Feeling motivated and ready to burn off your weekend indulgence, but daunted by the thought of an hour’s run under the sun? Skip the jog and just HIIT it instead! Here are 3 key reasons why you should incorporate HIIT workouts in your fitness routine.

1. Burns calories efficiently

45 minutes of HIIT burns just as much or even more calories than your regular hour-long WeBarre Signature Multi-level class! Because of the intensity, your body consumes more oxygen post-HIIT for recovery, so you continue burning more calories 2-3 hours after your workout. For those of you who are time-crunched and finding the most efficient ways to workout, this one’s for you!

2. Lowers blood pressure

With the combination of high intensity and rest periods in HIIT, you may find it easier to push yourself to your maximum. That means you’re making the most out of every second of your workout. Plus, this dual process of explosive movement and rest also helps reduce the stiffness of the artery walls, leading to a reduction in blood pressure. Over time, this can help to lower the resting heart rate, improving overall health, and reduce the chances of developing a heart condition.

3. Increases your metabolism

Due to the high intensity of the workout, HIIT can elevate your metabolism for hours after your workout. In addition, HIIT stimulates the production of your human growth hormone (HGH). HGH not only increases caloric burn, it also slows down the aging process. It’s a win-win!

At the barre, we often alternate aerobic and resistance exercises during our HIIT classes. You know how we love keeping you on your toes! So what are you waiting for? Feel the magic of HIIT for yourself and we’ll see you at the barre!

The post Let’s HIIT it!: 3 Benefits of HIIT appeared first on WeBarre.

Flexibility is often a skill associated with yogis, dancers and gymnasts who can leap into air splits on request (and kudos to them). But the fact is, whether you’re a pro contortionist, a corporate bee, an athlete, or a home-based hustler, flexibility is something we should all incorporate in our muscles to improve our health and well-being. So, why exactly is flexibility so important?

1. Lowers the risk of injury

And we mean both sport and everyday injuries. The NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training discovers that “among the more common problems seen in individuals with poor flexibility is lower back pain potentially resulting from tight quadriceps, iliopsoas, and back muscles”. By having more flexibility, your joints can move through a larger range of motion. You’ll be able to move through your day with less movement restrictions, and go deeper in your pliés with greater ease too!

2. Improves your posture and balance

We all know that the #desklife causes lots of shoulder tension and tight hips, hence resulting in the all-too-familiar postural slouch. Grayson Wickham, founder of Movement Vault explains, “When we spend time in suboptimal positions, certain muscles in our body — such as shoulders, back, core, and neck — actually shorten”. By improving flexibility, tight muscles can then lengthen and improve your body’s physical structure and balance!

3. Enhances mobility

Think better arm and shoulder extensions for tennis players, better shoulder rotations for swimmers, longer strides for runners. Did you know that mobility is closely linked to flexibility in that both affect the body’s ability to function properly? Stretching and improving flexibility can allow muscles to lengthen, relax and work through a greater range of motion. thus, help athletes perform better in workouts and in competition. This translates into being able to maximise your muscle engagement, getting more out of your workout each time!

4. Allows you to feel more free, open, relaxed and confident inside out

Lengthening your muscles through improved flexibility is a sure way to feel prouder and taller in your daily movements! Bonus, you may find it easier to unwind once your body feels more relaxed and free. As Joie says in 3 Reasons Why Stretching is the New Massage, a stretch class is more than just physical stretching. It’s your moment to “re-centre and recover mentally and emotionally”. Improving flexibility therefore helps you loosen up tight muscles, stretch your mind toward more positivity and equip you with the mood to seize the day. 

5. Gives you greater comfort in your general day

Because of the ability to sit in many different positions and deepen into those “shiok” stretches you otherwise cannot do with tight muscles, being flexible definitely gives you the luxury of being in greater control of your body and bend it to your will — literally!

Here’s the good news: improving your flexibility is 100% achievable and relatively easy. It’s really just about stretching and lengthening your muscles regularly. At our happy place, we like to do it while grooving to upbeat music and throw in a little dynamic burn. You know us, we never say no to a double whoop for self-care!

As Chef Gusteau says, “Anyone can cook”, we say “Anyone can stretch” – and should! Take it from us, flexibility is a marathon, not a sprint – get started and be consistent. We promise you’ll start to feel the magic within your body in no time!

