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15-Minute Barre Workout (Full Body Barre Class, Optional Light Weights)

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | October 6, 2023

Get the boutique barre class experience at home with this 15-Minute Barre Workout! Six traditional barre exercises with high intensity cardio to tone, strengthen and raise your heart rate.

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Strengthen and tone with this quick and effective barre workout.

Traditional barre workouts – like Physique 57 and Pure Barre classes – are done in a barre studio with a ballet barre. These classes focus on small, deliberate movements.

When I create my online barre workouts, I adapt them to bring this boutique studio experience to your home without a barre.

I also add my own personal style by mixing in large, compound movements to raise your heart rate while building strength. Think barre meets pilates, yoga sculpt and strength training all in one full body workout.

woman holding first position releve in a full body barre workout
woman performing a standing oblique crunch in a barre sculpt workout

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Barre Workout FAQs

What Is A Barre Workout?

Barre is inspired by traditional ballet moves but it also pulls from yoga and pilates exercises. Barre focuses on low-impact, high-intensity movements designed to strengthen the core and tone common “trouble areas” like the thighs, glutes, arms and triceps. It’s relatively low-impact, kind on the joints, and accessible to all fitness levels.

Is Barre A Good Workout For Weight Loss?

Barre might be out of your comfort zone, especially if you’re used to our strength training and HIIT workouts. But barre exercises burn calories and build strength in a variety of different muscle groups, such as the legs, core and back. A combination of cardio, strength training, and proper nutrition can help you achieve your weight loss goals.

What Are The Benefits Of Barre Workouts?

Barre workouts have many benefits! Using bodyweight or lighter weights and higher repetitions is great for building muscle endurance, which will assist you in your other workouts (SELF Magazine). Barre also increases balance, flexibility, posture and range of motion as it strengthens and lengthens your muscles. It’s good to mix up your fitness routine to avoid fitness and weight loss plateaus.

woman holding a side plank with a leg lift in a barre class at home

15-Minute Barre Workout

A quick and effective barre workout that targets the legs, thighs, glutes, arms, shoulders, back, triceps, core and abs — all in just 15 minutes!

This workout combines traditional barre moves with low impact cardio for a full body burn.

Add full body workouts like this one to your fitness routine 1-2 times a week to build muscle mass and increase endurance.

Workout Equipment:

Optional light to medium dumbbells, wrist weights or hand weights. I suggest 2-5 lbs.

Option to do this barre workout with just your bodyweight.

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Workout Instructions:

Follow along with the guided Barre Workout on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren. 

Your Workout Looks Like This:

  • 6 Full Body Barre Exercises
  • 60 Seconds Per Exercise (flowing from one move to the next in a natural sequence, completing around 10-12 reps per exercise)
  • Repeat x2 Sets
4 Full Body Barre Exercises to Tone (Barre Class at Home!)

Workout Outline

  1. Narrow Squat and Bicep Curl and Front Leg Lift
  2. Balance Wide Back Row and Rear Leg Lift
  3. Lunge and Front Raise and Front Kick
  4. First Position Squat and Single Arm Overhead Tricep Extension
  5. Weighted Plié and Toe Stand Jumps
  6. Push Up and Balance Side Plank
plie position from barre workout

Prefer to Watch On YouTube?

youtube icon Barre Workout

6 Barre Exercises to Tone and Strengthen

Narrow Squat, Bicep Curl and Front Leg Lift

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, inner thighs, biceps, abs and core muscles.

woman performing a narrow squat and front leg lift in a barre workout with light weights

How To Do A Narrow Squat, Bicep Curl and Front Leg Lift

  1. Start in a narrow staggered squat position. Feet are under hips, with 80% of your weight in your left foot, 20% in your right toes. Hold your dumbbells at your sides, palms facing out away from your body.
  2. Lower your hips down into a squat, curling your dumbbells up towards your shoulders as you sit back.
  3. Press through your heels to stand tall, lowering your dumbbells back to your sides.
  4. Brace your core, and lift your right foot in front of you, keeping a generous bend in your right knee. Aim to get your thigh parallel to the mat.
  5. Then, return your right toes to the mat and repeat.

