FLAT BACK: THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD BARRE EXERCISE AND WHY IT’S YOUR CORE’S BEST FRIEND
Flat Back is an old-school exercise: it has roots with Lotte Berk, the founder of the Barre technique back in the ‘60’s. It has been a staple in core conditioning exercises for barre classes ever since.
There are so many benefits of mastering the Flat Back position. It’s a results-oriented, efficient exercise with real results that keep students returning to the barre: a leaner waistline and a stronger core. If you can master this position, it’ll improve your performance in every other exercise in the class, as well as your posture, strength, and balance in the studio and out.
ROUND BACK: FLAT BACK’S BEST FRIEND (AND WHY IT’S YOURS TOO)
Round Back is a classic barre exercise: it has roots with Lotte Berk, the founder of the barre technique back in the 1960’s. It’s also a functional exercise position for gymnastic and springboard diver athletes. A staple in core conditioning exercises in every barre class, Round Back is the second exercise position in your core conditioning trifecta: Flat Back, then Round Back, followed by the Curl.
HALLOWEEN IS YOUR NEW NEW YEARS!
madison wright, ms
blog coordinator + core fusion teacher
The holiday of Halloween has deep roots, dating back more than 2000 years ago; the pumpkin seed trail leads us to the Celtic culture of the Druids of who lived in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Halloween, originally dubbed “All Hallows Eve” was a celebration that coalesced the last day of the Celtic Calendar, October 31st, a culmination of the summer season and of course – the one that we’re more familiar with- a day to honor the dead.
THE CURL: MOTHERSHIP OF EVERY CORE FUSION BARRE CLASS
In exhale Barre classes, our Core Conditioning Series follows a pattern: Flat Back, Round Back, and finally the Curl – which introduces a progressive challenge of increased spinal flexibility with each position. All three exercises address two fundamental needs: strengthening the core while building flexibility in the back. Joseph Pilates always preached that the “supple spine equals a youthful body,” and it’s true. The more spinal strength and flexibility you have, the more strength and flexibility you’ll see in every other area.
The curl takes discipline because it’s a complex position. You have to prioritize pressing the lower back down on the mat while
KATIE’S EXHALE TRANSFORMATION STORY
When Katie first came to exhale with a 30-day unlimited class package, she was recovering from a life-altering car accident and brain surgery. Here’s her incredible story of building strength and mindfulness at exhale – one class at a time.
First, please indulge me in some brief (kind of) background info. I was hit by a car while crossing the street in July 2016 which left me with a grade 3 concussion and a left hip injury from the impact. The injury restricted my physical activity. About six weeks later, in September, I underwent brain surgery to remove a colloid cyst. My neurosurgeon estimated it had about a 50% chance of killing me (and was originally identified as likely being cancer in January 2016). At 27 years old, this was a lot to handle – physically, emotionally, and mentally.
WHAT’S YOUR WORKOUT MENTALITY?
By: Fred DeVito, exhale co-founder and the ultimate fitness aficionado
As a young barre teacher, back in the 80’s and 90’s, most students came to my class 4-5 times a week like clockwork. They loved the technique — because it challenged them constantly and it gave them fast and noticeable results. Back then, it was fashionable to be consistent with one method that worked.
WHAT IS BARRE?
By Fred DeVito
Core Fusion co-founder and ultimate barre aficionado, Fred DeVito, breaks down the history of barre, how it works to change your body, and what to look for in a high-quality barre class.
First things first: what is a barre?
The Barre, a word taken from the world of ballet, is a fixed pole, firmly attached to a wall so that a person can pull, push, hold or lean on to gain support when performing exercises that are primarily using one’s body weight as resistance. These movements stem from the original ballet barre warmup that dancers use to prepare and train themselves for their actual dance combinations in a performance.
When and where did barre workouts originate?
Lotte Berk, the founder of the barre class space and the direct lineage of the technique decades ago, combined her knowledge of dance based exercises with orthopedic core work that she learned from physical therapists when going through the process of healing a dance-related injury. Her combination of these two disciplines inspired her to create a class called Rehabilitative Exercise in London back in the 1960’s.
A decade later, the technique was introduced in the 1970’s in NYC at a studio named in her honor, The Lotte Berk Method, and an exercise system was born. That’s where exhale got its roots — I taught there as well as my wife and partner, Elisabeth Halfpapp. Both of us taught 34 classes a week for almost 20 years (if you can believe that!) and that’s how we established ourselves as authorities in the barre space, training many teachers who now run or own some of the major barre studios and franchises in the world. Every major player in the barre space can track their roots back to us at the Lotte Berk Method since we were the leaders there for 20 years.
I TRIED BARRE+YOGA
By: Emily McNeely, exhale enthusiast, copywriter, dancer and (newly committed) Barre + Yoga devotee
It’s why I fell in love with exhale in the first place: balance. Whether it’s the balance of spa and fitness, of energy and mindfulness, of strength and flexibility — or the challenging balance in chair position on the mat, heels up, arms stretched wide, finding your center. That’s why I fell in love with exhale’s new class, Barre + Yoga.
The latest brainchild of exhale’s co-founder, former ballet dancer, and barre legend Elisabeth Halfpapp, Barre + Yoga blends two classes into one powerful, balanced hour. For the first half of class, you’re in Core Fusion Barre mode — toning up with hand weights, planks, thigh and glute work.
Then, seamlessly, you switch gears and move into an athletic yoga flow. After a series of Warrior sequences, you move to seated yoga poses and a core section, complete with the classic Core Fusion curl. Then you end the hour with a mindful moment in Savasana.
REASONS WHY MEN SHOULD TAKE BARRE CLASS
By: Fred DeVito, Core Fusion co-founder + the world’s first male barre teacher
Most men are programmed from sports training in high school and college to think that lifting weights and doing cardio is how you stay in shape. But after high school and college, most of us realize that only doing exercises you’re used to can limit your fitness potential – and as the first male barre teacher in the industry, I learned this the hard way.
