This barre arm workout will improve your muscular endurance and shoulder stability in just five minutes

Looking for a quick workout you can do without any equipment? Barre is a fantastic bodyweight workout inspired by ballet, using small, controlled movements to strengthen and condition muscles.

Barre instructor Tara Riley has put together a five-minute workout you can do at home without any equipment that will improve your shoulder stability and help you work on muscular endurance in your arms.

“I love lifting weights too, but never underestimate just how much you can challenge your muscles without holding a single thing,” she says.

This workout is designed to be a fun mood booster that will challenge your muscles, choreographed to the song “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran.

“The moves flow from one to the next, so the idea is to keep those arms moving for the entire song, without stopping,” Riley says.

“Don’t be fooled into thinking that no weights means no benefit,” she adds. “Five minutes of controlled, continuous movement can be surprisingly challenging.”

Will a barre workout help me build strength?

If you’re new to working out, this routine is a great introduction to strength workouts. If you’re more experienced with resistance training, it’s going to help with muscular endurance.

“Think of this as stamina training for your arms and shoulders,” Riley says. “High-repetition, low-load movements teach your muscles to keep working for longer without tiring.

“Moving continuously through an entire song builds the kind of endurance that comes in handy for everyday life, whether that’s lifting, carrying, reaching or holding your arms overhead,” she adds.

What are the benefits of barre arm workouts?

Another perk of this bodyweight routine is that it mobilizes and stabilizes your shoulders.

“Your shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body, which is wonderful for movement, but all that freedom means they need plenty of support and stability too,” explains Riley.

“Movements like the figure of eight, small circles and pull and press, challenge stabilizing muscles through different directions, rotations and ranges of motion,” she says.

“By building better control and endurance around the shoulder, we’re helping the muscles do their job even as they start to fatigue, rather than allowing the shoulders to creep up towards our ears or the upper body to hunch forward,” Riley adds.

The barre arm exercises

There are five movements used in this barre arm workout. Familiarize yourself with each of them, then we’ll show you the order to do them in.

Figure of eight

Reps: 8 slow, 16 fast

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height.
• Move your arms forward with your thumb pointing down.
• Rotate your arms from your shoulders so your thumb points up and move your arms backward.
• Continue alternating between these two movements, so your thumb moves in a figure of eight motion.
• Complete eight reps slowly, then 16 reps faster.

Bend and press

Reps: 8 single arm, 16 double arm

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height.
• Bend one arm in toward your chest, keeping the other arm extended.
• Press your forearm back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
• Repeat on both arms, then pulse and continue for eight reps.
• Then bring both forearms in front of your chest and press back out to the sides. Repeat for another 16 reps.

Small arm circle

Reps: 16 forward, 16 backward

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height with your fingers pointing up.
• Draw small circles with your arms forward for 16 reps then backwards for 16 reps.

Pull and press

Reps: 8 single arm each side, 16 double arm

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height with your left palm facing up and your right facing backwards. Keep a slight bend in your elbows.
• Pull your right elbow in toward your waist, turning your palm up.
• Return to the starting position.
• Complete eight reps on each side then 16 with both arms.

Lateral arm wave

Reps: 8 each side

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height.
• Raise one arm in a wave from your fingers to your shoulder as you lower the other arm simultaneously.
• Continue alternating the arm wave, feeling the movement through your shoulders and upper back and moving your torso side to side.

Barre arm workout

Cue up “Bad Habits” then follow the list of exercises below. Keep those arms moving, and keep smiling!

Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits [Official Video] - YouTube

Watch On

1. Figure of eight (8 slow, 16 fast)
2. Bend and press (8 single arm, 16 double arm)
3. Small arm circles (16 forward, 16 backward)
4. Pull and press (8 single arm each side, 16 double arm)
5. Bend and press (8 single arm, 16 double arm)
6. Figure of eight (8 slow, 16 fast)
7. Lateral arm wave (8 each side)
8. Bend and press (8 single arm, 16 double arm)
9. Figure of eight (8 slow, 16 fast)