If you’ve been missing your regular barre classes due to gym and studio closures, you have an at-home option you may not have known about: barre workouts on YouTube.
Yep, the same platform that gives you copious cat videos can also help you get in a good sweat—even if you don’t have a lot of (or any) fitness equipment at your disposal.
“If you’d like to get a good barre workout at home and have no equipment, no problem,” says Jennifer Atoapoma, a barre and yoga sculpt instructor in Montreal. “Grab a chair or use a countertop as your barre.” In fact, most barre workouts require just the barre as equipment, but if your workout calls for additional gear, you can use what you have around the house, she says—like cans of soup or a water bottle as your weights, and a pillow or blanket as a small Pilates ball.
Barre, a ballet-based dance workout (named after the barre ballet dancers use), is anything but easy. This type of workout uses movements inspired by dance, Pilates, and yoga to work your muscles—particularly lower-body muscles in your calves and ankles—and challenge your cardiovascular endurance, says Atoapoma. Plus, using the barre as a tool helps you hone your balance and create proper alignment in your body.
If you’re new to barre, you may think you need to be a dancer to smoke these workouts, but that is definitely not the case.
“I always say if you’re new to barre, you don’t need to be a [ballet dancer],” says Atoapoma. “It may be hard the first time, just like anything in life.” But if you continue on with it—and keep challenging yourself—you’ll quickly become comfortable with the kind of moves it requires, she says.
Want to give it a shot? Here are 16 barre workouts on YouTube you might want to try.
1. Pure Barre Workout With Amy’s Beach Fitness
Length: 20 minutes
What to expect: All you need is a chair for this at-home barre workout.
“This is a 20-minute pure barre workout that anyone can do at home. I love how Amy shows you how you can do a barre workout without having a portable barre at home or any barre experience. This workout is more of a slower pace, which helps you isolate those muscles.” —Kimberly Barrera, certified barre instructor in Passaic, New Jersey
Try the workout.
2. Pre- and Postnatal Full-Body Barre Workout
Length: 30 minutes
What to expect: A workout for those who are prenatal or postnatal to target muscles to support your body throughout and after your pregnancy
“This 30-minute prenatal and postnatal barre workout by Kailey of Aura Studio is an effective workout to include throughout pregnancy and beyond. Kailey has a prenatal and postnatal barre certification, so viewers can feel supported doing this barre workout in the comfort of their home. This workout is wonderful for new mamas or mamas-to-be looking to continue or introduce a fitness routine. The equipment in this workout is completely optional as well.” —Michelle Carrillo, certified barre instructor, certified Pilates instructor and former dance instructor in Palm Springs, California
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3. Barre Cardio Fusion Full Body Workout With Lindsey Bomgren
Length: 30 minutes
What to expect: A high-intensity full-body barre workout that is equipment-optional.
“This 30-minute cardio barre workout by Lindsay of Nourish Move Love is for those who may think you can’t work up a good sweat with barre. The cardio and large, dynamic moves combined with the tiny movements of barre create an intense, full-body workout that will leave you dripping in sweat. This workout is an excellent option for those looking for a more ‘athletic’ style of barre. A plus is that all of the equipment is completely optional, and there are options for all fitness levels, from beginner to advanced.” —Carrillo
Try the workout.
4. Barre Fitness At-Home Workout
Length: 10 minutes
What to expect: A quick 10-minute total-body barre workout with classic barre moves.
“This is one of my favorite barre workout combinations because it engages your core and works your lower body by incorporating pliés, pulses, and tucks—all in a 10-minute workout you can do from home. This workout incorporates tiny isometric movements to hit your inner thighs, outer thighs, glutes, calves, and core. Each time you roll up to relevé (on the balls of your feet), you are strengthening your calf muscles, and when you are bending your knees into your pliés, you are strengthening your thighs. And tucking works your core and pelvic muscles. This video offers modifications and is great for all levels.” —Whitley Miller, creator and master barre instructor at the Healing Barre in Washington, D.C.
Try the workout.
5. At-Home Barre Workout With Taliah Mekki
Length: 45 minutes
What to expect: A low-impact cardio barre workout that will still get you sweating.
“I love this 45-minute at-home barre workout that targets your full body. This is a fast-paced barre cardio workout for the intermediate to advanced exerciser and offers workouts with various equipment pieces or alternatives. There are lots of pulses—micro-movements that improve endurance and help you resist fatigue, stabilize your body, and move with proper posture—in this video. Be prepared to sweat through this workout.”—Miller
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6. Full Body At-Home Sculpting Barre and Pilates Workout With Move With Nicole
Length: 35 minutes
What to expect: A chill workout that uses isometric moves for a serious burn.
“As a professional dancer, I love to see a barre instructor who moves like a dancer and uses proper form and technique like Nicole. This workout is more mellow than others, as Nicole has a soft, soothing voice, and the music is calming, but it is far from ‘relaxing.’ This was a challenging workout that really tires out your muscle groups. I love all the combination moves she incorporated into the workout too. This workout is great for those really wanting a challenge, and it’s low impact.” —Lanie Hoxie, barre and Ballet Fit instructor at Bam Barre in Orlando, Florida
Try the workout.
