Effective Fitness at the Barre
Join us for the best 60 minutes, a full body workout at Utah's original Barre Studio.
Our private studio makes it possible for you to get more of a “one-on-one” experience with our top-notch instructors! Combine all your favorite aspects of Yoga, Pilates, and ballet and there you have it- KARVE! It’s important to us that we provide a studio where you feel safe, supported, challenged, and included. We are stronger together!
Start today with a 7-day free trial and experience what Karve Studio can do for you.
FAQ
Karve is a unique, interval-training class based off the original work of the Lotte Berk Method and Callanetics. The system is designed to lean the body, burn fat, and develop the physique of a dancer: long, lean muscles that are strong, yet flexible. All major muscle groups are worked in a one-hour class of carefully designed strengthening and orthopedic stretching techniques.
Each class begins with a warmup followed by upper body exercises to tighten the arms and shoulders using light weights, plank, and pushup variations. The class moves to the barre for thigh work, and seat and hamstring work with deep, releasing stretch segments that complement each intense section. The focus moves to the abdominals, training the abdominals to draw inward, thus tightening and reducing your waistline. The ballet barre is valuable in different positions of abdominal work with the help of straps, balls and varying positions against the wall and floor.
The entire class is set to lively and flowing music that helps inspire, focus, motivate, and finally relax the student throughout the hour. Although many of the movements are ballet-inspired, there are no choreographed sequences, and grace is not required to enjoy this class! Your instructors will guide you through the movements to ensure that your posture, alignment and form are correct for optimal results.
Yes! But more importantly, you will lose body size. Weight is only a small element to increasing fitness. Muscle is denser than fat, and in order to burn fat, you need muscle. By attending Karve classes consistently, your muscles will become more efficient at burning fat, and your body will get firmer and tighter. Even if your overall weight loss does not sharply decrease, your body measurements most surely will.
To see significant change in your body, you should attend class 3 to 5 times per week. If you are doing other forms of activity, 2 to 3 times per week will keep your body “Karved.” If you are consistent with your attendance, you will see a marked difference in your body in 6 weeks. Many clients who have achieved their goal physique with Karve continue to maintain their fitness by attending 2 times a week.
Anyone from any fitness level or age can benefit from the Karve technique. The class atmosphere is always supportive and non-competitive. Each student can be challenged at their own level without affecting anyone else’s workout. We encourage beginners to stick with the basic modifications, and to rest at any point during the class. As you increase your stamina and fitness level, you will be able to add more advanced variations and complete longer bouts of each section.
Yes! In fact Karve is the perfect class to help you increase your flexibility safely. If you have trouble placing your foot on the ballet barre during stretches you can use the stall barre, which has lower bar access for you to use until your flexibility increases. Additional straps can also be used to aide in stretching sections. Because of the alternating strength and stretch format of the class, Karve thoroughly warms your muscles, which allows them to release more effectively during stretching sections.
Yoga can increase muscle stamina and flexibility very effectively using only a mat. However as one gets stronger, the need to challenge muscles further arises. Some yoga moves can even be intimidating to attempt at best, and may not be achievable for all body types. Karve increases muscular challenge by varying strengthening exercises in a way that all clients can attain utilizing ballet bars as leverage. Barres can also help change the angle or range of motion of an exercise.
The ballet barre serves a number of different purposes depending on the exercise performed. It helps to align the body properly for thigh and seatwork, and it provides added leverage in order to get fuller muscle contractions and muscle group targeting. The barre is effective in increasing strength and flexibility and is simple enough for anyone to use.
Yes. Karve is a safe and effective workout for pre- and especially post-natal care with a few minor exercise modifications. Many clients have continued to take Karve classes throughout their pregnancy, and have seen great improvement in their post-natal physique when resuming classes after child birth. We do require written consent from your doctor to continue with exercise after you find out you’re pregnant, as well as when you are cleared to resume exercise post-pregnancy. If you have no history of exercise prior to becoming pregnant, we will ask that you wait until after you have your baby to begin an exercise regime.
Yes, Karve is a very safe form of exercise based on orthopedic strengthening and stretching exercises. Every position and movement emphasizes correct alignment and accuracy of form. Muscles surrounding and supporting your ankles, knees, hips spine and shoulders will be properly stabilized and strengthened. The exercises are designed to increase flexiblility in all of these joints and areas of the body to ensure improved posture, reduced soreness over time, decreased lower back pain, and overall energy increase.
The core is the “Powerhouse” of the body. Without a strong core, the other body parts cannot move freely or efficiently. Instead, muscles in the lower back, and other major joints take on additional stress to create movement, which results in common injuries, aches and pains. Every movement in Karve emphasizes tightening and engaging the abdominal muscles, even if the primary focus is on another muscle group such as the quadriceps or shoulders.
Wear comfortable clothing that is easy to move in, but try not to wear too loose–fitting clothing; it is important that our instructors are able to check your form and alignment throughout class. Also, we ask that you wear socks in class to avoid slipping and help your positioning (in addition to being more sanitary!) We encourage you to try our specialized barre socks with grips on the bottom (available for purchase in our studio) – regular socks will likely cause additional slipping.