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The Modern Body Gets The Bar Method Makeover
New students usually come out of their first Bar Method class most impressed by the intensity of its small moves. Some of these students, especially those who started the Bar Method with former injuries, will soon discover another side to the Bar Method: its unique therapeutic approach to exercise.
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The Bar Method starts
off my making use of our muscles’
interconnectedness to improve overall body
alignment, a technique also used by physical
therapists. Unlike conventional strength
training, which typically works each muscle
separately, the Bar Method uses multiple
body parts to play different roles for each
exercise, some muscles moving, others holding,
all staying simultaneously challenged.
Consider, for example, donkey kicks (a popular gym move) versus Bar Method seat-work. Donkey kicks engage the glutes – end of story. The Bar Method by contrast works students’ legs, abs and back muscles to hold challenging positions as the glutes are isolated (see seat work below). |
The Bar Method also acts therapeutically by strengthening the muscle groups around joints that are especially vulnerable to injury such as knees and shoulders. Pilates by contrast focuses almost solely on the smaller abdominals. In a Bar Method class all major muscle groups are first isolated, then pushed to exhaustion, then stretched. Students thereby gain a level of muscle tone and joint stability beyond that offered by yoga, Pilates, or the gym.
The Bar Method then goes one step farther in its therapeutic design: it zeros in on typically weak spots in the modern American body. Because our life-styles put us in chairs (instead of on the Savannah chasing game for example), under-used lower abs are often underdeveloped. And because we spend the large part of our youths pressing electronic buttons (instead of carrying wood to the communal fire), our shoulders and backs miss out on learning good muscle control. The Bar Method enables these and other weak links in our bodies to play catch-up.
Here’s how these techniques
work during the class:
1. Warm-up:
ACTION:
Students lift their knees in place until they are winded. The quads, our largest muscle group, go into action to warm up the entire body. Students’ heart rates stay elevated throughout most of the class. RESULTS:
The quickened heart beat warms up muscles, preparing students’ bodies for the challenges ahead, then acts aerobically during the second half of class to burn away fat.
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2. Shoulder walks:
ACTION:
Students lift and lower free-weights as shown.
RESULTS:
The shoulder walks create definition in the front of the shoulders and strengthen the muscles across the upper back. The exercise also focuses students on improving their posture.
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3. One-weight lifts:
ACTION:
Students step one leg back, bend forward from the hips. They support themselves with one arm and use the other arm to raise a free weight slightly higher than the back. RESULTS:
Here’s where the Bar Method begins to zero in on the more neglected side of the body: the one we can’t see in the mirror. This strengthening exercise for the back of the arm also teaches students’ back muscles to support the shoulders. |
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| These back-side muscles also play the larger role in getting an overall “cut” look because typically they’re larger than their counterparts in the front. When these back-side muscles “sit up”, they pull their front-side counterparts into a more defined shape. The Bar Method’s focus on the back-side of the body is one reason it gives students quicker results than conventional weight lifting. |
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4. Stretch at the bar:
ACTION:
Students place one leg onto the bar (or a lower “stall bar”) and fold over the leg at different angles.
RESULTS:
As Catelin and Megan reach their upper arms overhead and to the side, they’re stretching an interlinking chain of muscles from their fingers to their hips.
This stretch sequence also targets the lower back muscles, which are most prone to becoming tight and achy during a day carrying kids or at the office.
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5. Thigh-work:
ACTION:
Students stand at the bar, lift their heels and bend their knees. First they hold the position. Then they move slightly up and down.
RESULTS:
The thigh work has a duel purpose: First, the sustained holding sets the stage for students’ thigh muscles to become firmer. Students know they’ve recruited the entire muscle when their legs begin to quiver (after a minute or so).
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Now Bar Method adds small “down-and-up” moves to elongated muscle fiber being worked. The results are dramatic: powerful, long, lean thigh muscles, sports-and-miniskirt-ready.
The quads’ status as the body’s largest muscle group also gives them more than their share of responsibility for metabolic rate. When these muscles become denser, they help the body burn more calories during the day. So the answer to the question, “How can I get rid of my belly fat?” is in part, “work your thighs!” |
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6. Standing Seat-work:
ACTION:
Students stand on profile to the bar, tighten their glutes so that their tailbone is dropped, and then press one leg back against the tuck. Students either hold the pose or press the working leg against the resistance of the tuck in tiny moves.
RESULTS:
The exercise is typical of the Bar Method’s multi-tasking style. This seat exercise:
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works on posture and back alignment,
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stretches the thigh/hip muscles just used during thigh-work,
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stretches the lower back, and
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strengthens and lifts the seat.
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The results are beautiful posture, long, straight upper-thighs, and a lifted seat.
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7. Pretzel:
ACTION:
Students sit facing the bar, position one leg in front and one leg slightly behind their hips on the floor. Then they grasp the bar above them and lift the back leg off the floor, as shown.
RESULTS:
The pretzel is the favorite exercise of female students because it works and shapes the side of the seat. Guys also appreciate it for its ability to trim down the waist. Glute-work such as squats and kicks don’t get close to these upper-seat muscles. |
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8. Flat-back:
ACTION:
Students sit with their backs flat against the wall under the bar, grip the bar with both hands, and raise their legs off the floor as they exhale sharply.
RESULTS:
The dual purpose of the flat-back exercise is first to strengthen the lower abdomin and then to burn away fat.
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Our lower ab muscle is designed to stabilize the spine but is often weak due to our sitting/lounging life-styles. This Bar Method exercise uses the weight of the legs plus the strength of the pectorals to wake these muscles up and get them working.
The fat-burning during Flat-back is kindled by the exercise’s high level of difficulty added onto the 40-minutes of already intense work that preceded it. Results include a narrowed-down waist, flatter abs, and greater endurance for sports.
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9. Curl:
ACTION:
Students sit on a mat or a soft carpet, grip their seat muscles and flex at the waist, lifting their shoulders off the floor. They hold this position as long as possible, or perform tiny crunches while maintaining the pose.
RESULTS:
Unlike sit-ups, the Bar Method curl uses sustained holding to enable the abs to work more intensely. Here again The Bar Method is multi-tasking: stretching the back and strengthening the seat as it works the abs.
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10. Back-dancing:
ACTION:
Students lie on the floor and lift their hips to music.
RESULTS:
This cool-down exercise is the final balancing act of the Bar Method. Students have just worked their abs for ten intense minutes.
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Now they’re working the core muscle group on the other side: the glutes. The lower back and hip-flexors are also getting a stretch. And, in contrast to the challenge of curl, it’s fun.
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11. Final Stretch:
ACTION:
Students lie on the floor and stretch their seat, backs and hamstrings. RESULTS:
Admit it or not, many people, especially men, dream of having longer hamstrings. Here’s a quiet moment just for working towards that goal.
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The end of class is also a meditative, energizing, spirit-affirming moment. Students experience an endorphin rush, joy, and renewed generosity, courage and sense of purpose.
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By paying attention to the way our different parts work together, the Bar Method is uniquely able to change the modern body into the strong, straight, athletic specimen it was born to be.
Burr Leonard |
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