Ahhhh….the million dollar question, and "Are barre classes good for weight loss"is one of the highest ranking google search queries in connection to barre.
Now what does that say? Well, we don’t like to judge, but we also don’t like to see good people mislead by mythical bullshit.
And the truth is, that no, barre probably won’t help you lose weight. Unless, that is, you’re on a highly controlled diet and doing 4 classes a day. And even that’s totally unsustainable.
We need to shift the narrative. We need to focus on what our bodies can DO, not what they look like, or worse, what the number on the scales says.
Building lean muscle mass through regular strength training will ultimately lead to an increase in metabolism, which means calories burned at rest - but it also supports your skeletal system, gives you stamina and resilience. It will give you a solid foundation for other physical activities AND keep you injury free. It will give you postural awareness and improve your mental strength and resilience.
Being generally MORE active means many more calories burned during ‘latent’ activity and having a body that allows you to enjoy an active system and lifestyle is a game-changer. Let’s get away from that transactional relationship between exercise and weight loss, it serves NO purpose, except to make you frustrated and feel deprived of the things you love. If you enjoy an exercise programme, you will stick to it. And adherence to exercise is the single biggest contributor to success! Let the weight loss become the (bonus) side effect, but not the key driver. Enjoy the process, not the end result. You will NEVER get to a weight that makes you truly happy, but we can ALL build a better, stronger, fitter more capable body and live a more fulfilling, independent, empowered life.