The post 5 Reasons Why Flexibility Training Is Essential appeared first on WeBarre.

You’re pumped up, glowing, feeling on top of the world after an awesome Barre class.

Then comes the stairs. As you gingerly walk down, you start feeling the #Barreburn. The ache begins, and continues for days.

Muscle ache, also termed as Delayed Muscle Onset Soreness (DMOS), occurs 1-3 days after working out. It is the result of lactic acid build up in the body, a byproduct when muscles burn energy for fuel.

The good news is that experiencing #Barreburn is part of the muscle re-building process – a positive sign that the body is building an increased tolerance for your next workout. This means that you should ache less, and for shorter periods of time as your body gets used to your workout routine.

Here’s our list of tips to help you recover from #Barreburn.

1. Eat!

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Foodies, rejoice! Rewarding yourself with a hearty, post-workout meal is necessary to replenish the fuel you’ve burnt. With an endless choice of good food, the question is what, and how much to eat.

Consume protein and good carbs in the ratio 1:2. Since proteins are the building blocks of muscles, refuelling your body’s lost protein supplies aids in the muscle repair process. Additionally, carbs are burnt during metabolism and are needed to restore blood sugar to pre-workout levels.

As proteins and carbs work together in the muscle repair process, depriving the body of either one impedes the body’s recovery.

Good sources of protein include lean meat, fish, leafy greens, greek yoghurt, beans, nuts, soy, quinoa and chickpeas. Opt for carbs such as whole grains, oats and sweet potatoes to shower your body with some post-workout TLC.

2. Hydrate

https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/how-much-water-should-you-10959164

Research shows that inadequate hydration leads to increased muscle ache, fatigue and cramps. As water also carries a supply of nutrients and electrolytes to the muscles and organs, inadequate hydration deprives the body of much needed nourishment after a workout.

What you drink before working out counts as much as hydrating during, and after. Pre-workout hydration assists the heart in pumping a supply of oxygen and blood around the body during exercise.

Find good ol’ sky juice boring? Help yourself to those coconut water shots, on the house!

3. Myofascial Release

Fascia is a sheath of connective tissue that surrounds and protects your muscles. Soft and pliable in a relaxed state, it assists muscles in maintaining flexibility and an optimal range of motion. Muscle contractions during exercise, however, cause knots in the fascia. This results in muscle soreness, poor posture and decreased flexibility.

Myofascial Release is hands-on therapy that involves applying slow, deep and sustained pressure to the connective tissue to relief muscle soreness. It targets the deep tissues that are not accessible during normal stretching. Using a foam roller is an effective, inexpensive way of self-Myofascial Release. Note that the pressure experienced during foam rolling can range from gentle to deep, but should never be beyond one’s threshold of tolerance.

Some common ways to foam roll are illustrated below:

Fascia release for the I.T. Band

Fascia release for the Quad

Fascia release for the Glute

Fascia release for the Calf

 4. Epsom Salt Bath

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If you have access to a bathtub, an Epsom Salt bath is an inexpensive and effective way to relief tired muscles.The mineral, Magnesium, is found in Epsom Salt, and helps relax muscles by flushing out lactic acid built up in the body during exercise.

Epsom Salt is readily available at your local pharmacy. Simply dissolve the salt in a standard size bathtub filled with warm water, following the quantity recommended on the package. For an added pampering sesh, add in a few drops of essential oil to the bath. We love Eucalyptus to invigorate the senses, or Lavender to relax.

No bathtub? Soaking your feet in an Epsom Salt bath can bring relief to tired legs.

5. Rest

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Working out breaks down muscle tissue, while it is the recovery period that gives the body a chance for repair. In short, recovery is an essential element in optimising your workout, so give your body the downtime it needs by spacing your classes out. Alternatively, throw in a less demanding Stretch or Fundamentals class in between a Signature or HIIT class, to allow the body to recover. Overworking the body puts it in a state of mental and physical stress, inhibiting it from working efficiently and recovering well after.

Listening to your body is key. If you’re booked in for a class and not feeling 100%, take modifications and go easy on yourself. If your idea of downtime leaves you craving for an endorphin high, throw in some light, low impact exercise for a period of active rest.

The post 5 Ways to Recover from #Barreburn appeared first on WeBarre.