What is Barre?

This blog was originally featured on Maria Haymandou’s website here.

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Barre is a ballet-inspired, low-impact workout regimen. Within the last decade, barre workouts have become increasingly popular. PureBarre, a fitness studio franchise that specializes in barre workouts began in 2001 with a single location. They now have over 450 within the United States and Canada.

Barre is so popular because it’s possible to get a full-body workout that combines strength training and cardio within an hour. Barre might be an excellent option for people who are new to fitness, short on time or need a switch-up from their daily gym routine. Also, barre is entirely safe for pregnant women but always check with a doctor first.

During workouts, you will actively burn fat, tone muscle, improve posture, develop core strength, and correct balance issues. The beginning of a barre workout usually involves a combination of typical mat-based exercises like planks and push-ups. Then, the majority of the workout is completed at the barre. The barre is used for balance while a series of isometric movements are performed. This just means that instead of doing the more extensive motions typically associated with workouts, (squats, jumping jacks, or burpees) you’re performing smaller movements, usually around an inch while holding the rest of your body still. These smaller movements, almost like pulses, target your muscles in a way that most fitness enthusiasts aren’t used to. Expect to work each muscle group separately and to experience a little bit of shaking in the beginning, before your body gets used to holding barre positions. The workout is usually finished with core exercises and stretching. A typical barre workout lasts about an hour.

The majority of a barre workout will be bodyweight only (along with the use of the barre), but some may include the use of resistance bands, an exercise ball, or light hand weights. Some studios require socks with grips on the bottoms to be worn during barre classes, while some will allow you to be barefoot.

The typical cost for a barre class is between $20-$30. Some gyms and fitness studios offer them as free add-ons, and some offer unlimited classes for one price. At-home barre workouts may require a barre to be installed, but you could also use a banister or railing of some sort. Barre workouts need minimal equipment, which makes barre a popular at-home workout choice.

Fitness Products That Don’t Actually Work

This blog was originally featured on Maria Haymandou’s fitness website here.

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After a few too many holiday cookies and a with a brand-spanking-new fitness resolution on our lips, January finds many would-be couch potatoes gearing up for their summer bod. Unfortunately, weeding through the good, the bad and the ugly of favorite fitness products can encourage a more significant sweat than the proposed workouts. So what’s the word on wacky workout gear?

The Shake Weight: This twenty dollar, barbell-esque device claims to deliver your upper body workout in just six minutes a day by just shaking the device. However, as witnessed in this cool muscle chart by Interbody, the upper body is composed of the chest, back, shoulders and arms, each with anterior and posterior major muscles as well as assistor muscles. While shaking this two-pound object might encourage a little burn in the biceps, anterior deltoids, and a few pectoral fibers, sacrificing proper form while shaking your groove could lead to injury. Not to mention the fact that you’ve missed several key muscle groups along the way which could lead to muscle imbalance. Best advice for building upper body strength? Participate in an educated, free-weight session addressing all muscle groups and proper alignment.

Ab Belt by Sport Elec: Heading south of the upper body to the abs, we find this fifty dollar gadget with claims to firm and tone abs in two weeks. The best part? Once you strap on the belt and hit the “on” button, you’re done! The magic behind this belt is electrical-stimulation does the work for you. Great concept, but a bit too narrow-minded. As shown on Healthline.com the complex group of muscles that make up the core go deep and wide. And, with muscle growth comes the need for progressive resistance. Unfortunately, while binge-watching your favorite series, the targeted electro-stimulated muscles will quickly plateau.

Ab Circle Pro: Although a smaller price tag than the above ab-buster, this fifteen dollar piece of equipment isn’t going to do the trick for you, either. Not only does it not target the critical portion abdominal musculature (see above chart), this quick, pendulum-style exercise can be a tricky maneuver for the hips and back risking injury to these areas.

Bottom line? Don’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, find a gym with educated trainers and get your year going right.

New Year, New You: How to Actually Stick to Your Resolution

This blog originally appeared on Maria Haymandou’s website here.

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How many of you have started a New Year’s resolution — and kept it all year long? Anyone? Resolutions always seem like they’re difficult to keep. Life can get in the way, things change, or sometimes you lose momentum. No wonder 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. In fact, with this statistic, it’s no surprise that many people don’t bother to make a resolution at all!

Don’t fall into the trap of failure. You want to be in the 20 percent of people who’s resolutions make it to February. But how do you do it? Read below for my tips to make your resolution last.

Make It Manageable

Have you heard the expression “don’t bite off more than you can chew?” This phrase applies here. If you want to have success with your New Year’s resolution, you need to take small, but manageable steps to achieve your goals.

For example, if your goal is to lose 50 pounds, it will be hard to keep your mind focused on a goal that will take quite a long time to achieve. Instead, tell yourself that you would like to lose 10 pounds. Once you’ve reached you’re smaller, more manageable goal, you’ll be able to up your momentum to 20, 30, 40, then finally 50 pounds. Not only is the goal more manageable, but you will gain more self-confidence along the way!

Forgive Yourself

Was your resolution last year to start your side-hustle? Did you achieve your goal? If not, did you forgive yourself? Sometimes life just gets in the way, and it will throw you for a loop. Don’t put yourself down too much if you don’t achieve your resolution. After all, you may want to pick it back up another time!

Find a Schedule that Works for You

One of the best ways to keep a resolution is to block out time each day (or every other day!) for your dedicated activity. However, you want to make sure it’s time that works for your lifestyle. If you’re not a morning person, don’t force yourself to wake up even earlier than you have to achieve your goal — vice versa if you’re not a night owl.

Are you ready to start 2018 off on the right track?