Barre and Pilates are two popular forms of exercise that have long been used to improve physical conditioning. Drawing comparisons due to their versatility, these two low-impact styles can develop strength, flexibility, and posture, making it difficult for people to choose between the two.

In this article, we discuss barre vs Pilates, exploring their core principles, key differences, benefits, and equipment requirements to help you determine which is best for you.

What Is Barre?

Barre is a form of exercise derived from ballet barre used to improve flexibility, strength, and physical conditioning. It utilizes dance movements such as the ballerina squat, arabesque pulse, and allongée propeller to improve muscle control and coordination.

Created in London in 1959 by Lotte Berk, a Jewish dancer who escaped Nazi Germany. Originally performed as barre as a part of dancer training, Berk created barre as an exercise form outside of dance. Over the decades, barre has continued to rise in popularity, before exploding in the 2010s.

Barre exercises focus on isometric movements, which require muscles to contract without changing length. These holds develop strength, balance, and coordination, and improve tendon health.

What Is Pilates?

Pilates is a gentle form of exercise that utilizes a series of poses, holds, and movements to improve strength, flexibility, mobility, and body awareness. Pilates exercises focus on moving the limbs while engaging the core, creating full-body cohesion which is great for improving function.

Created by Joseph Pilates during World War One, as a means of strengthening his frail body. He would later serve as an orderly in a hospital for immobile soldiers he would attach springs to hospital beds to help reintroduce movements to begin the rehabilitation process. His success in the hospital setting led him to create Pilates in 1923, a method of training designed to improve physical and mental conditioning.

Fast forward, it is used globally. Based on the five essentials — breathing, cervical alignment, rib and scapula stabilization, pelvic mobility, and utilizing the transverse abdominis, it uses 50 exercises it help people improve strength, posture, flexibility, and function.

Barre vs Pilates: Key Differences

Barre and Pilates are both great for improving strength, coordination, body awareness, and flexibility. However, many key differences make these two very different forms of training. Below, we list the key differences to help you determine the correct one for you.

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Focus Areas and Goals

Barre and Pilate while similar can be used differently to achieve specific goals. Below, we discuss each to help you find your most suitable training style.

Full-Body Strength and Endurance (Barre)

Barre contains movements that resemble dance and calisthenics. Performed by repetitions or as holds, barre exercises are performed with body weight or light resistance, focusing on movement quality and core engagement. Because of this, exercises are great for developing full-body strength and endurance.

For example, barre dance movements such as plié step-outs, reverse lifts, diamond squats, and lateral leg lifts require coordination. During these movements, the core must engage to keep the trunk rigid and create a stable base allowing the arms and legs to elegantly move.

Meanwhile, barre calisthenics style movements such as narrow squats, lunges, curtsey lifts, and donkey kicks replicate body weight resistance training movements, making them great for increasing muscle mass and endurance. We recommend adding a mixture of each exercise style. This will increase exercise variety and give you a more complete workout experience.

Core Stability and Postural Alignment (Pilates)

Pilates movements while similar in flow are distinctly their own, with 50 specific repetitive exercises developed around the five essentials.  Perform either on the mat or reformer, each movement prioritizes core stability and spinal alignment.

Here the core engages to increase rigidity, enabling the limbs to move efficiently. During this process, the core must react and dynamically stabilize in response to the ever-changing limb position. This creates functional core strength, which can be carried over into daily life.

Intensity and Movement Styles

Barre and Pilates offer similar and yet surprisingly different movement styles. Barre’s mixture of dance and calisthenics movements is comparatively more flowy than your typical calisthenics or resistance training session. This is due to their origins in dance, as movements are rhythmic with a focus on control lifting and lowering phases of the movement.

However, because some movements replicate calisthenics movements they can appear slightly more dynamic, as exercises such as donkey kicks, lunges, and squats are performed as repetitions.

