Again, be sure to keep your knees over your toes in the plié. Dreusike says to think of centering the weight in between your two legs instead of coming down and leaning harder into one side. By Ayana Underwood. By Tiffany Ayuda. By Sara Coughlin.

Dreusike says to let your heel lead your leg here. The movement should be small—you're tapping into the smaller muscles in your inner thighs to pull the leg in and out. Try to keep your standing leg stable and focus on making the movement small and controlled.

You're using your inner and outer thighs during this entire move, plus your core as you pull the leg into center. When you extend your leg behind you, try not to cross it behind your standing shoulder—extend it straight out behind you instead.

When you keep it in line with the right side of your body, you work more of the muscles that wrap up and around the butt. Your glutes will really feel this one, thanks to the arabesque and lunge motions. You're also working your external rotators—the muscles that essentially cup your butt.

This is a big movement with a huge range of motion, especially if you can get really deep into the lunge and then bring your leg up high in the arabesque. But if your range of motion isn't that big, start slow and increase your speed when you can. Move down an inch, and up an inch.

Jillian Dreusike is wearing Motion By Coalition Ava Motion Standout Bra centralcoastcasuals. Crew x New Balance Premium Capris NewBalance. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

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Here's what the workout includes:. Katie Thompson. Stand at the barre, or at the back of a chair with hands lightly resting on it. Bend your right leg and bring your right knee up to your chest. Lift your left heel, so you're standing on your left toes.

Plié bend deeply with your left leg. Keep your left foot in a forced arch, and simultaneously bring your upper body forward, hinging at your hips. Flex your right toes, and lift your right leg keeping it bent at 90 degrees behind you to bring your heel toward the ceiling. Keep your back flat. Return to starting position.

Continue on the same side for 10 reps. Switch sides. Stand at the barre, or at the back of a chair, with hands lightly resting on it and feet slightly angled out.

Bend your right knee to a passé position, where you bring your right toe to your left knee, and the right knee out to your right side.

Keeping your hips stable, plié or bend , your left leg. Leading from your right knee, swivel it in front of your left leg, then turn the knee back out to passé position. Keep your toes pointed. Repeat on the same side for 10 reps. Start in ballet second position in a deep plié with your toes turned out and hands resting lightly on the back of the barre or chair.

Jump your heels together to first position, and do another plié. Jump back out into second position. Do four jumps, ending in second position with each jump. Hold second position and pulse your knees open for four reps. Repeat four jumps and four pulses. That's one rep. Do 10 reps.

Start in a deep second position with toes pointed out, hands resting on the back of the chair. Straighten your legs, and cross your right leg over your left, keeping your toes flexed. Your thighs should touch and your right heel should almost touch your left toes when your legs are both straight.

Return to your deep squat second position. Most Popular. The Best Treadmills to Add to Your Home Gym. Stand tall with your hands resting gently on the barre or back of the chair, toes pointed out and heels touching. Keeping your toes flexed, bring your right leg in front of your left, almost connecting your right heel to your left toes.

Then, circle your right leg back out and behind your left leg, crossing until your right toes almost line up with your left heel. Step 2: Holding this squatted position, strike your right foot out and back, pointing your toe to maximize your power and extension. Flow through 16 counts, switch sides and repeat.

Step 1 : Begin in a standing position with one arm resting on a barre or chair at your side. Bring your free arm and feet out wide to second position and plié down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.

Step 2: Maintaining this position, begin to pulse up and down. Lift your outside heel for 4 counts then lower and lift your opposite heel for 4 counts. Repeat for a total of 16 counts. Step 1: Begin in a standing position with one arm resting on a barre or chair at your side.

Step 2: Press through your feet to return to a standing position. Simultaneously, perform a passé drawing your outside leg in and up with your toe pointed until it lightly touches your knee.

Return to the second position plié and flow through 16 counts. Switch sides and repeat. Step 1: Begin in a standing position with one arm resting on a barre or chair at your side, other arm out in first position. Bring your feet to first position with your heels touching and your toes pointed out.

Lift both heels up to relevé then bend both legs into a plié. Step 2: Balancing in this position, press through the balls of your feet to straighten then bend again.

Flow through 16 counts then hold a plié and pulse up an inch and down an inch for another 16 counts. Step 1: Begin in a standing position with one arm resting on a barre or chair at your side, the other out in first position. Step 2: From here, lift both heels up to relevé while swinging your extended arm up overhead to fifth position.

Lower back down and repeat, flowing through 16 counts. Step 1: Begin in a standing position with your body slightly angled away from the barre or chair.

