Does your love for barre go deeper than what your friends and family would consider a “reasonable obsession?”  If so, you may start to panic when Spring Break rolls around. Maybe you’ve been in a groove, taking classes consistently and finally starting to feel like you could get through a full set of thigh without releasing. Or maybe you’re addicted and literally can’t imagine a day, let alone a week, without Bar Method.
Spring Break is here and whether you’re packing up the family for a quick trip to the coast, staying home to chaperone daily play dates, or working straight through because you feel like you’re behind in just about everything, we have just what you need.

Here are 6 easy Bar Method exercises you can do anywhere (bonus: no ballet barre required)

Plank

Plank is one of the easiest exercises to perform just about anywhere! You just need a flat surface and a little motivation. All plank variations strengthen and tone your abdominals, back, seat and shoulder stabilizer muscles.

• Come down to your forearms and the balls of your feet
• straighten your legs and grip your glutes
• Draw your abs up and breathe sharply
• Hold for 45-90 seconds

Push ups

Pushups are one of the most effective full-body exercises you can do, and require zero equipment and only about a minute of your time for an effective set of 20-30. They strengthen and tone your core muscles, deltoids, biceps, triceps, pecs, and shoulder and back muscles! Even better, your muscles visibly respond to pushups immediately after doing them because blood flow increases to your many working muscles, and the fibers are contracted.

• Come down onto your hands and knees (or balls of your feet for more of a challenge)
• Place your hands under your shoulders and bend your elbows back on a diagonal toward your waist
• Spread your shoulder blades apart and draw your abs in
• Do 20-30 pushups on-tempo

Heel Lifts

Heel lifts are a great way to get the blood pumping in your legs. They warm up your feet (great to do if you’re planning to do some serious walking or hiking on your vacation), Strengthen your knees and tone your calves, hamstrings and glutes.

• Stand straight with your feet parallel or turned out
• Hold on to a ledge, counter top or chair for stability and balance
• Grip your glutes and keep your legs straight
• Lift your heels up and down as many times as it takes to feel a burn in your calves

Second Position

Second position thigh work pays homage to our dance conditioning background. The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen and tone your quads, gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. Not only that, but it makes you feel and look like a beautiful ballet dancer with the impressive turnout and wide, powerful stance.

• Open your legs into a wide stance with your hips and feet turned out in line with each other
• Bend your knees outward in the same direction of your feet and grip your seat muscles firmly
• Drop your tailbone and upright your spine to vertical
• In a small 1-inch movement bend your knees on-tempo 10-15 times and resume to a standing position
• Repeat with 3 sets

Clam Curl

Clam curl uses two kinds of abdominal contractions, eccentric and concentric, both good for creating definition in the abs. The larger moves and continual curls help to raise your heart rate and shave inches off your waist by aerobically burning away fat calories.

• Lay down on a flat surface and cross one knee over the other
• Close the space between your legs and lift your feet off the floor to dangle
• Cross your arms across your chest and keep your neck elongated, look up
• Bend your waist slowly in and out while you move your legs slowly in and out like you’re closing a clam shell and reopening it
• Repeat this 10 times slow and 20 times fast on each side

Back Dancing

Back dancing is the easiest way to sneak in some seat work while on vacation because again you don’t need any equipment. This exercise is easy to perform safely and sculpts your glutes, hamstrings and thighs. Depending on how you position your feet you can tone your inner thighs or carve your outer glutes all while stretching your hip flexors and therapeutically releasing your back.

• Lie down on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor
• Keep your rib cage on the floor and tilt the rest of your torso up off the floor using your glutes
• Relax your back so your hips can move freely
• Lift and lower your hips 60-100 times at medium speed

So, now you can enjoy the week, keep your core tight, and feel good about time away from the studio (and hopefully getting a little tan)!  And if you are craving a full Bar Method workout, take one of our online classes.

Bar Online offers a comprehensive set of classes — from some of our best teachers across the nation and at all different lengths (20, 40 and 60-minute).  For just $15 you get unlimited classes for 30 days! https://baronline.barmethod.com/

 

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