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Sculpt your body into the perfect shape

By now, most of us know that you can’t “reduce the point.” That is, you cannot burn fat from one part of your body by working that part of the body.

What you can do is “strengthen the point”.

That is, you can develop certain muscles in your body more than others. However, “strengthening the point” is easier said than done. First, working just one muscle group doesn’t generate the caliber of intensity you need to change the visible shape of your body. Second, that part of the body that you want to change is inseparably connected to many other parts of the body that affect its shape. Therefore, leaving out the surrounding muscle groups in your exercise routine will not produce an overall change in shape.

Let’s say, for example, that you want to lift and define your buttocks. So you buy A Butt Lift Exercise Video and get to work. After a few months you feel firmer in that area, but you don’t see much change in your appearance. The reason for the frustratingly poor results is that the thighs, hips, lower back, and calves have not changed, and play a role in determining the appearance of the rear. Add thigh work, and your thighs will lift forward from the front and help your rear end look narrower. Add a lower back stretch, and your glutes will sit higher and grip more firmly. (!) Work your calves and the hamstrings, which overlap your calves, will give more definition to the bottom of your butt.

There is a second reason why bun lift exercise videos don’t work. Our glutes are built for power and endurance: deep, hard, and laced with fat for extra power and armor. Therefore, bun exercises alone do not make a dent in the fatty component of the buttocks. In order for your rear to become leaner and more defined, multiple muscles must compete for fuel at the same time.

Third, the very power and stamina that the glutes possess makes them a tough customer when it comes to getting enough of a challenge. Spinning, donkey kicks, stair climbing, Pilates, yoga, you name it, they work the hamstrings but barely touch the glutes. The Bar Method so far has been a lone voice in the desert calling for a new look at how the glutes work and what challenges them.

There is a second key element to the Barre Method’s unique ability to reshape muscles: its emphasis on technique. Unlike its imitators, the Bar Method trains its students to identify and use the muscles they want to work, the ones that actually change the shape of the body. Just as important, students learn not to engage muscles that are overused, such as those in the neck and lower back. This difference is subtle but vital to safely and effectively sculpting muscle. An outsider comparing a Barbell Method workout to one of its imitators might not realize that students in both classes use completely different muscles. This ability is called “differentiation,” or the power to use one muscle without unconsciously engaging another. Bar Method teachers are highly trained to help their students learn this important, and hitherto largely neglected, kinesthetic skill.

In short, the barbell method accomplishes reshaping by rewiring the interconnection of muscles. In a Bar Method class, for example, the thigh and seat work are done in sequence. During the thigh section, the seat muscles come alive towards the end of the exercise to intensify the stretching contractions of the thighs.

Then, during sit work, the warmed up, exercised, and now exhausted thighs act as a brake against glute and hamstring contractions. The result is beautiful scissor legs that have tapered when viewed from the front or back.

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