity training with the low-impact movements of barre. She agreed.
“HIIT barre was one of our most popular classes because it bridged the gap between different formats. We weren’t a barre exclusive studio so our people that loved HIIT and Kettlebell [classes] would come to HIIT Barre because it was less choreographed. They really liked that every other song was an athletic interval and they didn’t have to be on beat. It was also a really good way to bridge the gap between your barre population and your more hardcore HIIT, strength training population.”
Three different ways to include cardio
If you want to turn up the cardio factor in your barre class, Lauren described three different approaches.
Cardio Bursts
These are 30 seconds or less of all-out effort. “It feels more like a HIIT interval,” she explained. “A lot of times we’ll put those at the end of songs. We’ll go through the traditional barre sequence and then have an explosive burst at the end.”
Variable interval training
This is where you weave more cardio exercises into a certain sequence. “I teach a lot of my sequences verse-chorus, so on the verse, we’ll do an exercise and on the chorus, we’ll do another one,” Lauren said, describing her verse-chorus approach. “With variable interval training, every time the chorus comes on I would do the cardio move so it still feels very barre and very choreographed but you’re having cardio moments.” She goes on to further explain that “these are not all-out efforts that take you to breathless, rather moments that increase the heart rate a bit and make participants breathe a little harder.”
Steady-state cardio barre class
Steady-state cardio is all about moderate intensity. This is where you are incorporating more full-range of motion exercises, so “like lunges, second position plies, and curtsy lunges. These exercises work large muscle groups which help to elevate the heart rate. Additionally, we incorporate the upper body by using dumbbells which takes it up even another notch!”
Types of barre exercises that work well with cardio
“I teach two different types of Cardio Barre. I teach HIIT Barre where there are a lot of moments that are timed and unchoreographed and then I have my traditional Cardio Barre class,” Lauren explained.
“For both of those, I really emphasize the importance of making sure your cardio exercises are still barre exercises, so instead of going from a first position plié to a chest to floor burpee or a first position plié to sprints across the studio, you want to make sure you’re still choosing barre-themed exercises.”
“The big differentiating factor between HIIT Barre and Cardio Barre is in my Cardio Barre classes I do way less impact, so we don’t do a lot of jumping, we really focus more on full range of motion exercises, adding things like gliding discs or dumbells to pick the cardio up.” If you’re in need of a more detailed explanation about the difference between HIIT Barre and Cardio Barre, read this.
Lauren suggests taking anything that uses large muscle groups like lunges, curtsy lunges or squats and turning them into more cardio exercises by increasing the range of motion, adding lengths, making the arms bigger or adding a plyometric. For instance, “instead of taking it from a curtsy lunge to side leg lift, maybe you take it into alternating curtsy lunges, then increase the range of motion, and then give the option of adding a jump and turning it into a skater,” she explains. “A curtsy lunge still feels like you’re doing barre but now you’ve added a plyometric, it’s gotten bigger and it’s going to make your heart rate go up a lot.”
“Another one I utilize a lot in my classes is a second position plié, so you take a regular second position plié, up and down and then maybe you give the option to add a relevé, and then maybe the option to do plié pop, from the second position, then jump in, arms overhead, heels touch in the first position. This still feels like a second position plié barre exercise but now you have given them several ways to add a cardiovascular challenge!”
Pitching cardio classes to traditional barre class diehards like me
I’ve never shied away from trying a cardio-based class but I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to barre classes. I tend to like them without a tonne of high-intensity sequences. I was curious to know if she had thoughts on how studio owners can make their cardio classes appeal to people like me who might not immediately gravitate to cardio classes on the schedule.
It’s all in the details of the class description
Lauren recommended using descriptive language in the class descriptions so clients understand how cardio is going to be applied in class. For instance, say “all cardio based on barre-themed exercises,” she suggests. “In one of my descriptions, I even made a joke about it. I said ‘join us for heart-pumping cardio barre, don’t worry no sprints involved,’ so then they kind of know they’re going to be keeping it very barre friendly.”
Offer a range of options for all levels
Lauren also recommends offering options to all levels of experience. “With Barre Above, anytime we add cardio to our classes, we always give three options,” she explained. “We always offer a speed option, a range of motion option, and then a plyometric option.”
“You always want to teach the non-jumping option first. We would never go straight into ballet burpees, we would teach a full range of motion plié, and then maybe plié to relevé and then maybe a plié pop and then say ‘hey, if you want to take this to the floor, this is how you do a ballet burpee.’ So always keeping those levels in mind, especially for the more cardiovascular part.”
At the end of the day, barre can never get boring when there are so many different combinations of props and choreography.
“People love trying new things. When we add in fusion formats like Cardio Barre, HIIT Bare, or Pulse and Flow, it keeps instructors energized, our members excited and prevents their bodies from plateauing because we are constantly challenging their bodies in new ways!”
Want to learn more?
On the subject of cardio, there was a lot to dive into, and we only scratched the surface. If you want to know more, catch Lauren George at this year’s Virtual Barre Summit, where she’ll be leading a few sessions including one on cardio!
This year’s summit takes place online over two weekends beginning October 16. Visit barresummit.com for more details and to purchase tickets. Register by August 31 and you’ll receive a free shirt from Whimtee valued at $40 in your welcome bag. That’s in addition to the early-bird pricing discount and Booty Kicker portable barre ($80 value) that you receive with registration.
The Barre Blog is proud to be the event’s Media Partner. Look out for more complimentary content in the weeks to come!
About Lauren George
Lauren is co-creator of the enhanced Barre Above® program, creator of The Musicality Method, Master Trainer for Balletone® and host of the “Fit and Fierce on the Mic” podcast. She was named 2018 EMPOWER! Fusion Education Partner of the year.
