Created by former professional ballerina Miranda Esmonde-White, Essentrics draws on many of the lengthening principles used in ballet, including the barre.
To develop the posture and physique of a dancer, the muscles must be challenged in their lengthened position using the type of eccentric strengthening that is used in ballet.
This is the opposite of concentric-focused exercises that shorten the muscles, leaving people feeling tight, bulky, and in pain.
What makes Essentrics Barre workouts unique is the focus on stretching and strengthening your muscles at more effective angles — resulting in deeper stretches, higher muscle engagement, and more targeted and elongated toning.
Let’s take a closer look at 3 techniques used in Essentrics Barre that will lengthen your muscles and reinforce joint stability while increasing flexibility and mobility.
The Ballet-Inspired Origins of Essentrics |
Watching a ballet is like watching poetry in motion. The impeccable posture and graceful movements are no accident — professional dancers spend hundreds of hours dedicated to perfecting these precise details. Every movement requires the intentional cooperation of hundreds of muscles supporting their bodyweight and maintaining their balance as they perform.
Drawing from her experience as a professional ballerina, Miranda aimed to create a program where the principles of ballet could benefit everyone, not just dancers. Her goal was not to train people to master pirouettes or do the splits. With her understanding of form, physique, and strength, she started developing the Essentrics technique.
When Your Workout Feels Like Dance |
Numerous participants over the years have expressed how Essentrics reconnects them to a love of dance, whether they were trained dancers or never had the opportunity. Part of this comes from the way that Essentrics uses music to enhance the exercises, especially in the full-body Trademark sequences. These sequences feel like dancing but are scientifically designed to rebalance the spine.
The large, fluid, sweeping movements are unique to Essentrics, and typically set to classical or instrumental soundtrack themes that evoke emotions in the listener. For an Essentrics instructor, timing the movements with the music takes skill and experience. Combined with techniques that Essentrics draws from ballet — eccentrically lengthening the muscles and pulling up and out from the joints — the effect for the participants is the feel of dancing.
“After doing Essentrics for 8 years (I’m 41 now) almost every day, aside from all the known benefits, I just love how I feel and how my body moves when I get to dance once in a while. When I get the chance to dance, I’m like ‘yeah, I know exactly why I’m moving so freely and so expansive.’ Thank you to everyone who contribute to this wonderful workout program.” – Tatyana T.
3 Ballet-Inspired Techniques in Essentrics Barre Workouts |
Let’s take a closer look at 3 techniques used in Essentrics Barre workouts that will lengthen your muscles and reinforce joint stability while increasing flexibility and mobility.
1. REACHING FURTHER
While repetitive movements that shorten the muscles are generally easier to do, it is only through challenging them to extend past their habitually shortened length that you can access your true potential for strength and flexibility. Concentric exercises tend to limit joint range of motion and leave you feeling restricted, bulky, and compressed. It requires more effort to elongate your muscles and pull your joints apart, but you will almost instantly feel your body unlock and find yourself working deeper into muscles you hadn’t felt before.
At the Barre: As you become comfortable, challenge yourself to reach further and engage your muscles, so you are able to support yourself and maintain that length.
From “Classical Stretch Season 11, Ep. 15: Arthritis Pain Relief & Prevention” with Miranda Esmonde-White
2. PULLING UP
Essentrics instructors may appear to move with natural elegance and fluidity, but they have trained their body to apply Essentrics’ eccentric strengthening technique, which involves “Pulling Up” in the body.
Ballet requires dancers to “pull up,” elongating the torso and aligning the spine to enhance balance, grace, and posture. Think of how a ballerina lifts their body to reduce impact as they are landing from powerful leaps — Essentrics trains the muscles to work similarly, lengthening upwards while gravity is pulling you down. You can try this concept right now as you sit or walk around. Rather than collapsing the body and falling into the joints, Essentrics exercises emphasize pulling up in almost every exercise to support the weight of the body against gravity.
At the Barre: Imagine a string pulling through the center of the spine being lifted upwards, so that every part of the spine pulls up equally.
From “Bone & Spine Strength” with Gail Garceau
2. PULLING OUT OF THE JOINT
Many people suffer from joint impingements, arthritis, or other joint issues that get irritated by repetitive movement exercises that compress the joints. “Pulling Out” is the act of engaging and lengthening the muscles around a joint to create long lines, improve range of motion, and reduce compressive loading on the joint. “Pulling Out” is similar to the technique of “Pulling Up”, but the emphasis is placed on one part of the body moving (either the arms or legs) outwards, rather than pulling the entire body upwards. To use “Pulling Out” effectively, you need to focus on what joint you are targeting (shoulders or hips) and try to contract the muscles around that joint so that it doesn’t move when you pull the limb outwards.
At the Barre: When kicking to the side, stabilize your hips by contracting the abs and glutes as you pull the leg outward as much as possible and lift the leg without lifting the hip. The more you pull out, the more difficult it will be to lift (this means you’re doing it right!)
From “Cardio Workout” with Alexa Leon
Ballerinas have distinct physical qualities like a long, lean physique and excellent posture. This is a result of strengthening their muscles as they are being lengthened — without the use of external weights. Essentrics Barre workouts will challenge your strength and flexibility, and if you are consistent, you will start noticing a difference within weeks. Make sure to apply these 3 lengthening techniques during your Essentrics Barre workouts to make rapid changes to your flexibility and strength, as well as transform your posture.
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FAQ
Q: What is eccentric strengthening and how does it help the body?
A: Eccentric strengthening trains the muscles while they are lengthening, which can improve strength, flexibility, posture, and joint support. This type of movement also helps create balanced muscle engagement throughout the body.
Q: What are the benefits of full-body Essentrics barre workouts?
A: Full-body Essentrics barre workouts can help strengthen muscles, improve posture, increase flexibility, and build balance and coordination. Many people also enjoy the fluid, dance-inspired quality of the movements.
Q: Why do some workouts leave the body feeling tight or compressed?
A: Exercises that repeatedly shorten the muscles without balancing them through lengthening movements can contribute to stiffness and limited range of motion
Q: Can ballet-inspired workouts improve posture?
A: Yes. Ballet-inspired workouts, like Essentrics, often focus on spinal alignment, core engagement, and lengthening through the body, all of which can help improve posture and body awareness over time.
