Barre Workouts: What They Are and What Is Known

What barre is

Barre is a form of dance fitness, usually taught in group classes in gyms and studios, named for the ballet barre (the rail dancers hold). [1] Wikipedia's entry says the method was founded by Lotte Berk in 1959, drawing on dance, yoga and Pilates. [1] The same entry describes classes as repetitive sequences that vary in tempo and range of motion, often using light hand weights. [1] Class formats vary a good deal between studios and instructors, so the name does not describe one standard workout.

Wikipedia is a crowd-edited encyclopedia, so we use it here only for background description. We did not find a more authoritative history of barre that we could read.

What research exists: very little

Label: insufficient evidence. The Wikipedia entry itself says there is limited peer-reviewed research on barre. [1] We checked. Proper evidence not found for large or controlled trials of barre classes: we searched PubMed for "barre workout", "barre class exercise women", "barre fitness randomized controlled trial" and "ballet-inspired fitness class randomized", and found three small studies. None is a systematic review.

1. Urinary incontinence symptoms

   All questionnaire scores improved [2]

   Design: 25 new women clients of a commercial barre program with incontinence; questionnaires before and after 10 classes [2]Limits: No comparison group, so other factors could explain the change

2. Parkinson's disease

   The program was feasible; authors called for controlled studies [3]

   Design: 11 people completed twice-weekly 45-minute classes for 12 weeks [3]Limits: Feasibility study, not a test of benefit

3. Older women in Korea

   Depression scores were lower in the barre group than the control group; epinephrine rose in the barre group [4]

   Design: 27 women, three groups of nine (barre, walking, control) [4]Limits: Very small; a hormone change is a lab measure, not a health outcome

For Parkinson's disease, the authors suggested barre may be a safe, feasible way to meet exercise guidelines, a modest conclusion from 11 people. [3] None of these studies shows that barre prevents or treats incontinence, depression or any disease. If you have pelvic floor symptoms, see Pelvic floor and pelvic pain and talk to a clinician.

Barre compared with Pilates and yoga

Barre borrows from both, which is why people compare them. [1] A Cochrane review of Pilates for low back pain exists, with low-to-moderate-quality evidence [5]; see Pilates for low back pain. No comparable review exists for barre that we could find. For what each practice involves, see Yoga vs Pilates and Pilates: origins and evidence. We found no head-to-head trial of barre against Pilates. Barre may suit you if you enjoy group classes and dance-based movement; the evidence cannot say it works better than other low-impact exercise.

Instructors and training

Proper evidence not found: we did not locate a regulator or professional-body page for barre instructors that we could read. Many programs are run by commercial studio brands, and requirements differ. Ask what training the instructor has, whether it covers adapting for injuries, and whether you can watch or try a class. Do not rely on a certificate alone. See Tai Chi, Qigong and Pilates teacher qualifications for questions that also apply here. We do not list or rank studios, and we give no prices.