Beach Barre: Inner Thighs + Booty

Hey Babes! Today I share with you a great exercise that should take about 3 minutes (or your favorite song) to complete. This exercise will help to sculpt the inner thighs and sides of the booty, giving you along, lean legs and a toned booty. Sounds good? Let's do it. Feel free to add it to your regular workout routine or add it to this core/cardio exercise and this arm exercise. 

We are going to do a very basic ballet movement that we do all the time in my Barre Fly classes called a second position plié. This move works our hamstrings, inner thighs and glutes (booty!). If you don't have a ball, that's okay, keep your hands together pressing through your palms in a prayer position. If you want to make it more challenging you can add a weight.

Correct Form:  Start with legs slightly wider than hip width apart. Unless you are a dancer and have been working on your turn out, just turn the toes out at a slight angle -- we want to make sure the knees go in the same direction as our toes. We are going to put our weight in our heels as we bend our knees and bring our booty to the floor. As you lower, try to press your knees back, engaging your inner thighs. As you come up, raise your arms over your head and zip your inner thighs and glutes together at the top. Make sure we keep the abdominals engaged and our back flat. Keep the shoulders stacked over the hips. I want you to imagine that your back is sliding up and down a wall -- unlike a squat we do not lean forward.

Exercises:

• Plié all the way down and all the way up 16x
• Hold it at your lowest point and start pulsing one inch up and one inch down 16x -- slow it down 8x
• Plié all the way up and down 8x
• Start pulsing but add heel lifts - alternate lifting your right heel, then left -- start slow 8x each side -- speed it up 16x each side
• Keep your right heel up and press into your left heel -- pulse here for 16x -- slow it down for 8x
• Plié all the way up and all the way down 8x
• Keep your left heel up and press into your right heel -- pulse here for 16x -- slow it down for 8x
• Plié the way down and "zip" all the way up 8x -- isometric hold as we stay low and pump the arms up  and down -- start with slow arm lifts then fast for as long as you can hold it!

We should be feel the burn in our muscles throughout this exercise. Stay as low as you can and use your butt (gluteus) and the back of your legs (hamstrings) to lift and lower yourself. Keep your weight in your heels and your abdominals engaged. Don't forget to check your posture -- shoulders down & chest lifted! Stay strong and push yourself, you can do it! xo