7. 11-Minute Full-Body Barre Combos With Barre With Adrienne
Length: 11 minutes
What to expect: Upper and lower-body move combinations using 5-pound weights to kick up the intensity.
“I love how versatile the moves are and how in-depth Adrienne is with explaining each transition and where you should be feeling the work. She makes each exercise accessible for people with varied athletic ability. Flawless transitions keep the momentum and energy high and strong.” —Briana J. Milton, barre instructor and wellness advocate in Lorton, Virginia.
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8. Full-Body Barre Workout With IsaWelly
Length: 24 minutes
What to expect: This workout will test your cardio, build core strength, and work your entire body.
“I love IsaWelly’s amazing energy. She makes these tough and challenging movements fun! She has a strong focus on form and alignment, ensuring that people are aware of body positioning—and avoiding injury. This a gentler, low-impact flow that will still give you a big burn and shake.” —Milton
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9. Full Body, Low-Impact Barre Workout With Coach Kel
Length: 37 minutes
What to expect: This no-jumping barre workout will work your entire body.
“This is a great, no-frills, low-impact barre workout. The instructor includes a lot of reps for each exercise, her transitions are fast-paced, and the overall tempo of the class is great. Her glute sequence of the workout is awesome as well because it focuses on all parts of the seat, and the abs portion of the workout also provides a challenge. This workout is great to do at home, and I recommend this for someone who likes a more athletic barre workout or someone who likes a challenge.” —Andrea Fornarola, founder, CEO, and head trainer of Elements Fitness Studio in New York City.
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10. Barre Blend Sample Workout With Elise Joan
Length: 30 minutes
What to expect: This full-body workout is a taste of BeachBody Barre Blend workouts.
“I like this workout because it makes you sweat! You get a totally well-rounded workout in 30 minutes. It’s great for those who are postpartum and need to work on core strength and flexibility. There is little to no jumping, and you can follow the modifier and still get in a killer workout.” —Jasmine Kristine Florian, plus-size fitness coach in Atlanta
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11. 10-Minute Yoga Series for Beginners Workout With Elise Joan
Length: 10 minutes
What to expect: A yoga-inspired workout to improve your barre workouts.
“I know it seems more like a yoga workout, but don’t let it fool you. This 10-minute workout can really help with the flexibility and mobility to really get you deeper and more intense at the barre. It’s great for any postpartum mom or plus-size woman like myself to work on going deeper into the moves to become more flexible.” —Florian
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12. Barre Workout With LaRae
Length: 35 minutes
What to expect: Grab a chair and some sliders for this full-body barre workout.
“Who doesn’t love low-impact, high reward? That’s exactly what LaRae gives you with this 35-minute, full-body barre workout. This class is great for folks at any level or familiarity with barre. LaRae does an awesome job at explaining what muscles are being targeted—where you should be feeling it—and trust me, you will feel the burn!” —Georgina Shaffer, fitness professional and certified yoga instructor near Seattle
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13. Barre Above Workout With KBayly Fitness
Length: 50 minutes
What to expect: A full-body barre workout with an upper-body emphasis.
“Let’s be real, there’s nothing more intimidating than watching a video and being like, ‘I don’t have any of that equipment.’ Because of this, I’m a sucker for anyone who teaches folks how to use things from around the house to do a class. In the first minute of class, Kerri breaks down all the items you can substitute for actual equipment. We are talking pasta sauce jars, beach towels, chairs, etc. This class is perfect for anyone looking to get a full-body workout with some added focus on the arms and shoulders. Kerri’s 50-minute class includes a nice 15-minute stretch and cool-down, making it the perfect quarantine home class when you’re missing the gym, but don’t have all the things!” —Shaffer
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14. Barre Fitness Lower Body Workout
Length: 12 minutes
What to expect: A short, mat-based barre workout focused on your butt and legs.
“I am a total legs and glutes girl when it comes to exercise, so this video is an absolute must for me. I love how it challenges you to balance while also targeting your core. I’m all about hitting multiple muscle groups at a time, so this is a great one! This is a wonderful video for those who’d like to really focus on strengthening glutes while using the mat as support.” —Ayorinde I. Ifatunji, barre instructor in Brooklyn, New York
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15. Inner and Outer Thigh Barre Workout
Length: 9 minutes
What to expect: Work your lower body in this quick barre workout.
“I love this one, as it pays special tribute to the mat work, and aims to strengthen those inner thigh muscles that we often don’t use. A great video for those who are craving a challenge that goes beyond the standard quad exercises.” —Ifatunji
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16. 20-Minute Feel-Good Cool-Down and Stretch With 305 Fitness
Length: 20 minutes
What to expect: A dance-inspired stretch routine to do after a tough barre workout.
“I’m big on anything dance, and this cool-down incorporates that in there. And this channel is a celeb fave too. They recently launched their online classes—they go live every day at noon on YouTube.” —Eva Curtis, master trainer at Studio Barre Mission Hills and Carmel Valley in San Diego.
Try the workout.