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Old 06-23-15, 09:54 PM  
susan p
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Needing input from Barre3 streaming aficionados!

I just popped a couple days ago for Barre3 streaming because I was really liking the dvd workouts.

I'm wanting to work through the 60 minute workouts, because I don't have 60 minutes during the school year, so summer is the time I have available to luxuriate in long workouts.

I was reading the Barre3 check in thread for ideas as to what these were like and was hoping to put together a word doc with brief descriptions, ways that VFers have described these, so I have some notion what they're all about. SO, what are your brief impressions of the various 60 minute Barre3 streaming workouts that you have done? I'm hoping there are enough of you that I can get some inkling for each 60 minute workout! Please don't feel like you have to write reviews. Just comment about what was tough, what you did or didn't like, which one you wish you'd started with, just whatever little thing you think of.

I'll compile your comments into descriptions for each workout.

I just feel very lost at sea with these workouts in terms of where to dive in. I don't want to inadvertently start with the hardest ones!! My first 60 minute was Studio Strength. I need to pick what to do tomorrow.

Any tips on how you use the workouts (of any length) is also welcome.
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Old 06-24-15, 12:24 AM  
neatski
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Orlando, FL
WOOHOO! Welcome to the Barre3 club!

The first thing I have to say about them is they get harder as you get better at them, so don't worry about choosing ones that are too hard. Despite being "advanced" in other workouts when I started, I found them pretty easy at first. Nowadays I literally drip sweat through most of them. Even a tiny inch of modification to your form can make things a lot harder, but you don't have to do that at first. To get deeper, try moving smaller and smaller. I barely move nowadays and that's when I really start to shake.

I do Barre3 at lunch time, usually. I can almost always fit in 30 minutes in my office, but sometimes I can do 40 or even 60 minutes depending on the patient schedule. I have a core ball and hand held weights that I keep in my cabinet in my office. If I don't have time, I'll still do 10 minutes if I can.

That said, I have done... well, pretty much all of them. Here are some brief impressions of my favorites. I need to compile this together somehow. I hope these comments are useful. I started doing full breakdowns of them at one point but found it too time consuming.

60 Minutes

If I were you, the next one I would try is probably Studio Fit. Lisa takes it at a steady pace, not too slow and not too fast. It's a great workout that I've done many times, and it's balanced- plenty of front and back body work. Lisa is a particularly clear instructor and will help you perfect your form. There are a couple moves that may be a little tougher to connect to, like the standing levers, but you'll get it after some practice.

Studio Strength, on the other hand, is IMO the hardest online streaming workout on there, so it's not the one I would start with! The others can be very difficult if you work hard, but Studio Strength is hard no matter what, especially the combo section. The carousel horse segments seems to go on forever. I've done that one many times as well. I have to avoid doing it during my lunch hour because I get too sweaty.

Anyway, after you try Studio Fit, I'd try Fierce and Fun and maybe start with the "fun" options. Sadie is such a meticulous instructor that she'll also help you perfect your form. Fierce and Fun has tons of "classic" Barre3 movements in the workout. Some of the sections are pretty grueling, particularly the incline carousel horse segment, but Sadie will help you connect to them.

Studio To Go is probably my absolute favorite. It is prop free but a total burner. There are lots of "cardio blasts" (low impact, large range of motion movements like sumo squats). Even the stretching segments keep my heart rate up. This is one of my favorites because the pacing is perfect- things keep moving, the reps on each side are even, it doesn't seem like the reps are endless, and Catie especially is an amazing instructor with lots of form pointers. The other two are a little weaker on the form pointers so it might be better to do this one after you've done some of the others, and the balance requirements make it hard to maintain good form. It is a fairly quad heavy workout.

