Plié [plee-AY]. Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees.
Who would have thought such a simple movement could create such a profound change in one’s body? I’m living proof that it can. About 2 years ago I wound up with a back injury, and realized if I wanted to continue being active without doing further damage to my back, I had to focus less on “working out” and more on viewing my body as an entire system, with multiple components that work in conjunction, all of which find their origin in the core, i.e., abdominals, lower back, and pelvis. I started taking barre classes, and it changed everything — my body, my mindset, and my entire view on fitness.
One of the most frequently used, and effective, movements in barre class is the plié . I could structure an entire workout just using variations of this movement alone, which is exactly what I’ve done for you here. I assure you, after you’re finished, your legs will be trembling, and in six weeks you’ll see a difference in the shape of your booty, thighs, and calves.
First, a word on form.
Turnout. In all but one of the pliés below, the starting position involves turnout. To find your turnout, place your feet together, heels touching. Then, using your inner thighs and and booty, rotate your inner thighs forward and re-position your feet outward at a diagonal, creating a “V” with your heels still touching and the rest of your foot turned outward. It is critical that this outward motion come from the hip. You should feel the rotation deep within the pelvis and buttocks. If turnout is not supported in the hips and pelvis, your feet will roll inward causing twisting of the knee joint. Over time this will lead to discomfort and possible injury. It’s also important to note that turnout requires a continuous effort. In order to maintain turnout, the muscles deep within your buttocks and pelvis must remain engaged. This is one of the reasons the plié is such an effective exercise, because it’s almost always performed from a turned out position, which means your muscles are working non-stop in order to maintain form throughout the entire movement — there is no rest until you’re finished with each set entirely.
Plié. When performing a plié, you want to imagine that you have a string running from your pelvis up through your spine out of the top of your head — someone is pulling upward on that string during the entire workout. Therefore, your pelvis remains neutral, your back straight, your shoulders are down and back, and your chest and head are up. As you bend your knees through the movement, your booty and pelvis should move straight down towards the ground, as in the pictures below. Unlike a squat, where you send your booty back as if you’re sitting in a chair, here you remain upright with your booty tucked under. As you lower, focus on pressing your knees open to maintain your turnout. Your knees should track directly over your toes. Remember, the effort here should come from the hip, and you should feel the effort in your booty and glutes. If these movements are new to you, focus less on the degree of your turnout or how low you can descend into your plié , and more on maintaining proper form. If you find yourself bending forward in order to descend deeper into the movement, then you’re going to deep. Likewise, if you find that your weight is sinking into the arch of your foot, your turnout is too wide, As you descend, focus on keeping your back straight and your tail tucked under — once you can no longer maintain proper form then you’ve reached the maximum depth for your body. As your strength and flexibility increases, you’ll be able to increase the depth and degree of the movements. Be patient.
Now that we’ve gotten form down, let’s move onto the workout!
General Guidance. Complete one set of each plié before immediately moving onto the next. Beginners can start with one set of each, while more advanced readers can complete two sets. Also feel free to adjust the repetitions. Once the workout as outlined below is no longer challenging enough for you, gradually add more repetitions to each set until you reach 50 reps of each plié. At the end of each set, after completing the last repetition of the plié with a full range of motion, you will complete a series of “pulses” at the bottom of the movement. These pulses should be only an inch, and should be slow and controlled, not bouncy. Fill an entire second with one pulse. This may not sound like a lot of time, but when moving only an inch, it’s longer than you think.
I. Plié in first position: the plié begins with the heels together and your feet turned out (from the hip) as wide as you can comfortably without compromising on form. From there, you simply bend the knees, pressing the knees open so they track over your toes. Descend as low as you can comfortably while keeping your heels firmly planted on the ground. Once your heels begin to leave the floor, stop. The plié in first is generally a shallow movement, so don’t be discouraged if you only descend a few inches before your heels begin to leave the ground. Nevertheless, if you maintain proper form (focusing on the turnout), this movement should feel like work. Your booty, glutes, and inner thighs should be engaged throughout the entire range of motion, from top to bottom. As you rise, imagine zipping up your inner thighs as you squeeze to an upright position. Repeat.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés in first position, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses (only an inch or two up and down), again focusing on turnout.
II. Plié in second position: this plié begins with your feet wide, about shoulder width apart, once again turned out from the hip. Bend the knees to lower down as low as you can comfortably without compromising on form, keeping your pelvis neutral as you drop your booty straight down towards the ground. Just as with the first position plié, focus on pushing your knees apart, using your booty, glutes, and inner thighs. Watch that your knees are tracking over your toes. Again, don’t go deeper than you can comfortably without compromising on form. The goal here is to eventually reach a point at which your knees are in line with your pelvis — but that may take some time, so don’t push it!
Workout: Complete 24 pliés in second position, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses, again focusing on turnout.
III. Plié in Sous-sus position: this plié begins with both feet turned out, with one foot placed in front of the other. Stand in first position, with both feet turned out, heels together. Take your right foot and move it slightly forward so the heel is tucked in front of your left instep. Continue being mindful that the turnout of the feet and knees comes from the hip. From there, we bend into our plié. Your knees should open to the sides, and your legs should create a diamond shape as you lower into the plié. Similar to the first position plié, keep your heels on the ground. Once they begin to lift off the ground, stop and return to a standing position. Again, think about pressing the legs open with your booty, glutes, and inner thighs on the downward movement, and use your inner thighs and booty to “zip up” your legs to the starting position.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés with the right foot in front, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses. Turn around and repeat with the left foot in front.
IV. Plié in parallel in relevé. Now we introduce an additional element to the remainder of the pliés in our workout. Relevé simply means “raised,” and the simplest way to describe it is a heel raise. Start with feet parallel, knees together, feet together. From there, press upward onto your toes in a heel raise. This is our starting point — we remain on our toes in a heel raise throughout the entire set. From our starting position, bend your knees to descend into your plié. Just as with the other pliés, keep your pelvis neutral, back straight, and lower your booty straight down to the ground. Your knees will track over your toes, and depending upon the depth of your plié, will extend beyond the toes. If anything, your heels should rise even higher as you descend into your plié. Once you reach a depth at which you can no longer maintain proper form, press upward back to your starting position. You will feel this plié in the quadriceps much more than the other pliés, but you should still be using the muscles deep within your pelvis and buttocks also. In order to keep your knees tracking over your toes, rather than rotating outward, you will also need to engage your inner thighs to press your feet and knees together throughout the entire movement.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés in parallel in relevé, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses.
V. Plié in first position in relevé. This plié begins in the same first position as above, but we add the relevé. Therefore, we begin the movement with heels together, feet turned out, and heels raised. All other aspects of this plié remain the same.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés in first position in relevé, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses.
VI. Plié in second position in relevé: Now we begin in second position, but add the relevé. We begin our movement with feet hip width apart, turned out, and heels raised. Otherwise, the movement remains the same as the standard plié in second position.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés in second position in relevé, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses.
VII. Plié in Sous-sus position in relevé: Our final plié begins in the sous-sus position in relevé. Begin with your feet turned out in first, tuck your right foot in front of the instep of your left foot and then press to a heel raise. Once you raise your heels you will likely need to tighten up your feet, as the heel raise will create a small gap. From there, complete the movement using the same technique as the plié in sous-sus as outlined above.
Workout: Complete 24 pliés with the right foot in front, then descend into a final plié and hold, from there complete 32 pulses. Turn around and repeat with the left foot in front.
And that’s it . . . you’re done!
Let me know how your workout goes 🙂
Kristin
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