Woman Shares How She Transformed Her Arms Using Small Weights

A certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor has told of how she transformed and toned her arms through a string of low-intensity barre exercises.

In a video posted to TikTok on June 5, by @NatalieRoseUK and viewed by over 17,000 users, Natalie Rose had shared the tailored workout routine with her 500,000 followers.

The coach manages her own online fitness program and is based in Birmingham, England. She completed a set of six low-intensity "dancer-inspired barre exercises," with two small hand-held 1lb to 3lb weights every week. Rose said every single exercise out of the six must be repeated for a minimum of 40 seconds, three times, to achieve ideal results.

In a series of before-and-after photographs, Rose shows how the simple exercises managed to tone and strengthen her arms in a matter of weeks. She encourages her online community to follow her lead.

The fitness coach said in the viral social-media post that three of her exercises are polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-friendly, being gentle on women who suffer from the painful condition.

The video has since been re-shared to Natalie Rose's Instagram account, @NatalieRoseUK.

What Is Barre and How Does It Change Your Body?

Barre is a relatively new form of exercise that blends together elements of the better-known fitness and dance schools of yoga, Pilates and ballet into a hybrid concoction of workouts.

Its name both stems from the exercise form's reliance on ballet barres and its incorporation of dance movements in its workouts. This sets it apart from other toning and strengthening workout techniques that require little equipment. The classic ballet dance moves now classed as staples in the barre workout world are plies and static stretches, both of which typically revolve around the ballet barre itself.

Barre workouts aim to strengthen, tone and firm up an individual's body, while affirming their posture and balance, through a series of leg, glute and core exercises. As a result, they are an innovative way of doing a full-body workout to increase flexibility and strength with little equipment. While its difficulty level will vary depending on the individual practicing it, barre classes tend to be low-intensity and low-impact on the whole. This makes them great for people new to working out or people who have recently sustained physical injuries.

As Natalie Rose demonstrated in her social-media post, the versatility of the movements in barre allow for exercises to be adapted to an individual's specific needs and sensitivities. It makes the workout technique well-suited to people who suffer from medical conditions like PCOS.

Is there a health issue that's worrying you? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.