Best Barre Studio: Barre Belle
Captured by Neil Zeller
Over the last decade, barre exercise classes have continued to rise in popularity, closely following the upswings of hot yoga and spin classes in today’s fitness scene. A barre workout is inspired by ballet, using a long wooden barre circling the room as a tool to lunge, squat, move and stretch even deeper using your own body weight. Barre has survived and thrived in Calgary with Barre Belle leading the way, providing a variety of middle-to-advanced workouts perfect for every fitness level. Some of their workouts have even been compared to cross-training for dancers.
Barre Belle plans each workout to the beat so that customers have the opportunity to enjoy getting into shape through dance. No experience is required for this type of workout and you can jump in anytime, however you will see drastic improvements after just a few classes once you understand the format, exercises and timing. Participating in a barre class will get your cardio up, build and lengthen your muscles while also toning your body, often incorporating free weights, resistance bands, aerobic benches, slam balls and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to get the blood pumping. All in all, Barre Belle’s customers always walk out of a class knowing they worked their butts off and had a great time. If you haven’t tried a class at Barre Belle yet, visit their website to learn more about Calgary’s favourite barre-based fitness centre.
FIRST RUNNER UP: BARRE BODY STUDIO
SECOND RUNNER UP: BALLET BARRE WORKS