Rest one arm on the barre and the other overhead in fifth position. Step 2: Brush the floor to lift your right leg up off the ground as high as you can comfortably go.

With control, lower your leg back down, alternating between fifth position heel to toe and first position heels together, toes apart. That slight cross of the legs will help fire up your inner thighs.

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with your torso facing the barre or chair with both hands resting for balance. With your feet parallel to each other, bend your legs slightly into a plié and lift your right foot up off the ground.

Step 2: Curl your foot up and in towards the back of your thigh to fire up your hamstring. From here, use your glutes to lift and lower the floating leg, so that the knees come together then separate as your lift.

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with one elbow resting on a barre or chair at your side, the other extended high overhead. Keeping your leg straight, lift it up to the side while drawing your elbow down and in toward your hip. Use your oblique to help lift your leg while keeping your spine long and extended.

After 16 counts of full extension, hold the lifted position and pulse it out for 16 more counts. Step your right foot back into a lunge and plié both legs down, making sure your left front knee is directly above your left ankle.

Step 2: From here, begin to pulse moving up an inch and down an inch without breaking the plié or fully straightening either leg.

Flow through 16 counts, then hold the lunge and lift and lower your front heel for another 16 counts. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips and extend your right leg out behind you and your right arm up overhead at a diagonal. Your extended arm and leg should make one long line.

Step 2: Balancing on your left leg, draw your right knee up and in as you pull your elbow down to meet your hip. Extend both your arm and leg back out and repeat, flowing through 16 counts on each side. Step 2: Use your glutes to lift your right leg up off the ground while simultaneously pulsing your right arm back.

Make 16 tiny pulses, switch sides and repeat. Step 1: Begin in a standing position with your torso facing the barre or chair with both elbows resting for balance. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips and extend your right leg out behind you, using your glutes to lift it up off the ground.

Step 2: Keeping your right leg lifted the whole time, lower it down across the body to the outside of your left foot. Tap the floor and lift it back up, slicing diagonally across your midline to return to the starting position. Keep your hips and shoulders square to the ground as you lower and lift for 16 counts.

With a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips and cross your right ankle over your left thigh. With the foot flexed, deepen the stretch in your glutes and hips by bending the standing leg.

For more information, visit our medical review board. JUMP TO Section. Standing thigh work 2. Parallel thigh side taps 3.

Second position to curtsy 4. Plank series 5. Foldover 6. Glute work on the floor Insider's takeaway. Redeem now. Read preview. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app. Email address. Sign up. You can opt-out at any time.

Ashley Laderer. Ashley Laderer is a freelance writer from New York who specializes in health and wellness. Then raise your left leg up and lower, keeping your shoulders aligned and abdominals engaged. Keep alternating legs and repeat 30 times.

Lie down on one side, with your shoulder above the elbow, and knees bent in front of you parallel to your hips. Make sure to remain on the side of your hips throughout the whole exercise and point your feet. Open your knee to the side, then extend the leg up, stretching it entirely then bend the knee again and close the knees together.

Photography by Nadine Brandt. NRG barrebody studio is open Mondays-Saturdays. The studio is cleaned regularly, with mats, props and barres disinfected before and after each class; visit the schedule at n-rg.

Online workouts available from late March at nrgbarrebody. Like this article? Sign up to our new newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. SIGN UP. The oat milk debate, debunked. Should we all be drinking matcha lattes now?

Bryony Deery on the real power of Pilates. She works as a Physical Therapist at Adler Therapy Group and a BodyPump Instructor at OneLife Fitness.

Yvonne McGreevy is a researcher, fact-checker, video content creator, and writer with over 15 years of experience working with various publications. Barre may have its roots in ballet, but it has since grown to be a popular workout beyond the dance studio, accessible to all fitness levels.

In barre workouts, minimal to no equipment is needed—just a mat and a chair or something to hold onto that represents a barre, and light weights if you want to use them. The only dancer aspect you want to have is to think like a ballet dancer. Barre is a low-impact, full body workout, and the movements in barre tend to focus on body weight or low weight and high repetition to help you tone and lengthen your muscles.

Beyond the physical benefits, there are also mental ones. Kingswell explains that shaking is a sign that your muscles are working hard to hold the moves.

Kingswell showed us a few barre moves that help connect you with your body and breath. The only equipment you need is a chair or a barre like structure to help support you. Hint: The Pilates Class offers a free, seven-day trial and has a range of classes you can try, including barre, pilates, stretch, and calm classes.

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