BROOKLYN — Drop the dumbbells, kick off your running shoes and grab the ballet barre.
Boutique studios offering workouts designed around the ballet barre are popping up in health conscious Brooklyn neighborhoods and fitness experts are pointing to speedy results that regular clients see as a reason behind its popularity.
Five new studios — four of which offer ballet workouts — have had set their sights on south Brooklyn neighborhoods since last summer.
“The results are much quicker because it is intelligent exercise,” said Tiffany Currid, owner of Brooklyn’s Pure Barre studio in Cobble Hill.
The “intelligent exercise” is a barre workout’s ability to target specific muscle groups. People can see a more conditioned and toned body in just a few months — something that’s pulling them away from the gym, she said.
Barre workouts, many of which use elements of dance, yoga and Pilates, help to create a leaner body rather than "bulky" muscle mass, Currid said.
“That definitely keeps people coming back,” said Katie Muehlenkamp, owner of The Bar Method in Cobble Hill, another ballet-workout studio that’s opening later this year.
“It’s a great, fun environment where you also get to workout,” she added.
Here’s a round up of barre ballet studios in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Brooklyn Heights:
Pure Barre (266 Court St.) The popular ballet-based workout studio opened its Cobble Hill location last December with a workout that combines yoga, Pilates and ballet. The total-body workouts focus on “tiny isometric movements” and targets the thighs, seat, hips, back of the arms and abs.
Class length: 55 minutes
Price per class: $33
Xtend Barre (147 Remsen St.) Brooklyn Heights' newest boutique fitness studio, Xtend Barre brings dance movements, Pilates and the ballet barre together for a cardio workout. Like Pure Barre, different muscle groups are the focus of each class. While they're exercise and not dance classes, instructors will commonly use ballet terms like “arabesque” and “plié” to underpin the class's dependence on dance.
Class length: 1 hour
Price per class: $32
Sweat it Barre at Cobble Hill Ballet (232 Carroll St.) After opening a second studio in Carroll Gardens last year, Cobble Hill Ballet, a dance school and studio, is offering a fusion of strength training and barre work for a low-impact cardio training session, according to the website.
Class length: 1 hour
Price per class: $20
The Bar Method (267 Pacific St.) SoHo’s The Bar Method will open a Cobble Hill location later this year with barre workouts that both burn fat and sculpt muscles. Workouts meld elements of yoga, dance and Pilates in order to tone different parts of the body through an hour-long session.
The Bar Method is also currently offering free community classes in Carroll Gardens. For information on the classes, check the studio’s Facebook page for updates.
Class length: 1 hour
Price per class: Undetermined (Drop-in classes at the SoHo studio are $37 but owners anticipate a lower price for Brooklyn).
Brooklyn Bodyburn (296 Court St.) Brooklyn Bodyburn moves away from the barre workout but the popular Williamburg studio announced that it would open a second location in Cobble Hill this summer, Well + Good reports. The studio uses Sebastien Lagree’s Megaformer machine that trains the whole body through a system of springs and pulleys.
Class length: 50 minutes
Single Class: $33 ($18 for the first class)
