Top 3 Ways to Use the Gliding Discs in Your Barre Classes

Compared to the Pilates Ball and weights, gliding discs are somewhat of newbies when it comes to barre props. Although they don’t provide any obvious resistance or extra work load per se, gliders do play a very important role when it comes to bringing the barre burn to your barre workout. As their name implies, gliding discs allow you to “glide” within your full range of motion, thus lengthening and strengthening all major muscle groups. They are great to use in all aspects of a class - warmup, mat work and barre work. Let’s dive into my favorite ways to use the gliders from bottom to top, and don’t forget, if you don’t have actual gliding discs washcloths, sock or a paper plate will work great!

1.) Lower Body. One of the most common uses for gliding discs is to work the lower body. Lunges (front, side and back) work great with gliders because it allows us to get deep within our full range of motion by extending the leg farther than we typically would without it, thus adding in some bonus cardio too! Another favorite move of mine is a 2nd position plié to 1st position combo. Because we are pressing into the floor with the glider as we open to 2nd and close to 1st and building resistance, along with getting into a deep plié, we are able to target the entire lower body. Most all lower body moves with gliders can be done both center and at the barre. A tip I always like to give if you are using gliders for lower body in the center is to keep one foot flat on the floor to help with stability, no one wants to look or feel like Bambi on ice!

2.) Core. Moving up to our abdominals, gliding discs really bring the fun when it comes to planks! There are two different placements of the gliders that I like to play around with. First, placing the gliders under the feet for tap outs, knee to chest, cross knees and pikes. The second one is to put them under the hands and slide one arm front or side. Another idea for core work besides planks is seated core work with the gliding discs under the feet, paired with the small Pilates Ball supporting the lower back for crunches with leg extensions. Instead of placing the gliders under the feet, you can also try them under the hands and work the obliques as you reach towards your back corners.

3.) Upper Body. Although lower body and core are typically the two most common ways to use the gliders, lets not forget how great it is for the upper body! Swan Dives is my favorite way to use the gliders to get a great arm workout and switch up traditional push-ups. In a modified push-up position with a glider under each hand, reach your arms forward, circle them out to the sides and then back in to the starting position. You can also reverse this for Reverse Swan Dives. For a tricep focus, try extending one arm forward as the stationary arm bends into a tricep push-up.

If you haven’t already added gliding discs to your arsenal, hopefully I have gotten you excited to give them a try! It’s a great way to make an ordinary exercise extraordinary and they work for every aspect of the workout - lower body, core work and upper body! Your classes and clients will be having so much fun, they will forget about the burn!

Ready to take your classes to the next level with fun and creative ways to use not only the gliding discs, but yoga blocks, resistance bands, weights and more?! Join me for our next Raising the Barre Workshop! Find out more here!

Cheers,

Heather McCreight