When you think of Peloton, you may imagine bikes and treadmills. But Peloton has established itself as a leader in fitness across many disciplines.
In September 2020, Peloton introduced a new subset of classes, Peloton Barre. (That same month they released resistance-band classes and bike bootcamp).
For those of you familiar with barre classes, you’re going to want to read this post to see how it compares to those at in-person barre studios.
And, if you’re completely new to barre, well, this article is for you. I break down everything: where to find the Peloton barre workouts, why you want to take them, what equipment you need, and some helpful tips.
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- What is Barre?
- Peloton's Barre Classes vs. Peloton Pilates Classes
- Peloton Barre Instructors
- What to Expect in a Peloton Barre Class
- Do You Need A Peloton Bike or Tread to Take the Barre Classes?
- Where Can You Find the Barre Classes?
- How Many Barre Classes Are on the Peloton App?
- Duration of the Barre Classes
- The Best Way to Stream Peloton Barre Classes
- What Equipment Do You Need for a Peloton Barre Class?
- What to Wear for a Peloton Barre Class
- Benefits of Taking Barre Classes
- Peloton Barre Recovery: Stretch
- Final Thoughts
What is Barre?
Inspired by elements of ballet, Pilates, and yoga, barre classes work on strength, balance, and flexibility. Barre exercises are low-impact and use small movements to achieve results.
In case you’re wondering, no dance experience is expected or required.
Peloton’s Barre Classes vs. Peloton Pilates Classes
Pilates and barre classes share many key concepts, they do differ.
Most barre movements are done while standing whereas a pilates class is mainly done on the mat. The postures are not the same, and Pilates tends to focus on core strength and flexibility, while Barre utilizes isometric movements.
Both are strength training classes (hint: you can find them under “Strength” in the app) and not cardio. They use different equipment in their training.
Peloton Pilates
If you take a pilates class in-studio, you may use a machine called a reformer. Peloton offers only mat pilates.
Pilates focuses on the spine and a strong core (not limited to abdominal muscles).
Peloton Barre
Barre uses ballet positions and small range movements like sidekicks and plies, plus isometric holds. For the Peloton barre program, you may use light weights.
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Peloton Barre Instructors
With so many former professional dancers teaching at Peloton, it clearly made sense to add barre workouts to the Peloton schedule.
Currently, Ally Love and Hannah Corbin teach the barre classes.
What to Expect in a Peloton Barre Class
Barre classes offer a full-body workout. Some of the Peloton classes focus primarily on the lower body, others core, and some upper body.
The warm-ups remind me of old-school aerobics with lots of knee lifts and taps. Throughout the class, expect to do some leg work and core exercises, along with some useful stretching.
The classes should help with balance and stability, both things I need to work on ever since a car accident years ago.
It’s not unusual to shake while holding a pose or when making targeted small movements.
Do You Need A Peloton Bike or Tread to Take the Barre Classes?
No. You can take the barre classes as long as you download the app.
You don’t need a Peloton Bike, Row, or Tread.
You can read about the different Peloton App membership plans here, including the free one.
Where Can You Find the Barre Classes?
They’re listed under “Strength” in the app. Filter by class type and chose “Barre.”
How Many Barre Classes Are on the Peloton App?
Peloton occasionally adds classes to the app. You won’t find nearly as many barre classes as other workouts. There are a few hundred classes now. Sometimes, you can even find a live class.
Duration of the Barre Classes
There are 5-minutes warm-up classes and 5-minute cool-downs. Classes range from 5-minutes to 45-minutes.
The Best Way to Stream Peloton Barre Classes
You can find the barre classes on your Peloton bike or Tread, Peloton Guide, laptop, phone, iPad, or smart TV.
Peloton Bike
If you have the Bike Plus, the screen swivels, and I think that’s the easiest way to take a class.
If you have the original bike as I do, I recommend getting the Pivot, which swivels your bike’s touchscreen around 360 degrees.
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Peloton Guide
The Peloton Guide is a streaming device with a built-in camera that shows both you and the instructor together on screen. This is great for tracking your form.
I use the Guide exclusively with all my Peloton strength classes now.
Alternatively, you can install a wall mirror to help with form self-correction.
What Equipment Do You Need for a Peloton Barre Class?
