using pole as a stand in for fitness barre

honeybadger started this discussion · 3/2/2013

Hi, all, Not sure if this is the best spot for this query... But I'm wondering if anyone uses the pole as a faux barre for workouts like Lotte Berk, Physique, Barre Method, Tracy Effinger's Squeeze, etc. I know that some of the lat work under the barre wouldn't work, but I was wondering how or if it works for moves like the cantilevered plie on balls of feet, rondes, etc. Thanks!

7 replies

Veena · 3/2/2013
I'm not too familiar with any of the barre methods but I use my pole to work on ballet basics all the time. You won't be able to place your leg on it of course but you could use it to assist you. You can do pole rows with the pole too, which will work the lats! In fact there's a lot of strength work you can do with the pole too.🥂
honeybadger · 3/2/2013
Pole row? Just like a basic upright or bent over row just holding the pole instead of bar/ dumb bells? I've seen a lot of strength exercises using the pole, but I've been curious about how much it can stand in for a horizontal barre. I bet there's a lot more ways a pole can sub for a barre than the other way!😁
Angel1201 · 3/2/2013
Yep! I use mine for Barre 3. Just did it tonight in fact.
honeybadger · 3/2/2013
Cool, Angel1201! I just looked up Barre3, never heard of it before. But the price at amazon! EEK. Can you tell us more about it?
Hazi411 · 3/3/2013
I wasn't sure what Barre3 is so I googled it. It looks similar to what I know as Xtend Barre, which I describe to people as "ballet on steroids" ;-) Barre3 has DVDs etc for sale in their shop, here: http://shop.barre3.com/ ; starting from $15 up.
Angel1201 · 3/3/2013
I have the Xtend Barre: Lean & Chiseled. It's $11.99 on Amazon right now. It starts with a warmup, then you work the arms, next the legs and it winds down with a floor segment. It's entirely ballet based and when they use the chair for support in the video, I hold onto my pole. I did it yesterday and I feel great today, tight, but not too overworked and drained like I sometimes do post workout. I love the lighting in the video, light blue, kind of like club lighting. And the instructor is not annoying.
AliciaPolerina · 3/3/2013
I teach a class called Polerina and the pole is used as the barre for most barre exercises, some hand placement just needs to be modified. Most classical ballet barre moves are just using the barre to help with balance so you can definitely do a full classical barre with your pole :)