"Hold your core”, “squeeze your tummy”, “ pull your belly button to your spine “ - you probably hear your instructor say these things 1000 times during class. Basically, what we mean is engage your abdominal muscles in every exercise! Your abdomen consists of 4 main muscle groups: transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Together (along with muscles in your back) this makes up your core. Think about your core as a strong column that links your upper body with your lower body. All of your movements in barre class are powered by your core … this is why we think its pretty important! This week we are checking in with your instructors to see what their favorite way is to burn out those abdominal muscles.
“My favorite abdominal exercise is the classic seated abs with a ball at the lower back. There's so much variety, adding challenge with arm placement, weights, or bands. And I just love incorporating pelvic tucks!” – Lindsey
“My go to abdominal exercise in class would be the Level I posture with the ball under the tailbone. There's lots of variety that you can do to change it up and keep it fresh.” – Erin
“Plank challenges as they are such a good burn for not only the core and abs but for the total body!” – Erika
“A combination of scissors, lift and lower, open-close with legs extended on the floor. I really actually hate it, but you can almost feel the 6 pack forming...” – Kyra
“PELVIC TUCKS!! Standing, plié, water ski, plank or seated, I LOVE those tucks! I like that they work a muscle group that is tough to get into plus they are so much fun.” – Katarina
“My favourite ab exercise is with my hands on my shoulders and elbows out wide in what I call beginner ballerina pirouette arms. Having the arms on the shoulders helps to open up the chest and keep the abs engaged.” – Mary Jo
“My favorite ab exercise would have to be pelvic tucks in plank position. I love adding pelvic tucks because it is so important to work the pelvic floor. Plank is difficult as is, and those tucks just add a little something extra ;) “ - Katharine