No special equipment is needed to take barre classes. However, you will want a few things to make yourself more comfortable:
Bar
You do not need a bar. You can use a chair or table during the workouts. Hannah says she uses her kitchen counter. I’ve used the handlebars or saddle of my Peloton for support.
If you have a designated home gym space, you might choose to install a bar. This portable Booty Kicker bar has a huge fan following and folds up for storage.
Weights
Most classes require no weight at all other than your own body weight. Some classes recommend using light weights, specifically 2 to 3-pounds. You probably have a set already from either the Peloton Bike or Tread.
I have this set that includes 2, 3, and 5-pound weights, or you can purchase an adjustable weight set.
Mat
Any yoga mat will do. You’ll want one thick enough to provide some cushioning for your knees. I have the Peloton reversible mat. The black side is for strength, and the red side is for yoga.
This mat is a less expensive alternative.
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If you’re new to Peloton, you may want to check out this post on must-have accessories.
What to Wear for a Peloton Barre Class
Wear your regular workout clothes, something comfy as you’ll do a lot of bends and kicks.
I do barre barefoot but you can wear barre socks (sold on the Peloton Boutique website) or any socks with rubber grips on the bottom. Some people even wear the socks that you get from kids’ jump playspaces like Skyzone Trampoline Park.
Benefits of Taking Barre Classes
Barre classes are great for your overall health:
- low impact
- can increase range of motion
- improve posture
- stacked with other Peloton classes
- can be taken anywhere as no equipment is needed
Peloton Barre Recovery: Stretch
After your class, you may feel sore after all these small movements. I especially feel it in my glutes and hips. This is my tight area as I have piriformis syndrome.
You’ll want to stretch:
- There are lots of glutes and hip stretches in the app. Also, check the yoga section.
- I love my Hyperice Hypervolt massager.
- I also find that a foam rolling class works wonders. Hannah Corbin coincidentally teaches most of those classes.
You can buy foam rollers with ridged trigger points or without ridges. This is a good starter one. If you’re not sure which size to get, get the biggest one.
If you want to find all the foam rolling classes, check out my Free Resource Library with class lists.
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Final Thoughts
I’m thrilled that Peloton has incorporated barre into their offerings. As I seek to balance out intense cardio routines, I believe that integrating softer, more rhythmic classes like yoga and barre will be beneficial for my holistic wellness.
Since the classes are fairly short, I usually add it on to another workout or to warm up beforehand.
If you’ve never taken a barre class before, you may benefit from going in person to a studio like Pure Barre to better your technique and learn terminology. Of course, it’s not necessary, but Barre is all about subtleties and you want to ensure your form in on-point.
Have you taken a Peloton barre class yet? What are your thoughts? How did they compare to other barre classes you may have taken elsewhere?
Check out this blog post for Peloton tips!
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Michelle Platt is a content creator and certified personal trainer. Proving it’s never too late to reinvent yourself, she’s a former attorney and teacher who loves to do the research so you don’t have to. She takes a deep dive into each topic and writes about her wellness journey here. She loves trying out new workouts, fitness tips, healthy foods, and products to share with you. This native New Yorker recently made the move to the suburbs of Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband, two kids, and two dogs.
Paul Lebo
Sunday 11th of October 2020
Dear Michelle I enjoy your blog very much, and by the way I lived for 6 years in St. Louis Park neighborhood many years ago, while attending U of M. I and a group of seveeral hundreds retirees on Social security cannot afford most of the Peleton equipment since it is so out of raange pricy. Can you try to set up anational senior purchasing group rime social media platform to purchase either slightly used, demos or returned Peloton equipment especially bikes so we can benefit from this great workout tools?
Thanks In Advance, Paul Lebo Dallas texas, Email callcentertiger at gmail com
Michelle
Sunday 11th of October 2020
Small world. I'm not sure if you've seen my post about the best spin bikes to use with the Peloton app (www.mypursestrings.com/best-spin-bikes) You can get a spin bike for a few hundred dollars and the app is $12.99 vs. $39 per month. Unfortunately, you can no longer share the membership on the app but you can for the bike. You can really use any spin bike so perhaps look on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. As for a used Peloton, there is a Facebook Group called Peloton Buy Sell Trade. And one more thing, Peloton is doing a buy-back of Pelotons right now since they introduced the Bike Plus. It's only a matter of time until Peloton sells refurbished bikes. Hope that helps.