Summer Legs

Summer brings daily inspiration for achieving a toned and lifted barre-beautiful body. But what if you’re beach-bound or out enjoying the season and can’t get to the barre? We’ve got you covered. Tracey Mallett, founder of bootybarre®, a method taught in studios and gyms around the world — and coming soon to 24 Hour Fitness — gives us a tour on the barre and off the barre, with exercises that can be done at home or in the gym. The entire workout will help give you sculpted legs, toned arms, a lifted behind and a sleek midsection.

Get ready to go barre-less.

This summer barre-less workout emphasizes trouble zones such as inner thighs, arms and waist, and also improves flexibility and coordination. It’s a fusion workout that blends barre, Pilates, yoga and dance with a strong focus on technique. You’ll finish feeling lighter, leaner and ready to love your day.

“bootybarre is an exhilarating workout. You feel the burn, you work with power and movement to burn calories and build lean muscle mass,” Tracey Mallett told us. “The fusion of Pilates, dance, yoga and athletics is the perfect combination of strength, cardio and flexibility.”

Follow along with Tracey in the videos below, created exclusively for 24Life.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Warm up by dancing to your favorite summer playlist and stretching where you feel tight. Do the moves on your own, or follow along with Mallett on our exclusive video segments. Keep breathing and focus on technique and full range of motion. Aim to complete 2 or 3 sets of the recommended reps.

Here are Mallett’s tips for your workout:
1 Focus on moving with control and engaging your core before you move.
2 Strive to learn the best alignment to get the most out of each exercise.
3 Draw your shoulders down towards your hips to engage your shoulder stabilizers; at the same time, draw your abs towards your spine — this will intensify the abdominal contraction.
4 Have fun and feel the burn, but always focus on the muscles you are trying to activate so others do not take over. This will prevent overuse injuries.
To get started, you’ll need a Body Bar, a Pilates ball, and a yoga mat.

01 Z POSITION WITH BALL

REPS: 8-16
MUSCLES: Glutes

● Start with your legs in a Z position with your back leg extended behind the hip. Place a ball under the ankle, lifting your knee up towards the sky. Your body should be pitched forward from the hips with your hands in front of the body and elbows bent.
● Press your ankle into the ball as you lift your knee higher than the ankle, then lower the knee to the same height as the ankle.

02 TRICEPS LEG EXTENSION

REPS: 4-6
MUSCLES: Triceps, Hamstrings, Glutes

● Start on the floor with your hands shoulder-width apart, elbows bent and fingertips pointed towards the hips. Focus eyes forward and extend one leg straight to the ceiling.
● Extend your elbows and press hips to the ceiling, activating the glutes and hamstrings, and simultaneously press legs down to the floor until hips are in line with the supporting knee.

03 MERMAID

REPS: 4-6
MUSCLES: Obliques and lower back

● Start in a Z position with your right leg in front and the back knee extended behind the body. Lift your right hand over your head and keep your left hand on the floor by your left knee.
● Bend to the left as you reach your right arm over your body and hold. Next, reach diagonally forward as you round through the spine, stretching out your lower back. Return to start position.

04 CAN CAN

REPS: 8-16
MUSCLES: Abs and obliques

● Sit on the floor with your elbows bent behind you so that you’re resting on your forearms with your knees bent and toes pointed towards the floor. Keep your spine in a deep c-curve as you draw your abdominals towards the spine.
● Moving from the hips, lift your right hip and let your knees drop to the left, keeping your spine in a deep c-curve. Repeat on the other side. Keep your feet centered in front of your body.

05 SIDE CRUNCH HIP OPENER

REPS: 8-16
MUSCLES: Obliques

● Start in a kneeling side plank, with your wrist under your shoulder and your knee under your hip. Extend your top leg to the floor and your top arm up and overhead. Imagine you are reaching in two directions.
● Lift your knee to your elbow as you side-bend the body to activate the top oblique. Extend and lower your top leg and extend your top arm overhead, to return to the starting position.

06 BALL HIP EXTENSION

REPS: 8-16 each side
MUSCLES: Glutes, hamstrings & abs

● Start in a kneeling position with hands directly under the shoulders. Lift your right knee off the floor and place the yoga ball behind the back of your knee, and squeeze it.
● Lift your leg up and down as you squeeze the ball.
● Lower your knee slightly behind the supporting knee, and lift directly to the side of the body while keeping the upper body completely stable.

07 ATTITUDE

REPS: 8-16
MUSCLES: Glutes, quads, hamstrings & core

● With your hips and feet rotated out and your toes pointing to the corners of the room, stand on your right leg and bend your left leg slightly to rest your left ankle on your right calf. Rest your right hand on your hip for core support, and raise your left hand overhead in ballet’s fifth position.
● Pitching forward from your hips and lifting your left leg behind you as a counterbalance, move into ballet’s attitude position. Bend your supporting leg in a plié as you pitch forward, so that your knee is aligned with your first two toes. Straighten your supporting leg and return your upper body to the start position.
● To add challenge, stay in the plié position and lift your attitude leg in small upward pulses.

Tracey Mallett is a fitness expert and creator of bootybarre. Originally from the UK, Mallett now resides in Los Angeles, where she owns a wellness and fitness facility, ATP Training. She is the author of two books and creator of over 25 exercise DVDs. Her passion is creating and delivering fun fusion programs that inspire people to move with precision. Tracey has taught all over the world and has watched bootybarre become a premiere barre educational company in the fitness industry.