Does Barre ‘Count’ as Strength Training or Is It More of a Cardio Workout?

Barre is essentially the trail mix of workout methods. It combines nuggets of Pilates, yoga, dance, and resistance training to create one delicious movement style that checks off many of the boxes necessary to support fitness and well-being.

“When I describe [barre] as a whole, as a category, I think it’s an absolutely fantastic way to build muscular endurance,” says Lisa Schale-Drake, an instructor trainer at barre3. “It’s heart-healthy. I would say it’s fantastic at core strength and also balance, mobility, and stability.”

The exercises seamlessly flow from one to another, making your heart race, and you frequently “pulse” in small ranges of motion, leaving your muscles quivering. But when all is said and done, does barre actually “count” as strength training or cardio conditioning? Let’s break it down.

Does barre count as strength training?

To get nitty gritty, muscular strength is the nervous system’s ability to produce enough tension in the muscles and connective tissues to overcome an external force (e.g., gravity, a barbell, or a dumbbell load). It’s generally measured in terms of maximum strength, or the max amount of force that can be produced by a muscle or group, no matter how much time it takes to do so, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Most often, a training program focused on building strength involves using heavy loads (think: more than 80 percent of your one-rep max load, or the heaviest load you can lift for just a single rep) and performing a handful of reps per set (i.e., fewer than five), with long rest breaks in between, according to a 2021 article¹ published in Sports. The heavy load is key to improving max strength to the greatest extent, per the article.

In a classic barre class, many of the movements are bodyweight (e.g., push-ups, triceps dips, lunges, squats). Props such as mini bands and free weights may be used to add resistance, according to Schale-Drake, but the loads are typically light to moderate; you might use a pair of two- or three-pound dumbbells, for instance.

That load—or even one’s own body weight—might be seriously heavy for some folks, and it could help build strength in that circumstance. But in most cases, barre isn’t necessarily a strength-building workout.

Instead, you’ll be training your muscular endurance, aka your muscles’ ability to work for extended periods. With each exercise—whether there’s added resistance or not—you’ll typically perform a lot of reps. “A lot of times in a warmup, rather than doing five or 10 biceps reps, you’ll do something like 24 or 36 reps, if you keep them in counts of eight, and then you’ll switch to the next exercise,” says Andrea Fornarola, CPT, certified personal trainer and founder and CEO of Elements Barre Fit.

You’ll also practice isometric exercises (during which muscle tension is created but there’s no change in muscle length or joint movement) in a typical barre class, Fornarola says. These moves further test endurance. Think about a plank: You’re engaging your muscles and trying to stay as still as possible for as long as you can. The longer you hold that plank, the greater the endurance challenge.

“Muscular endurance is more about leaning into the amount of time that you’re in a movement pattern while being able to perform it as strongly as you can—aka have form integrity—for as long as you can,” Schale-Drake says. “[Muscular endurance] allows you to move with integrity longer. It helps you maintain good form for a longer period of time. It allows you to have good core strength and balance and stability of your body for a longer period of time.”

The best types of barre classes to build strength

Every studio offers different styles of barre class formats, so you’ll need to do some digging to find one that focuses on strength. Check out class descriptions ahead of time and look for info on the equipment used (ideally heavy weights or resistance bands) and keywords like “strength” and “weight-based.” Barre3, for example, offers a strength class, while Pure Barre’s Define class focuses on strength and power. If you’re unsure, call the studio before booking to determine if the class syncs with your strength goals.

Just know the class may not work your muscles the same way as, say, barbell deadlifting on the weight floor or participating in other heavy-loaded workout programs that involve only a few reps—and that’s okay. Building muscular endurance is also essential to being a high-functioning human, Schale-Drake says.

Does barre count as cardio?

Cardio is essentially exercise that gets your cardiorespiratory system working, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—your heart rate quickens and your breath deepens to deliver more oxygen to your working muscles. More specifically, cardio is aerobic exercise—rhythmic, continuous activity that uses large muscle groups and calls upon aerobic metabolism to create energy, per a 2017 article² in the World Journal of Cardiology.