Studio Balance is almost a tie with Studio To Go for my favorite. Candace is so graceful and she also pushes you really hard in this workout. It looks deceptively easy, NOT a lot of advanced moves, but if you try the balance options, you will sweat and breathe hard. The other thing I like about this one is the pacing is very fast, like a live class. There doesn't seem to be a single wasted moment. On the other hand, I feel that I need a little more stretching than this one provides, so I'll pause sometimes and stretch my quads before continuing. Also, although Candace is fantastic, she doesn't give the in-depth form pointers that some of the other instructors do. This one's also quad heavy.

Studio Power is another awesome one. I find this one to be a great burner, and I LOVE all 3 instructors so I find myself doing this one quite a bit too. My favorite part of this one is that they keep the motion pretty slow, which IMO makes things a lot harder because you can't use momentum. Although horse pose doesn't always get me, in this one, it really does. I also found the core section to be particularly effective. Allison really gets your core in this one. I think it would be good for someone new to Barre3 because the instruction is so good.

Finally, I do Power Sculpt pretty regularly. It is also quite challenging, especially the power leg to incline seated chair segment- lots of reps, lots of shakes, and lots of burn. Again, Sadie is such a meticulous instructor and moves at a steady pace so it's easy to follow along, but this one will make you sweat.

I've done the others but was less keen on them, especially Studio Body (a little too restorative for me and pacing was slow), Studio Burn (VERY chatty, lots of uneven reps, drives me nuts), and Studio Shape (25 out of 60 minutes was core- too long for me).

40 Minutes

Instructor Favorites is a great workout with lots of classic Barre3 movements. I think Lisa does an awesome job with form pointers but Kate is a little weak in this area despite her good energy, so I'd do it after you've had some practice with the poses.

Interval Strength will slay you. It's comprised heavily of cardio blasts and high intensity (low impact, of course) movements like power leg, so be prepared to work. I wouldn't recommend this to a Barre3 beginner.

If you want something a little different, Mind Body Balance is an excellent, excellent workout. It starts off feeling restorative but after the first few minutes ramps up. I find the combo and seat sections to be very challenging. Catie is also a fabulous instructor. I feel completely restored and happily worked after doing this one. I'm not much of a yoga fan so I was surprised by how much I like it.

None of the other 40 minute ones are ones I particularly care for. In fact, I pretty much never do them.

30 Minutes

This is where Barre3 really shines- effective, short, fun but intense workouts.

If you want a challenge, I'd start with Sizzler. Harper is a great instructor with lots of form pointers and she paces this workout well. It is a BURNER, though, with very little core work and lots of quad and glute work, so you might consider it to be less "balanced" than some of the others. I personally prefer the ones with shorter core sections, so this is one of my go-to workouts.

Total Body Tone and Total Body Rev are both very challenging, balanced workouts. I wouldn't recommend these to a beginner, though, because they're designed to be more "advanced" and Heidi focuses more on upping the intensity than working deep in your form. I do them frequently.

Re-Energize is seriously fun and one of my all-time favorites. It really does make me smile and feel refreshed, but it is a great workout at the same time and will get you sweating. There are NOT endless reps in this one but the large range of motion movements will help keep your heart rate up. Three instructors in 30 minutes makes it fly by. I do this one frequently.

No Props is VERY quad intensive and less balanced than the others, IMO. It is a nice, tough little workout that I sometimes do in the park. I usually combine it with Mat Workout to make a balanced 60 minute workout. I find Mat Workout to be a little too easy on its own. Together, they're perfect. These have good instruction but don't have as many form pointers as I'd like for someone unfamiliar with Barre3, so I wouldn't start with these.

Travel Friendly is another one of my go-tos since I can do it anywhere and it's quite challenging. It contains lots of my nemesis, carousel horse. Candace is very motivating and has beautiful form, though as I've mentioned, she goes less into detail about form than some of the other instructors. I really love this workout, though, and I've probably done it the most of any of the 30 minutes since it's portable.

Finally, Ballet Boot Camp is like a composite of all of the classic Barre3 moves in one condensed, intense 30 minute workout. The weakness in this one is very little stretching, so be prepared to add your own. As a result, I wouldn't start with this one.

