The Bar Method: The Best Way to Blast Lower-Body Fat!

Start with ballet, add a dash of yoga, a pinch of Pilates core work and more body sculpting -- and you've got the ingredients for the perfect cardio-sculpt routine.

Based on dance conditioning that combines the muscle-shaping principles of isometrics training (holding long muscular contractions), the Bar Method classes and training DVDs look so easy when you start, but, wow, once you're holding and "squeezing your butt" for three minutes straight, you know you'll be sore tomorrow!

After a recent class in West Hollywood, Calif., my inner thighs, calves, and ab muscles were on fire for the next 48 hours. Bar Method founder Burr Leonard has franchised a few dozen studios around the country based on the popularity of these head-to-toe toning classes. That's Fit asked Leonard how to perform these moves at home for lightning-fast results:

That's Fit: We know you can do the Bar Method instead of weight lifting or other forms of body sculpting, but can you do it instead of power walking or biking to cram in a cardio workout?
Burr Leonard: Yes, it's a form of cardio cross-training because it's equivalent to interval training. It alternates between exercises that demand intense bursts of energy and deep stretches for an hour. This format produces both a high caloric burn and firmer muscle mass. Most students who do the Bar Method regularly become slimmer and lighter within a month or two. And you don't need a ballet barre to do these exercises either; any sturdy chair or counter top will do.
TF: Some exercises look similar to Pilates and others duplicate a few moves I've done in yoga. What's the crossover between all of these philosophies?
BL: The Bar Method workout is more intense than most Pilates and yoga classes, and provides deeper muscle definition – we hold the poses for a lot longer, too. Pilates uses machines and mat work to realign the core muscles, while the Bar Method uses the body's own weight to isolate, strengthen and reshape.Though yoga and the Bar Method both increase flexibility and strength, The Bar Method focuses exclusively on external fitness. Yoga soothes the mind, where the Bar Method seeks to transform your physical body.

TF: What are some other benefits?
BL: The Bar Method increases muscle definition in the chest, upper arms and upper legs; it enhances postural alignment and gracefulness; it flattens and firms the belly, legs and hips quickly; and it also increases oxygen flow so you feel super-energized afterwards!

Want more? Check out more body-sculpting workouts.

Fitness expert Nicole Dorsey Straff is a Los Angeles-based exercise physiologist and author, and frequently writes about diet, health and wellness.