The CDC recommends adults complete 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or a combination of both throughout the week.

Generally, a barre class will help you make strides toward that goal. “I would say that you can 100 percent get amazing heart-healthful qualities within barre3, in particular, or barre-style classes that emphasize movements that will elevate the heart rate and sustain it for a longer period of time,” Schale-Drake says.

So, what’s behind the cardio effect? Barre workouts are designed to flow seamlessly from one muscle group to the next. You’ll focus on one muscle group or joint movement pattern for a set. Then, before you hit total fatigue, you’ll move on to something totally different. “That [sequence] allows you to have a continuous movement, which will then ask the heart to elevate to sustain energy while you’re performing movement in a consistent way,” Schale-Drake says.

The transitions are quick, too. You might start with standing movements (like squats) at the barre, drop to the mat for push-ups or planks, then pop back to standing, and repeat, Fornarola says. The small ranges of motion utilized in many exercises mean you’re able to power through your reps relatively quickly, which also gets your heart rate up, she added.

The best types of barre classes to improve cardio fitness

While most classic barre classes will get your heart pumping, some put more emphasis on cardio training than others. Again, every studio’s offerings are different, so browse through its website before booking. Look for keywords like “cardio,” “high-intensity,” “barre sweat,” “burst of energy,” or “heart-healthy,” the experts suggest. (You can check out our 10-minute cardio Pilates workout, too.)

Dance-focused barre classes are also a surefire way to get sweaty. These formats include simple choreography—like alternating lunges, the grapevine, and different types of steps—that builds into a full dance, Fornarola says. (You can check out our 10-minute cardio Pilates workout

At Elements Barre Fit, “we’ve done choreography that mimics the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader dance from Netflix,” she says. “We take it back to old school, like early ’90s or ’80s music. We get very Jane Fonda—I would say, like, Jane Fonda meets a Madonna dance is where we live in this dance craze.”

Other notable benefits of barre

Enhanced cardio fitness and muscular endurance are just two of the benefits you can expect from regularly doing barre. The method trains your entire core—not just your superficial abdominal muscles, but also your pelvic floor, back muscles, deep trunk muscles that support your spine, and beyond, Schale-Drake says. In order to stay stable and perform each exercise effectively and with proper technique, you’ll need to put your core to work.

Plus, barre improves mobility (the ability to move your joints freely through full ranges of motion), stability (the ability to maintain or control your joints’ positions), and balance, according to the experts. Because it’s a low-impact workout, it’s often an accessible option for folks recovering from injury, Fornarola says.

All those perks are why Schale-Drake recommends barre as a cross-training method. One of her clients takes barre to round out her marathon training routine, exposing her hips to lateral movement and solidifying her core, while another does it to balance her powerlifting, she says. “She uses us as more of her cardio. She uses us for mobility, stability, using muscles that are more supportive to bigger movements that require heavier weights, and it allows her to have better form when she’s doing it, more stamina when she’s doing it,” Schale-Drake says. “She’s actually able to lift heavier because of it.”

The bottom line

As a whole, barre offers more of a cardio workout than a strength-building one, thanks to its emphasis on continuous movement and quick pacing. Due to the lighter loads and high reps, you might see improvements in muscular endurance rather than strength, though some class formats may use moderate to heavy dumbbells that can encourage strength gains in some people.

When you’re ready to blend barre into your routine, start small, Schale-Drake says. Add one or two workouts to your weekly schedule. After a few months, she suggests checking in with yourself: Is barre supporting your performance in other workouts or helping you progress toward your fitness goals? Is it bringing you joy?

From there, scale down or, if you’re really enjoying the workouts, up. “You don’t need big recovery after it,” Schale-Drake says. “This is something that can be done on a daily basis, and [barre3’s] approach to modifications also allows you to lean in when you feel like your body can kind of handle a little more, and then pull back when your body needs a little more rest. It really does have that versatility to be flexible and work with what you need.”