Stay Injury-Free in Barre Class

Photo courtesy of Boston Body Barre

Xtend Barre, Floor-Barre, Pure Barre, BarreConcept, Barre Method, Barre Boot Camp, Pop Physique — there’s certainly no shortage of trendy barre workouts. A ballet-inspired exercise routine that includes the use of a barre, created by German dancer Lotte Berk in the 1950s, the method was resurrected several years ago, in fully updated form. But one key element remains: Classes still require moving like a ballerina, which, without proper form, could put you at risk for getting seriously injured.

“What transforms your body —lifts your butt, tightens your abdominals and gives you a beautiful upper body — is all the high repetition. But if you’re doing it with improper form, you can get what we call ‘overuse injuries,’” Zayna Gold Elefteriadis, a Pilates pioneer and creator of Boston Body Barre, which focuses on gentle movements, tells Yahoo Health. The most common barre-workout injuries, she says, involve straining the lower back, neck, hip flexors, or feet — especially the heel and MTP joint, which connects your big toe with your foot. Here are Gold Elefteriadis’s tips for reaping all the benefits, and none of the bummers, of barre class:

•Stay away from an excessive “pelvic tuck”; instead, keep your spine long. This is particularly important while doing pliés (knee bends), so you don’t strain your back, hips or knees. How do you know if your spine is long? “Rock your pelvis forward and back to feel the range of motion,” Gold Elfteriadis explains. “Then make the movement smaller and smaller until you find a position that feels balanced and free from strain.” This is your individual “neutral” position.

•Protect your feet. A barre workout involves lots of heel lifts, or relevés, which is no simple feat. “For many adults, holding a high relevé can cause foot pain. So instead, I recommend going into a ‘hover’ relevé, which is lower,” she says. “You still get the same benefits, but your weight stays in the ball of the foot, which causes less strain.” Another suggestion: Despite the majority of classes, which are held barefoot, consider wearing supportive sneakers or dance shoes. “I often wear them,” Gold Elfteriadis notes — a habit she adopted decades after joint deterioration from old-school Lotte Berk workouts sent her in for foot surgery.

•Think “in and up” with your abs. “We used to say, ‘Pull your navel to your spine!’ But that actually creates a feeling of compression,” she explains, hearkening back to the old-fashioned basics of ballet. “But you want to create space and length in your spine, so what we say now is, ‘Pull your abs in and up.’ The difference is remarkable.”

•Adjust your turnout to your comfortable level: Turnout — the foundation of ballet in which a hip rotation causes the knees and toes to point outward — is also a basic of barre workouts. But forcing it to the point of pain can be dangerous. “Start your feet at a turnout of 45 degrees and then adjust it, either by less or more, to make your hips, knees, and ankles feel free from strain,” Gold Elfteriadis says. When you reach the point that’s right for you, any pain in those areas should stop hurting on the spot. And hold your ground, she says, even if instructors get pushy. “As an adult doing fitness, we can’t have someone telling us where to put our bodies,” she explains. “Realizing that is very empowering and freeing.”