Pop Physique: Cardio Butt School Barre Workout DVD

Cardio Butt School is a barre based workout that utilizes light hand weights and mat work to help sculpt your entire body. This barre workout is a nice balance to other workout types that are available. The exercises, by nature, work on strength and flexibility and provide you with another means of cross training.

Light hand weights, mat, and chair suggested.

Cardio Butt School is the way to rock your body into a sleek, sexy shape. You will take what you were given and perfect it. Tighten your abs, lift your butt up higher, and slim and firm your legs and arms. This workout is fun and motivating. We take our hardcore workout to a cardio level that flows from one muscle group to the next, allowing you to get all your toning into a short period of time. Let us school you in sculpting your physique.

In this workout, there are two instructors: Karyn Nesbit and Samantha Harper. One teaches the overall toning/light cardio barre section and the other instructor teaches the section with leg work and abdominals. At all times, only one instructor leads with two background exercisers.

Cardio Section: The workout begins with full body swings from standing into full flexion and then moves into a series of plies in second position. Planks come next with alternating knees moving into the opposite elbow. The instructor then moves into a hands and knees position with knees floating and weight bearing only through the top of the feet with single knees pulling into the belly. This section is rounded off with a push-up series on the knees. The tricep work continues in a reverse table with the belly up and finishes with a reverse table position with straight legs. Hand weights then are used for biceps curls in a seated position. This moves into longer levers by lying on the mat and raising and lowering of the arms and legs simultaneously. The instructor then moves into standing with weights and does compound moves including plies with biceps/front delts, rear leg extension with triceps presses, second position plié with chest presses. The chair then becomes part of the workout and the instructor does toe raises with chair support and a series of plies on tiptoes. Grand battements (straight leg raise) and ‘attitude’ leg lifts with chair support complete this section.

The second section focuses on ‘seat’. A chair is initially used for this section for barre exercises including: rear leg extensions with turn-out and hands to the floor with rear leg extensions. Abdominals come next and are worked on in a seated position with a rounded spine and a variety of arm and leg movements. The instructor then transitions to side-lying on the floor and does a variety of leg exercises that target the gluteals. The last part is lying on the belly with a variety of leg exercises that also target the gluteals and spinal extensions. The last section is a stretch section that is done on the mat.

Many moves in Cardio Butt School are similar to what is found in a barre class. The exercises give a light cardio effect. Hand weights are added for some exercises for extra resistance and strengthening. The instructors are hip and friendly and encourage you to breathe through the shaking and the burn. Karyn Nesbit admits, as she teaches, that shaking is a good thing and she is usually the first one to start shaking when she is in class.

Cardio Butt School uses a variety of sculpting exercises that are barre based to strengthen and tone your entire body. The instructors are fun and clearly enjoy what they are teaching. Both instructors offer practical cues for the exercises (“hip bones are the only thing on the mat”- for spinal extensions). The title may be confusing for some and suggests that the entire DVD focuses on ‘butt’ when in reality the workout is a cardio (standing plies, etc. with hand weights) section and a ‘seat and abdominal’ section. I like that the workout is 39 minutes and some of the sections, such as the planks into push-ups, are tough because muscles are overloaded and you are working through a long section. However, some of the exercises were awkward for me, particularly because many were done with a rounded spine. For example, standing tricep kickbacks are done in first position with a rounded spine, which may not be a safe position for some people and I’m not sure of the reason for this positioning. My sense is the first position is maintained to work the legs, however toes forward would allow for more extended spinal alignment. Another example is anterior raises that move from above shoulder level to above the head. While the weights used are light, this position may also be not safe for some people because the musculature utilized is anchored to the cervical spine. This can be very taxing for some people with any neck issues – so be aware as you do it. Due to the number of exercises done with a rounded spine, this would not be a good workout for anyone with low back issues unless they know how to modify those specific moves. I modified these moves myself as I did the workout to make it safe for me. With modifications in place this is a good workout for a light day when you want to do something different. Cardio Butt School is also a workout that functions by the premise, the more you put in, the more you get out.