Our method is notorious for its emphasis on sculpting, lifting and toning those bodacious booties. And to be honest, packing a little junk in the truck is what its all about these days (I mean, check out Elissa and her J. Lo booty ;)). Every barre class brings you through a series of killer exercises to tone the hamstrings, round the glutes and of course, lift the seat, in attempts to achieve that bangin' backside. To do this, we focus on the three different muscle groups that make up your glutes. First is the gluteus maximus, which is the largest muscle in your bum and is responsible for movement of the hip and thigh. It is often regarded as one of the strongest muscles in the human body. Our barrestars are always proving that one true! Up next is your gluteus medius, or often referred to in class as your side glute or “dimple”. It is situated on the outer surface of the pelvis and also works to support the hip, pelvis and thigh. This one can easily be discovered in exercises such as clamshell or sideline. Finally, is your gluteus minimus. This is the smallest of the three, situated beneath the glute med and often the hardest to work.
Now that your booty anatomy 101 lesson is complete, lets check out what the barre bosses have to say. Keep reading to see your barre instructors favourite ways to tighten the tush!
"I would have to say I love love love pretzel. The burn feels great, and when you sit up tall and manage to lift that leg up one last set and pulse 8 more.. the sense of accomplishment in this challenge feels is fantastic! I also have a love hate relationship with the chair series. The burn feels so good, it's a very versatile exercise targeting those glutes, as well as the upper body. Stacking that body like building blocks: shoulders over hips, knees ontop of ankles, sinking down an inch lower and pushing through the burn.. legs shaking like there's an earth quake that is happening right underneath me.. Well it makes me feel strong and powerful!" - Kirsten
"It's so hard to choose a favorite barre glute exercise, but I really do love the way my tush feels after glute bridge. Plus, who doesn't love a lying down exercise? #amiright" - Lindsey
"Butt buster will forever be my favourite. It was my favourite as a participant, and now that I am an instructor I love including it in my class. It is always a challenge and there are so many ways to increase the intensity." - Kristin G
"My personal favourite barre glute exercise has to be the glue bridge with weights and then adding in hamstring activation with the legs in mermaid and on the toes. Single leg lifts in this position are such a great killer exercise." - Erika
"Definitely monster walks with a band, they aren't pretty but they work so good." - Charlotte
"Fave barre glute exercise is probably glute bridge. I like it because you can do so many different variations to keep it interesting" - Jamie
" I love floor pretzel - by taking pretzel on the floor you really feel the slight differences in flexibility and strength between your left and right sides and it really challenges you to isolate into your glute med/outer hip to keep proper form and alignment. " - Julia
"This is such a tough one because if it was up to me I would put every glute exercise in every classes! For the glute max, I am a big fan of sumo squats or a really wide, deep squat with tiny movements, I do this one pretty often in class and I am sore every single time! Recently for glute mead, I have been doing a lot of work in fire hydrant, this one is definitely a classic for a reason." - Katarina
"Clamshell is my all time favorite glute series! There are so many movements you can do and it doesn't take long to build that burn in the glute med, hip and thigh, add in a blue band and it's even better." -Megan
What seat-shaping + booty-building exercises are your favourite to do in class?