Step up to the bar: how The Bar Method™ helps create the long, lean and defined look of a dancer - Master Class

American Fitness, March-April, 2004 by Burr Leonard

My students often ask me why The Bar Method[R] reshapes their bodies so effectively. Part of the answer lies in how its exercises alternate between working muscles in the front and back of the body. By changing sides often, muscles get many opportunities to stretch as the opposing muscles contract. Students also gain stamina and burn fat as their muscles are challenged in quick succession until the final stretches allow them to recover.

The Bar Method[TM] leg exercises offer a good look at how this technique works:

* The first thigh section begins when students are about 13 minutes into class and sufficiently warmed up to perform this highly challenging exercise. The Bar Method[TM] strengthens and shapes students' legs by having them hold onto the bar for balance and move into a plie (i.e., heels high, knees bent and torso vertical). After holding this position for up to 20 seconds, they move slightly up and down, staying in the plie for a few more minutes of very challenging strength work. This exercise's intensity makes the thigh muscles strong and dense (i.e., firm and toned). In turn, this increased muscle density demands more fuel and thus helps the entire body burn more calories throughout the day.

* Then, the workout moves to seat and hamstring exercises. As students turn their attention to the back of their bodies, the front of the legs get active stretching. This way, The Bar Method[TM] sculpts the leg muscles. Dancers, with their leg extensions and arabesques, accomplish the same look.

Using this front-to-back formula, The Bar Method[R] creates a striking, clearly visible change in students' appearance. Muscles look longer and more defined, bodies become leaner, abdominals flatten and posture improves. Here's a brief look at the entire class and how it uses this technique:

1. The initial warm-up section heats the body for maximum caloric expenditure and allows muscles to work safely. Students lift their knees in quick succession to accelerate heart rate.

2. Arm work and push-ups follow. This further raises the body's internal temperature to help burn calories later in class.

3. Next, students stretch their legs, arras and torsos at the bar. Throughout the entire class students stretch each muscle just worked to make them more flexible.

4. Then comes the challenging thigh work described earlier, followed by seat and hamstring work.

5. Two very challenging exercises performed under the bar come next. During the second half of class after students' muscles are close to exhaustion, these exercises challenge students to build stamina.

a. In the first of these exercises, students lean their upper backs against the wall, scoot their hips approximately a foot forward and extend their legs towards the ceiling. Beginners may hold onto their legs to help maintain this position. More advanced students use their abdominals and thigh muscles to keep their legs extended. Students then jackknife their legs even closer to their bodies to the rhythm of a driving beat.

b. In the second under-the-bar exercise, the class intensively works the thighs once more by pressing the entire back flat against the wall under the bar, pressing the palms against the bar above them and lifting both legs off the floor. Students scissor their legs in and out up to 150 times for five minutes, exhaling on every rep. Striving to perform the greatest possible number of "open-closes" with their feet off the floor makes students use their already exhausted thighs, abs, arms and legs, moving their bodies into an aerobic mode that burns calories and fat.

8. The class is now ready for abdominal curls. The Bar Method curl works not only the abs but also the arm and seat muscles. Putting the ab work near the end of class also allows the warmed body to deeply stretch the back muscles to keep them limber.

9. After more seatwork, the class ends with a peaceful stretch for the back, seat and hamstrings. This deep stretching works so well because the muscles are deeply exhausted and at their most malleable.

Students who come to class three to five times a week transform the look and feel of their bodies and add years of youthfulness to their lives. The following exercises present the central movements of The Bar Method[TM]. You will need a sturdy support between hip and waist height (e.g., a bar, the back of a heavy chair, buffet or counter top) to hold onto.

Warm-Up

Purpose: Increase heat in your muscles, getting them primed for the deep muscle isolations and stretches that follow.

Set up: Stand on profile to your support, holding onto it with one hand (of face it and hold on with both hands). Place your feet about two foot-lengths apart and turn your legs out. Keep your hips, knees and feet aligned.

Action: Slowly bend your knees over your toes and straighten your legs four times. Then, quickly lift and lower your heels eight times, without bending your knees. Repeat this sequence (four slow plies, eight quick heel lifts) four times.

Result: Your warmed muscles will maximize caloric expenditure throughout the workout and help you feel strong as you conquer the final, most challenging moments of each exercise.