Pilates' distinct exercise set leans into gentle, methodical flow. But don’t be fooled, while movements appear less intense, the poses, holds, and movements place the body into positions that challenge which require incredible focus to engage target muscles.

Equipment and Space Requirements

Barre and Pilates can both be performed with very little equipment and space. Below, we discuss the equipment and space requirements for each method of training.

Barre and Light Weights (Barre)

Barre origins of dance would have you believe that you need a barre to perform movements. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. While classes utilize barres for many exercises, they can be substituted with a chair to have a similar effect. Exercises such as reverse lifts, hip lifts, modified planks, ballerina squats, and arabesque pulses can all be performed with the support of a chair.

Furthermore, barre’s use of calisthenic exercises means equipment isn’t always necessary to get in a great workout. Movements such as lunges, squats, bridges, bird dogs, and dead bugs are all calisthenic favorites that require nothing more than a mat. However, if you would like to increase resistance equipment including light weights, bands, balls, and sliders can be used.

Mats, Reformers, or Props (Pilates)

Pilates’ specific movement approach can use a mat or reformer. Pilates has come a long way since the hospital's bed with springs attached to the frame. However, the exercises were so effective that they continued the practice with reformers.

Reforms specialized pieces of equipment that come with several attachments that can be moved to alter the angle of resistance enabling instructors to target different muscle groups. While reformers look intimidating, their function is similar to resistance training machines found in gyms, providing you with support and means of targeting different muscle groups.

Funnily enough, mat Pilates looks less intimidating, but is often more difficult as there are no springs of attachment to support and guide you through movement. However, don’t let this scare you off as both styles can be modified for beginners.

On top of this, Pilates uses a range of props that can provide alternative resistance including blocks, bands, Pilates balls, and rings. All of these are affordable options that can help increase exercise variety.

Benefits of Both Barre and Pilates

Barre and Pilates are excellent forms of exercise with millions of fans globally. Both are low-impact and are capable of increasing strength, improving posture, and enhancing mobility. Below, we discuss the benefits of both forms of exercise.

Low-Impact, Joint-Friendly Workouts

A major draw for Barre and Pilates is that they are low-impact, which is welcome news for anyone suffering from joint pain. Exercises with impact are a critical part of bone health, as they promote high bone mineral density compared to low-impact exercise. However, for those who are battling joint injuries and pain, the jolting and jarring sensation from running and jumping can make training unbearable.

Barre and Pilate's gentle approach to exercise enables us to overload muscle tissue without adding stress to joints. Whether it is barre elegant, flowing, dance-style movements or Pilates supine methodical movements engage and strengthen muscles surrounding joints, preserving and improving their health.

Furthermore, low-impact training can simply be used to break up training and allow you to get in a great workout while resting your joints between running sessions.

Develop Muscle Mass and Strength

Barre and Pilates are gentle approaches that can help develop muscle mass and strength. Increasing strength requires us to produce maximum force against external resistance while increasing muscle mass requires overloading muscle tissue at a moderate to high intensity. This can be achieved by performing resistance training and progressively overloading exercises by increasing sets, repetitions, and intensity.

Barre and Pilates can both increase strength and muscle mass. Barre’s dance and calisthenics style movements use external resistance and bodyweight to overload tissue which can increase muscle mass and strength.

While the gains in strength from muscle are small compared to traditional strength training, Barre and Pilates promoting growth can still enhance strength.

Improve Flexibility and Mobility

Barre and Pilates are excellent for improving flexibility and mobility. Developing flexibility and mobility requires taking muscles and joints to near-end ranges of motion. This can be achieved by performing dynamic and static stretches and mobility exercises to lengthen muscle tissue and mobilize joints.

Barre and Pilates focus on passively or actively taking each movement through their full range of motion. During passive movement, muscles can relax, allowing them to be taken through a great range of motion which can help mobilize joints. Meanwhile, active movement helps to develop strength at end ranges of motion.

