8 moves for your core, glutes, hamstrings, and more
Brittany Shimansky hung up her professional pointe shoes at the age of 25 due to an ankle injury. She immediately fell in love with barre—a fusion of yoga, ballet, and Pilates—because it uses dance positions to strengthen your muscles and build athleticism.
Now, Shimansky teaches classes like Best Butt Ever and Band Burn (both of which incorporate elements of barre) at Equinox Austin in Texas. She recently discovered that she could get even more out of her workouts by adding the io-ball, also used in next-gen Pilates, to the mix.
“I love that it can be used to provide both resistance and instability,” she says. For example, placing the ball under your foot in a single-leg bridge makes your base unstable while squeezing it between your legs adds pressure for you to push against. Both of these effects require increased core engagement.
There's no other lightweight piece of equipment that builds muscular endurance, strength, and stability in the body like the io-ball can, Shimansky says, especially in the glutes, inner thighs, and hamstrings.
Below, she demonstrates eight barre-inspired io-ball exercises that provide all those benefits. Don’t let the lack of heavy weights fool you; this 25-minute workout is made extra challenging through pulsing, time under tension, and the complete absence of rest.
First, warm up with 30 seconds of shoulder rolls, 30 seconds of alternating lateral lunges, 1 minute of reverse crunches, 1 minute of deep squats, and 1 minute of squat pulses. Then, perform each exercise for the allotted time, moving straight from one move to the next with no breaks. Do it up to 4 times per week for optimal results.
Note: You can perform the moves in any order, but the below sequence is the most challenging because it works the same muscle groups back to back.
Plank with knee tuck
Get in a high plank with your legs together, toes pointed, and an io-ball under your ankles. In a controlled motion, tuck your knees toward your chest, rolling the io-ball under your feet as you do so. Slowly roll back to start. Continue for 1 minute.
Crunch
Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet planted a few inches apart. Place an io-ball just behind your glutes and lean back, allowing the io-ball to keep your upper body lifted off the floor. Extend both arms forward with palms facing up. This is your start position. Keeping your back straight, engage your core to lift your chest toward the ceiling, then slowly return to start. Continue for 3 minutes.
Tabletop with kickback
Start on all fours with shoulders stacked over wrists, hips over knees, an io-ball under your left knee, and your right knee and foot hovering just above the floor. Keeping the rest of your body still, simultaneously extend and raise your right leg until it’s just past parallel with the floor. Slowly return to start. Continue for 1 minute, then switch sides and repeat.
Single-leg bridge lift
Lie faceup with your lower back pressed firmly into the floor, tailbone tucked, arms by your sides, and feet planted at hip-width with an io-ball under the left foot. Raise and straighten the right leg with pointed toes. This is your start position. Pressing into the io-ball with the left foot, raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Slowly lower to start. Continue for 90 seconds, then switch sides and repeat.
Bridge lift
Lie faceup up with your lower back pressed firmly into the floor, tailbone tucked, arms by your sides, heels raised, the balls of your feet planted at hip-width, squeezing an io-ball between your thighs. Pressing your forefeet into the floor, raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Slowly lower to start. Continue for 1 minute, then perform 1 minute of pulses followed by 1 minute of compressions (squeezing your thighs together while remaining in bridge).
Full fold-over
Stand tall with a barre (or similar structure) about one arm’s length in front of you. Rise onto your toes, keeping a slight bend in the knees, then hinge at the hips to grab the barre in an underhand grip with arms at shoulder-width. Bend your right knee behind you and place an io-ball in the crook of the knee, gripping it with your leg with toes pointed up. This is your start position. Row your body toward the barre until your chest is close to above it, then slowly return to start. Continue for 2 minutes, then switch sides and repeat.
Single-leg half squat
Stand tall with a barre (or similar structure) to your left and an io-ball between your thighs. Place your left hand on the barre and right hand on your hip, rise onto your toes, and lift and extend your right leg with toes pointed. This is your start position. Lower into a half squat, maintaining your grip on the io-ball, and slowly return to start. Continue for 2 minutes, then switch sides and repeat.
Flat-back chair
Stand tall with a barre (or similar structure) right in front of you, an io-ball between your thighs, and feet a few inches apart. Hold the barre with both hands at shoulder-width and lower into Chair pose, with your thighs parallel to the floor and your back straight. This is your start position. Lower your glutes to assume a deep squat, then slowly return to start. Continue for 2 minutes.
Photography by Mohamed Sadek