A Barre Instructor Reveals The Workouts You Can Do At Home While You Watch Netflix

The few times I've attended barre class, I've burnt a hole in my wallet so large that I had to start keeping my debit card in my pocket. OK, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic here, but there's no denying that barre classes can be very expensive, which kind of sucks for people who are really into the graceful micro-movements of this challenging workout. Luckily, there are barre workouts you can do at home so that you can shed a tear in the comfort of your room solely due to the difficulty of your sweat sesh, and not because you've come to realize that you have three dollars to your name.

Barre is a fitness trend that's increasingly growing in popularity, that has nothing to do with opening a tab while you're out with your friends, and everything to do with a "less is more" mentality when it comes to exercise — an idea we can probably all get behind, right?

The teeny-tiny movements that barre sequences demand may look like a minuscule amount of work from afar, but in reality, these exercises are far from easy, and they'll have you working muscle groups you didn't even know existed (is that you, obliques?).

Usually, when you hit up an in-studio barre class, there's a literal ballet bar for students to work with as the instructor cues a bunch of different core-centric moves. However, Xtend Barre founder Andrea Rogers tells Elite Daily that if you don't have access to a ballet bar, it's not a problem at all. There are a few go-to barre moves that can be taken from the studio to your home in an instant — almost too good to be true, no?

Rogers recommends starting by finding a chair or a kitchen bench. "Creativity is key: Ballet barres are everywhere if you are look for them," she tells Elite Daily over email. "You can do a plié series and/or [a] fold-over series to work the legs and butt."

The plié series is relatively simple to get the hang of, though there's nothing simple about how much your lower body will be burning after just a few seconds of busting out these moves. Hang on to your chair for dear life, girl — and don't be surprised if you're sore as heck come morning.

Once you've had enough of your chair charades, Rogers says you can take things down a notch — all the way down to the floor. Oh, and don't be afraid to turn on Netflix in the background, the barre expert suggests. "[It's] easy to pop down on the floor and make [your Netflix session] an abs series," she explains. "A few moves you can replicate easily from our Xtend studios are a 'passé plank' and 'scissor abs series.'"

Here's a quick breakdown from Shape on how to do these moves: For a passé plank, get into a high plank position, leaning on your forearms with your fingers interlaced and your feet together. Bring your right knee up to your hip, keeping it pointed toward the right as your toes tap your left knee. Hold yourself there for eight counts (I know, it's going to burn), then extend your right leg out to the side with your toes pointed and your hips and shoulders square. Hold for another eight seconds, then return to the starting plank position. That's one rep, BTW — and if you think that's a lot, wait 'til you hear how to do the scissor abs series.

For that one, lie on your back with both of your legs pointed toward the ceiling and your head, neck, and shoulders hovering above the mat, says Shape. Bring your left leg toward your chest (it should still be extended — imagine your legs are literally scissors), and grab hold of your calf or ankle as your right leg lowers as close as possible to the mat without actually touching it, and without lifting your lower back from the mat. Pulse your left leg twice, then switch legs and repeat on the right side. Shape recommends doing one to two sets of about eight to 16 reps on each side, but TBH, I'm sweating just thinking about doing even one of these bad boys.

See, barre is pretty easy to do at home, as long as you're willing to get a little creative with your space and your movements. Plus, who doesn't want to feel like a graceful, strong ballerina while they watch hours of The Office at the same freaking time? Sounds like a total win-win to me.