I also like Length, since again, Lisa is a great instructor. This one has a lot of core (about 12 minutes out of a 30 minute workout) so I don't do it often, but it would probably be a great one to do as someone new to Barre3.

None of the others appeal to me as much as the ones I listed. I find both Runner's Workouts to be more restorative and focused on stretching, which I do on my own. The Standing Slims are nice to change things up and are good workouts but not as challenging as some of the others. I've done all the others except for Bounce Back and Prenatal.
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Old 06-24-15, 06:48 AM  
cherimac
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Georgia
Hi Susan! So glad you're trying barre3. As I have told people repeatedly, it literally healed my body. And, the longer I practice barre3 the harder it gets.

Neatski has done the streaming the longest and given great information about the workouts. I would say with the 60 minutes to start with the older ones and work up. The older ones are led by Sadie and are not as fast paced, for the most part. The instruction is great and you get a feel for the barre3 style. The older ones are all at the very bottom of the 60 minute page, with the newer ones being at the top. Studio Body and Fierce and Fun are also newer Sadie workouts that are great.

With the 30 and 40 minute workouts you could definitely do the same. I think Posture with Jenni and Rejuvenate with Harper are great places to begin. Standing Energy Blast with Sadie, as well both Standing Slim workouts, are really good and help you get some of the lingo and form down.
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Old 06-24-15, 08:46 AM  
meg39
 
Join Date: May 2003
Hi Susan!

I have only just started using the streaming workouts this month, so haven't done enough of them to comment on, except to say I am enjoying the streaming workouts so much more than I anticipated, and like them much better than the DVDs as well. Hope you enjoy them too
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Old 06-24-15, 09:01 AM  
susan p
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So apparently I did already inadvertently start with one of the hardest ones! Studio Strength was killer.

I've been doing SBF Barre for about a year so I totally get the "it gets harder as you go" thing. It's perfect form that makes it hard; you can slop through and feel like it's easy but if you are meticulous about form it gets very hard very quickly!

Thanks for the input!
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Old 06-24-15, 09:55 AM  
Exercise Diva
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Boston
I'm beginning to do the online Barre3 classes more too and I definitely find them challenging - especially the shorter ones. Question for those of you who do these regularly and i hope that it's not a completely stupid one, but how do you position yourself in relationship to the screen? I tend to do better if I mirror the moves, i.e., if they are side facing I am too. The problem is that it can be hard to see the screen and keep up with the moves when I do this. I'm straining my neck to see what they are doing. I don't know if this makes sense or not, but just wondering if there might be an easier way. I find that other forms of barre such as Bar Method is easier to follow because there is less range of motion and it's shot more head on. Barre 3 workouts have you moving all over the place IMO, which makes it much more fun but also challenging to keep up with.
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Old 06-24-15, 10:21 AM  
cherimac
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Georgia
Quote:
Originally Posted by Exercise Diva View Post
I'm beginning to do the online Barre3 classes more too and I definitely find them challenging - especially the shorter ones. Question for those of you who do these regularly and i hope that it's not a completely stupid one, but how do you position yourself in relationship to the screen? I tend to do better if I mirror the moves, i.e., if they are side facing I am too. The problem is that it can be hard to see the screen and keep up with the moves when I do this. I'm straining my neck to see what they are doing. I don't know if this makes sense or not, but just wondering if there might be an easier way. I find that other forms of barre such as Bar Method is easier to follow because there is less range of motion and it's shot more head on. Barre 3 workouts have you moving all over the place IMO, which makes it much more fun but also challenging to keep up with.
I stand facing the screen, barre in front of me. I use a lightweight portable barre and move it around. You could do the same with the chair. I don't stand to the side like Sadie and crew do either.
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Old 06-24-15, 08:32 PM  
yahoo205
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Quote:
Originally Posted by neatski View Post
WOOHOO! Welcome to the Barre3 club!