For example, barre uses techniques such as arabesque lunges, arabesque pulses, and barre assembles which contain both active and passive lengthening of muscle tissue. Pilates uses roll-ups, the single-leg stretch, and forward folds to actively and passively length muscles. This makes them both viable methods for increasing flexibility and mobility.

Mental Wellness

Barre and Pilates can help improve mental wellness. Improving mental health can be achieved through a healthy lifestyle which includes correct nutrition, physical activity, and quality sleep.

Barre and Pilates are both engaging forms of physical exercise. The gentle flow and complexity of each force participants to become present, while releasing feel-good hormones. This improves mood and enhances the sense of well-being.

How to Choose Between Barre and Pilates

Selecting between barre and Pilates can be difficult. Below, we discuss key factors that can help you determine which is the better form of exercise for you.

Assessing Your Fitness Goals

When it comes to selecting your type of training, we need to choose a method of training that can help us reach our fitness goals. For example, to develop strength we must lift heavy weights for low repetition. If we want to increase cardiovascular fitness, we run.

Barre and Pilates are similar in their intensity, which can lead to similar results. However, if we look closer they do have subtle differences.

As mentioned, barre uses dance and calisthenic movements which can help increase muscle mass. While dance-based movements and holds result in those long lean muscles like Pilates, calisthenics can increase muscle size and shape. The addition of light weights and bands overloads target muscles, further promoting growth.

Pilates on the other hand leans more into developing long, slender, and lean physiques, as movements are developed around the core.

If you want a mixture of increasing muscle mass, and a dancer’s figure, then barre is for you. However, if you want a lean and slender physique, Pilates is the way to go.

Considering Your Physical Condition

A major consideration when choosing between barre and Pilates is your physical condition and limitations. While most exercise is great for improving our health and fitness, not all of them are suitable.

For example, someone currently nursing lower back pain and nerve impingement should avoid performing high-impact exercises such as running, and focus on low-impact exercises such as Pilates or strength training.

Fortunately, both barre and Pilates are low impact which is excellent for the joints. However, again, the subtle difference makes one better than the other for restoring function.

While barre can be performed gently with low impact, movements can be more dynamic.  Standing on toes and holding certain dance positions may strain muscles and joints for individuals with less experience and mobility.

If you are currently experiencing shoulder, back, knee, or ankle pain or dysfunction barre may result in aggravation. In this case, Pilates movements performed in a lying position or on the reformer may be better as they can strengthen muscles and joints without directly applying load.

Trying Both to Find Your Preference

If goal setting and consideration of physical assessment bring you no closer to a decision then it's time to simply give them both a try. We recommend trying each class for a minimum of two weeks to understand the movements, flow, and sensation of each workout. This will give you enough time to understand some techniques, and how they impact your injuries or physical conditions.

If at the end of the two weeks, you enjoy both, then mix it up and add both to your routine.

Recap: Barre vs Pilates

Barre and Pilates are without a doubt incredible ways to improve core strength, mobility, flexibility, and function. While their levels of intensity and use of controlled movement make them similar, their roots in dance and rehabilitation make them very different types of exercise.

For those looking for a dynamic, dance-like form of exercise with a splash of calisthenics, barre is absolutely for you. Between the poses, stances, and movement from ballet, and the body weight training, you can develop a lean, functional physique, with a little additional mass.

Meanwhile, if you want a core-focused, flexibility, mobility, and functional strength-enhancing workout it has to be Pilates. From the flowing movements and isometric holds Pilates offers the ability to create functional strength without unnecessary mass.

Furthermore, its ability to be performed in the lying position, makes it ideal for overloading muscles without loading joints, making it great for those recovering from injury.

However, if you enjoy both, why not choose both? This will enable you to develop dance conditioning and a bit more muscle mass alongside incredible core control and function.

The choice is yours, and we can safely say that no matter which one you choose, you will be making a positive change, improving your health, and longevity, and enhancing your quality of life.

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