Standing Barre Thighs is part of Linda Wooldridge‘s Standing Barre Series. There are 5 workouts in this series and so far I have done 4 of them: this workout, Standing Barre Glutes, Standing Barre Pretzel and Standing Barre Abs. They are all available for free on YouTube and you can also get all 5 workouts on a single DVD.
I have enjoyed all of the workouts I’ve done in Linda’s Standing Barre Series and this one was no exception. Another excellent lower body barre workout. This one really burned my calves out. Linda said her legs were shaking by the end. Mine weren’t shaking but they were trembling! That’s because you spend so much time on your toes. I will say that my favorite of her Standing Barre workouts is Standing Barre Abs. That is the one I will probably return to the most but the others are winners, too. My biggest concern with this workout was breaking the loop I used. #4 and 5 the band is just under your knees and you are doing wide/low plié squats. I felt it and it was very effective but I was using my heaviest Cathe band (blue) which is my favorite and most used band. I do not want anything to happen to it and it was stretched further than I have ever stretched it before in the past. I should probably buy a back up set, just in case.
Standing Barre Thighs is 26 minutes long; 1 minute warm up (#1 below is the warm up) and 2 minute stretch. Equipment: resistance loop, pilates ball and barre or chair.
- Stand holding ball in both hands, heels together, toes turned out, and do plié squats tapping ball to ground; changes to stepping out and doing a wide plié squat, stepping back in and doing a narrow plié squat–alternate sides when stepping out
- Place ball between thighs, toes turned out and together and raise off floor, keeping spine straight (and holding barre/chair), do squats; hold position w/ knees slightly bent and squeeze and release ball between thighs; add squatting lower with each squeeze then raising back up w/ each squeeze (down 3 levels and back up 2 levels); more squats (heels still raised and pressed together); knees still slightly bent, tilt hips/pelvis forward and back; changes to shifting hips side to side; add lowering deeper into squat then rising up as you continue shifting hips side to side
- Place ball behind one knee and bend knee to hold ball in place, raise and lower bent knee out to side of body (hydrant); continue same move but turn foot outward as you raise and lower bent leg, pushing foot behind you when raising; turn thigh outward and raise and lower leg (knee raises out to side and foot comes behind other leg when lowering); repeat on other leg
- Place loop just below both knees, feet wide and toes turned out, raise up onto toes and do plié squats; remain in plié squat and on toes and pulse knees open further; add the two moves together–wide plié squat and press knees out while in squat then raise back up (still on toes)
- Loop in same position as #4, still in wide stance but this time heels are on floor, do wide plié squats; remain in plié squat and pulse knees open further; hold in plié squat
For more info on Barlates and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