The first thing I have to say about them is they get harder as you get better at them, so don't worry about choosing ones that are too hard. Despite being "advanced" in other workouts when I started, I found them pretty easy at first. Nowadays I literally drip sweat through most of them. Even a tiny inch of modification to your form can make things a lot harder, but you don't have to do that at first. To get deeper, try moving smaller and smaller. I barely move nowadays and that's when I really start to shake.

I do Barre3 at lunch time, usually. I can almost always fit in 30 minutes in my office, but sometimes I can do 40 or even 60 minutes depending on the patient schedule. I have a core ball and hand held weights that I keep in my cabinet in my office. If I don't have time, I'll still do 10 minutes if I can.

That said, I have done... well, pretty much all of them. Here are some brief impressions of my favorites. I need to compile this together somehow. I hope these comments are useful. I started doing full breakdowns of them at one point but found it too time consuming.

60 Minutes

If I were you, the next one I would try is probably Studio Fit. Lisa takes it at a steady pace, not too slow and not too fast. It's a great workout that I've done many times, and it's balanced- plenty of front and back body work. Lisa is a particularly clear instructor and will help you perfect your form. There are a couple moves that may be a little tougher to connect to, like the standing levers, but you'll get it after some practice.

Studio Strength, on the other hand, is IMO the hardest online streaming workout on there, so it's not the one I would start with! The others can be very difficult if you work hard, but Studio Strength is hard no matter what, especially the combo section. The carousel horse segments seems to go on forever. I've done that one many times as well. I have to avoid doing it during my lunch hour because I get too sweaty.

Anyway, after you try Studio Fit, I'd try Fierce and Fun and maybe start with the "fun" options. Sadie is such a meticulous instructor that she'll also help you perfect your form. Fierce and Fun has tons of "classic" Barre3 movements in the workout. Some of the sections are pretty grueling, particularly the incline carousel horse segment, but Sadie will help you connect to them.

Studio To Go is probably my absolute favorite. It is prop free but a total burner. There are lots of "cardio blasts" (low impact, large range of motion movements like sumo squats). Even the stretching segments keep my heart rate up. This is one of my favorites because the pacing is perfect- things keep moving, the reps on each side are even, it doesn't seem like the reps are endless, and Catie especially is an amazing instructor with lots of form pointers. The other two are a little weaker on the form pointers so it might be better to do this one after you've done some of the others, and the balance requirements make it hard to maintain good form. It is a fairly quad heavy workout.

Studio Balance is almost a tie with Studio To Go for my favorite. Candace is so graceful and she also pushes you really hard in this workout. It looks deceptively easy, NOT a lot of advanced moves, but if you try the balance options, you will sweat and breathe hard. The other thing I like about this one is the pacing is very fast, like a live class. There doesn't seem to be a single wasted moment. On the other hand, I feel that I need a little more stretching than this one provides, so I'll pause sometimes and stretch my quads before continuing. Also, although Candace is fantastic, she doesn't give the in-depth form pointers that some of the other instructors do. This one's also quad heavy.

Studio Power is another awesome one. I find this one to be a great burner, and I LOVE all 3 instructors so I find myself doing this one quite a bit too. My favorite part of this one is that they keep the motion pretty slow, which IMO makes things a lot harder because you can't use momentum. Although horse pose doesn't always get me, in this one, it really does. I also found the core section to be particularly effective. Allison really gets your core in this one. I think it would be good for someone new to Barre3 because the instruction is so good.

Finally, I do Power Sculpt pretty regularly. It is also quite challenging, especially the power leg to incline seated chair segment- lots of reps, lots of shakes, and lots of burn. Again, Sadie is such a meticulous instructor and moves at a steady pace so it's easy to follow along, but this one will make you sweat.

I've done the others but was less keen on them, especially Studio Body (a little too restorative for me and pacing was slow), Studio Burn (VERY chatty, lots of uneven reps, drives me nuts), and Studio Shape (25 out of 60 minutes was core- too long for me).