Balance Wide Back Row and Rear Leg Lift

Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, upper back, shoulders, abs and core.

woman performing a balance rear leg lift and back row in a full body barre workout

How To Do A Balance Wide Back Row and Rear Leg Lift

  1. Start in a staggered position, left foot in front of right. Think about having your feet on two railroad tracks rather than stacked in one line.
  2. Hinge at your hips to bring your torso to a 45-degree angle to the mat. Hold your dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in towards your body.
  3. Squeeze your right glute to lift your left heel up behind you. At the same time, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the dumbbells towards your chest, elbows out at 90-degree angles, performing a back row.
  4. With control, lower the dumbbells and your right leg back to starting position.

Lunge, Front Raise and Front Kick

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, inner thighs, shoulders, arms, abs and obliques.

woman performing a lunge and front raise in a barre workout

How To Do A Lunge, Front Raise and Front Kick

  1. Start in a staggered stance, feet under hips, 80% of your weight in your left foot and 20% in your right toes. Hold your dumbbells at your sides, palms facing in towards your body.
  2. Step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, aiming for a 90-degree angle in both knees. As you lunge, lift your dumbbells out in front of you, raising the dumbbells to shoulder height (front raise).
  3. Press through your left heel to return to a standing position, lowering the dumbbells.
  4. Then, raise your left foot in front of you, keeping a generous bend in your left knee.
  5. With control, return to starting position.

First Position Squat and Single Arm Overhead Tricep Extension

Targets: Outer glutes, inner thighs, top of thighs (quads), back of the arms (triceps), shoulders and core.

woman performing a first position squat and single arm overhead tricep extension in a low impact barre workout

How To Do A First Position Squat and Single Arm Overhead Tricep Extension

  1. Start standing in first position, heels together, toes out in a “V” shape.
  2. Hold your left dumbbell straight overhead and your right dumbbell at your chest.
  3. Softly bend your knees, pressing your knees out towards your toes to lower into a shallow first position squat.
  4. As you lower into a squat, bend your left elbow to “hide” the dumbbell behind your head, performing a single arm overhead tricep extension.
  5. Then, pull your thighs together to stand tall, extending your left arm overhead at the same time.

Weighted Plié and Toe Stand Jumps (Second Position to First Position)

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, outer glutes, inner thighs, calves and core.

woman performing plie toe stand jumps with light weights in a barre workout

How To Do A Weighted Plié and Toe Stand Jumps

  1. Start in second position. Step wide, heels in, toes facing out towards the corners of the room. Imagine your back is pressed against a wall. Slide your back down the wall, lowering into a wide squat position. Hold both dumbbells at your chest.
  2. Pull your thighs together as you jump in to the center of your mat, landing softly in first position (heels together).
  3. Then, hop back out to second position.

Modification: Option to step from second position to first position instead of jump.

Push Up and Balance Side Plank

Targets: Chest, shoulders, triceps, obliques, abs and core.

woman performing a push up to side plank in a barre workout

How To Do A Push Up and Balance Side Plank

  1. Start in a high plank position – shoulders over wrists, core engaged, one long line from your head through your heels.
  2. Lower the body to complete a push up, elbows falling back towards your body (if you’re looking at yourself from an overhead angle, your elbows should form an “A” shape rather than a “T” shape away from your body).
  3. Press back up to high plank position.
  4. Then, pull your right arm up and over your body, opening up to your right as your arms expand in a “T” shape.
  5. Return the dumbbell to the mat, ending in a high plank position.

Modification: Option to perform push ups from an incline (placing hands on a chair or counter top to bring the ground closer). Or perform push ups on knees and rotate to knee-down side plank.

Barre Workouts

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woman performing a rear leg lift in a barre workout at home

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