Barre workouts are deceptively difficult. Their small, ballet-inspired movements may make them look easy, but all of a sudden your muscles start shaking and it hurts to laugh and walk up the stairs the next day. The reason? These workouts activate and strengthen slow-twitch muscle fibers, aka the small muscles that usually coast during movements like squats and deadlifts. This sneaky muscle group supports our posture and joints, and strengthening them helps prevent injury and increase endurance. In this week’s Trainer of the Month Club, professional dancer and trainer Sydney Latuoco guides us through a barre-inspired no equipment full body workout that’s full of the small-but-mighty movements needed to target those slow-twitch muscles.
It requires zero equipment and is over in less than 20 minutes, but you’ll be working hard the entire time. “I want you to maintain control of your form,” says Latuaco. That means when you’re doing movements like the donkey kicks, you don’t need worry about how high your leg gets. “Go to where you feel strong,” she says.
After a quick warmup, you’ll start the workout with some slow, controlled movements that fire up the smaller muscles in your left leg. Then, you’ll add in some chest work before picking up the pace for some pulses, all while keeping your movements controlled. Your thigh will continue to burn as Latuoco takes you through movements that challenge your single-leg balance to improve stability. And because it’s not just leg day, the workout transitions into some arm and abs work that will leave your muscles shaking. Once you’ve gotten through that, it’s over to the other side, where you’ll do the whole thing over again.
Ready to work those slow-twitch muscles? Follow along with the video.
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