The Bar Method’s intense strengthening workout changes the body in three ways: first, it systematically shapes and elongates each major muscle group. Second, it burns away fat around these muscles. And third it stretches our most chronically tight muscles, namely those around the hips and lower back (that get that way in part from hours of sitting and driving). The result is a striking, clearly visible change in appearance. Muscles look longer and more defined, the body becomes leaner and more slender, and the frame becomes straighter and more graceful.

Absolutely! The Bar Method class is equivalent to interval training. Its workout requires intense bursts of energy on top of deeply focused stretches. This kind of exercise has the double advantage of producing both a high caloric burn and denser, more compact muscle mass. Muscle density is a key part of getting and staying lean, because those firmer muscles increase your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories all day. Most students who do the Bar Method regularly become slimmer and lighter, sometimes within months.

Yes, even though the exercises look different from those of conventional aerobics. The Bar Method workout challenges the body’s strength and endurance throughout the class and produces a high level of overall fitness.

The Bar Method workout is significantly more intense than Pilates in several ways: First, Pilates works the small muscle groups, while the Bar Method works the large muscles groups, adding muscle density, which in turn develops more definition and an increased metabolic rate. 

Also, Pilates uses machines and mat-work to realign the core muscles, while the Bar Method uses the body’s own weight to isolate, strengthen and reshape. So each system produces a different look.

Pilates gives bodies a longer feel, while the Bar Method, with its focus on strength, creates the more “cut” appearance. Ultimately Pilates is corrective, while the Bar Method is transformative in that it gives the individual an opportunity to reach her or his peak level of fitness. 

Yoga’s spiritual focus on saluting the heavens lifts the torso into prayerful arches and then bends the body forward into reverential bows. Yoga increases flexibility, especially in the hamstrings, but it can also result in an arched back and a protruding stomach.

The Bar Method’s workout balances the lines of strength that run up the back and the front of the body resulting in a more vertical posture plus flat abdominals and muscle definition. Ultimately, the Bar Method works muscles that yoga misses, giving the body greater strength and stamina.

Research shows that exercise yields the best benefits when performed three-to-five times a week. So to get good results from the Bar Method, or from any strengthening system, you need to do one workout about three times a week (as opposed to doing three kinds of different workouts one day a week.) Of course you can add as much other activity as you wish (ideally forms of exercise you enjoy), but stick to your 3-5 times a week for basic conditioning!

7. What do you do in a Bar Method workout?

After a simple warm-up to get the heart rate going and the muscles warm, students work the upper body with free weights or push-ups. Next comes intense exercises performed while holding onto a bar, chair or ledge. This challenging standing section works the thighs, seat and hamstrings by isolating these muscles, then contracting or stretching them in controlled moves performed to music. The Bar Method’s workout continues with floor exercises for the abdominals and gluteals and concludes with a relaxing series of back and leg stretches.