40 Minutes

Instructor Favorites is a great workout with lots of classic Barre3 movements. I think Lisa does an awesome job with form pointers but Kate is a little weak in this area despite her good energy, so I'd do it after you've had some practice with the poses.

Interval Strength will slay you. It's comprised heavily of cardio blasts and high intensity (low impact, of course) movements like power leg, so be prepared to work. I wouldn't recommend this to a Barre3 beginner.

If you want something a little different, Mind Body Balance is an excellent, excellent workout. It starts off feeling restorative but after the first few minutes ramps up. I find the combo and seat sections to be very challenging. Catie is also a fabulous instructor. I feel completely restored and happily worked after doing this one. I'm not much of a yoga fan so I was surprised by how much I like it.

None of the other 40 minute ones are ones I particularly care for. In fact, I pretty much never do them.

30 Minutes

This is where Barre3 really shines- effective, short, fun but intense workouts.

If you want a challenge, I'd start with Sizzler. Harper is a great instructor with lots of form pointers and she paces this workout well. It is a BURNER, though, with very little core work and lots of quad and glute work, so you might consider it to be less "balanced" than some of the others. I personally prefer the ones with shorter core sections, so this is one of my go-to workouts.

Total Body Tone and Total Body Rev are both very challenging, balanced workouts. I wouldn't recommend these to a beginner, though, because they're designed to be more "advanced" and Heidi focuses more on upping the intensity than working deep in your form. I do them frequently.

Re-Energize is seriously fun and one of my all-time favorites. It really does make me smile and feel refreshed, but it is a great workout at the same time and will get you sweating. There are NOT endless reps in this one but the large range of motion movements will help keep your heart rate up. Three instructors in 30 minutes makes it fly by. I do this one frequently.

No Props is VERY quad intensive and less balanced than the others, IMO. It is a nice, tough little workout that I sometimes do in the park. I usually combine it with Mat Workout to make a balanced 60 minute workout. I find Mat Workout to be a little too easy on its own. Together, they're perfect. These have good instruction but don't have as many form pointers as I'd like for someone unfamiliar with Barre3, so I wouldn't start with these.

Travel Friendly is another one of my go-tos since I can do it anywhere and it's quite challenging. It contains lots of my nemesis, carousel horse. Candace is very motivating and has beautiful form, though as I've mentioned, she goes less into detail about form than some of the other instructors. I really love this workout, though, and I've probably done it the most of any of the 30 minutes since it's portable.

Finally, Ballet Boot Camp is like a composite of all of the classic Barre3 moves in one condensed, intense 30 minute workout. The weakness in this one is very little stretching, so be prepared to add your own. As a result, I wouldn't start with this one.

I also like Length, since again, Lisa is a great instructor. This one has a lot of core (about 12 minutes out of a 30 minute workout) so I don't do it often, but it would probably be a great one to do as someone new to Barre3.

None of the others appeal to me as much as the ones I listed. I find both Runner's Workouts to be more restorative and focused on stretching, which I do on my own. The Standing Slims are nice to change things up and are good workouts but not as challenging as some of the others. I've done all the others except for Bounce Back and Prenatal.
Neatski, what weights do you use for Studio Strength?

Studio to Go sounds great for travel. Thanks so much for all the recs.

ETA:
Any recs for Barre 3 workouts with the best butt, abs/core, back, back of arms, inner thigh focus? Does it exist in one workout?
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Old 06-25-15, 03:25 PM  
fatkat555
 
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So how would you compare Barre3 to SBF? Do you like one over the other and if so why?
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Old 06-25-15, 05:41 PM  
cherimac
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Georgia
Yahoo-honestly that is the bread and butter of barre3. Sadie is very intentional about working the posterior chain of the body because we often are overdeveloped in the front as we use it more and pay more attention to working those muscles. I think they all hit those areas well.
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