Pilates vs. Barre: How to Choose the Best Low-Impact Workout for You

It can be tricky to find the right workout modality for your fitness goals and preferences. What’s better for your stamina—running or rowing? Should you do HIIT or a full body workout? And then there’s Pilates vs. barre. Both of these low-impact classes bring unique benefits to your fitness routine. Here, we break down some key differences and similarities to help you determine what type of workout is right for you, right now.

What Is Barre?

As you might expect, barre workouts have roots in formal ballet. But while there is a literal ballet barre in some studio classes (or the back of a chair, for example, if you’re exercising at home), you don’t need to be a classically trained ballerina to reap the benefits of this workout. 

Barre routines are low-impact, yet high-energy. If you gravitate toward traditional weightlifting classes that focus on your major muscle groups, barre can help target your accessory muscles. These smaller (and often hard-to-reach) muscles are critical for building strength and stability. 

Benefits of Barre

The principles of barre help “create a well-rounded, low-impact workout designed to empower everybody,” says Tanya Becker, instructor and barre studio co-founder. Here are some of the biggest benefits you can expect from this workout. 

1. It Builds Strength

Barre improves your overall strength through low-impact, high-rep exercises. While it’s a full body workout, it’s particularly helpful in targeting your lower body and abdominal muscles, Becker says. 

2. It Improves Your Posture

Ballerinas are known for their grace, poise—and good posture. And while you may never become a professional dancer, barre workouts can help you build better posture and prevent slouching. “Barre emphasizes proper body alignment and engagement of core muscles, promoting good posture,” Becker says. 

3. It Increases Your Flexibility and Mobility

Many barre classes combine strength moves with targeted stretches to maintain and improve your flexibility and range of motion, which can reduce the risk of injuries, Becker says. Building mobility is critical not just for your exercise routine—but also for regular everyday activities such as walking, sitting, and climbing stairs. 

4. It Works on Your Cardiovascular and Muscular Endurance

Known for their fast-paced movements, barre workouts will elevate your heart rate, helping you build and maintain your endurance. Plus, the mix of high reps with light weights in these workouts increases your muscular endurance, adds Becker. 

5. It Helps Reduce Stress

It’s no secret: Exercise releases feel-good endorphins, which can boost your mood. Due to their emphasis on specific movement patterns, barre workouts provide “an opportunity to focus on movement and breath, promoting relaxation and stress reduction,” Becker says. 

6. It Strengthens Your Mind-Body Connection

Barre requires you to concentrate to remain present and maintain your balance. “Consistent practice can help you develop better body awareness, increase mobility, and enjoy more ease and grace during everyday activities,” Becker says. 

What Is Pilates?

Like barre, Pilates is a low-impact workout that focuses on controlled movements and targets those smaller, stabilizer muscles. The method was created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s as a rehabilitation movement practice. Today, the six key principles of the practice—breath, concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow—are still applicable, regardless of whether you’re on the mat or a reformer. 

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates emphasizes strengthening your core, which helps improve your posture, body alignment, and overall strength, Becker says. And building muscle isn’t limited to young Pilates enthusiasts. A 2017 study published in Experimental Aging Research found that practicing Pilates for a month increased lower body strength in a group of elderly participants. Here are some of the other benefits of this low-impact workout. 

1. It Develops Deep Core Strength

“Pilates exercises focus on strengthening deep core muscles, [including] your back and the pelvic floor,” Becker says. “[This] improves postural alignment, reduces the risk of musculoskeletal imbalances, and increases body awareness and stability.”

2. It Helps Rehab and Prevent Injuries

The low-impact nature of Pilates exercises, coupled with the intense focus on alignment and balance, can help you recover from injuries as well as prevent them in the future, Becker adds. 

3. It Helps You Maintain Strength

In addition to working those deep core muscles, Pilates also builds strength throughout the rest of your body, including your glutes. Plus, the resistance training movements in these classes can help you maintain the strength you’ve developed through other workouts. 

4. It Reduces Stress

The method emphasizes mindful movement. “Pilates exercises require a deep mind-body connection as well as deep breathing, which can help calm a racing mind and relieve tension,” Becker says. A regular Pilates practice can also improve your mental clarity and potentially relieve burnout, she adds. A 2020 study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine of 87 young men found that a 30-minute Pilates session reduced stress, lowered fatigue levels, and increased energy in participants.

Pilates vs Barre: Key Similarities

There are a lot of parallels between these two practices. One of the biggest similarities is that both Pilates and barre are appropriate for all fitness levels, Becker says. Your instructor will be able to offer modifications throughout the workout to make certain exercises easier or more challenging. You can also adapt movements for any injuries or limitations you might have.

Barre and Pilates both focus on controlled, low-impact strength training, posture work, as well as mobility and flexibility, she says. If you’re an avid runner or cyclist, both of these modalities can act as a slow, calmer pairing to your more intense cardio workouts.

Plus, both barre and mat Pilates can be done without any equipment, making them ideal workouts to do while traveling or when you have limited space.

Pilates vs. Barre: Differences to Know

However, despite all the similarities between the two, Pilates and barre are still distinct modalities. One of the most notable differences between them is in their equipment or tools. If you’re taking a Pilates reformer class, you’ll use a reformer with springs and straps for the majority of your exercises. (With mat Pilates, you’ll use no or limited equipment.) Barre classes will often utilize light weights, a small exercise ball, and resistance bands. 

While both methods can push the pace, barre tends to up the cardiovascular challenge more so than Pilates, Becker says. “Barre classes combine isometric exercises with bigger more dynamic movements that include intervals to elevate the heart rate,” she says.

Additionally, barre classes tend to follow the beat of the music and emphasize having a tucked pelvis, Peloton instructor Kristin McGee previously told The Output. In comparison, in Pilates, you typically focus on maintaining a neutral pelvis. 

How to Choose Between Pilates and Barre

If you’re ready to hit play on your next workout and can’t decide between Pilates or barre, consider your fitness goals and preferences, Becker says.

If you’re looking for a low-impact, active recovery workout, the slower pace and core-focused aspect of Pilates may appeal to you. Conversely, if you’re seeking a cardiovascular challenge coupled with holds and pulses to strengthen your muscles, turn to a barre class.

Still torn? Integrate both into your routine. Take a few classes with different instructors and see what you enjoy. Chances are you’ll find elements of each you love. Regardless of which option you choose, you can’t go wrong with making both Pilates and barre a part of your regular workout regimen.