If you want the long, lean limbs and sculpted body of a ballerina (but don’t have the co-ordination of a dancer or the desire to wear a tuu) then barre is the workout for you. The classes use small holds and isometric movements to tone your bod and improve your posture. They may seem like simple moves but you really do feel the burn, and you get results pretty damn quickly too. Fancy flexing your muscles? These are the best barre classes to try.
Check out our recs on the best HIIT, spin, pilates, boxing, weights and yoga classes too.
Barrecore
Barrecore is probably the premier barre studio in town, thanks to its signature method of interval training applied to each major muscle group. As well as a warm up and stretching throughout, the classes have sections for the thighs, the seat and the abs – it’s like legs, bums and tums on steroids.
Chelsea, Mayfair, Wimbledon, Chiswick, Kensington, Hampstead, Wandsworth, Notting Hill, Kensal Rise, Islington & the City
barrecore.co.uk
BLOK
You’ll really feel the burn at a BLOK barre class, where there’s a constant flow of movement from one exercise into another, challenging your balance, co-ordination and stamina and building muscle endurance. Here the trainers focus on strengthening the back, shoulders and chest to counteract the effects of sitting at a desk all day but BLOK classes also involve the use of ankle weights to give your legs a killer workout too, so you really do a get full body workout.
Clapton & Shoreditch
bloklondon.com
The Refinery
This Hackney studio is putting the boogie in barre with its range of classes, like Barre Fit, with high energy tunes; Ballet Rebels Buns & Guns, which focuses on firming the bum and sculpting the arms; and Barre + Body Conditioning, which adds pilates into the mix.
Hackney
therefinerye9.com
FRAME
FRAME is all about mood-boosting classes that make you smile as well as sweat and this barre class defo delivers on both fronts. The 45-minute workout includes classic barre exercises, including arm weights, side planks and leg work at the barre, all to a bangin’ playlist, and they switch up the choreography every eight weeks so you’ve always got fresh moves and fresh music coming.
Shoreditch, King’s Cross, Angel, Victoria & Hammersmith
moveyourframe.com
