As a dancer, I love to challenge my body, but years’ worth of dance training has caused me to have a couple of injuries and alignment issues. Because of this, I used to avoid other forms of exercise because I would fear injuring myself even more. But barre has not only strengthened me in places where I am injured, but it also has made me feel stronger overall and has allowed me to exercise more. So, here are my top 5 Barre Vida positions and why they have helped me become stronger.

Second Position Plie is a great way to work your adductors and quadriceps. Because of the externally rotated position and the support of the barre, I don’t feel a gripping sensation around my hips and so I am able to execute the exercises in this position with a little bit of ease. One of the injuries I had dealt with was in my right hip, so I often had to be cautious when working on my thigh muscles because I would end up engaging my hips as well. However, this position helps me avoid that. The exercises in this position happen mostly in my legs, so I am able to constantly check in with my spine alignment.

Similar to working my thighs, I also have difficulty working the back of my legs because of the tightness I have in the front of my hips. What I love about the basic position is that the working leg (the one that is actively doing the movement) stays relatively high so I am able to stretch the front of my hip, while the standing leg is working on stabilization which helps the muscles around my hip and knee. You’ll definitely feel the burn, but this position allows me to breathe through the exercises and helps me feel strong.

This position is super simple and what I love about it is the wide variety of movement variations. Because this position is upright, it’s easy to engage my core muscles and work on my targeted leg muscles at the same time. You can pulse up and down, you can lift one leg, you can close your knees and open your knees. I find this position great for beginners because of its simplicity and because it doesn’t negate the work out in any way.

One of the hardest things about abdominal exercises for me is that I get pain in my lower back. The ball behind the back relieves me of my lower back pain and still makes my abs engage, trust me the ab muscles will still shake. There are also a ton of variations you can do in this position, giving you a well-rounded workout because you are able to engage all of your ab muscles.

Around the World

This position/positions is my favorite because it targets the front, the side, and the back of the leg and you get to transition between three different positions which is fun in itself.

Around the World exercises really help strengthen the muscles around my hip socket and prevent me from further injuries. The movement variations I do in these positions, reflect what I did in physical therapy when I was in treatement for my hip. The first position starts in a simple bridge and quickly becomes more advanced when you raise one leg. From there, you turn onto your side and you are ready to do some clam shells. And then it finishes off with you in a table top position. For extra resistance, you can put a resistance band around your thighs. There is honestly something so satisfying about having a 3-in-1 package for the days where I want to cover as much as I can as quickly as I can.

My Favorite Barre Vida Positions by Rachel Lee

Around the World