Hello Leah,

I was looking through the Iron Barre Select Programs. I noticed that Iron Barre Select: Upper Body Ex has lower body episodes in it (and conversely, Iran Barre Select: Lower Body has upper body episodes in it). I am sort of confused with the naming of the programs and whether they simply indicate that the focus is on upper body (or lower body respectively) whilst allowing for training other area parts. Hope you can help clarify.

Thanks.
Fatima

Good question! All of the Rx programs are a total body program but the programs address troublesome areas. This isn't a spot reducing program but a way to help balance the overall aesthetics. If you find you store all of your body fat in one area, or build muscle quickly in one area, or you are larger framed in the lower or upper body, these programs are designed to help balance the overall physique. For example, if someone stores all of their body fat in their thighs, I would recommend selecting Lower Body Rx. The training in this program will help to prevent increasing the girth of the thighs with specific training techniques, while also improving the metabolic advantages of weight training by focusing heavier weights with the upper body. This also goes for the Upper Body Rx program. Let's say you have broader shoulders and do not want to build too much in the upper body, I would recommend the Upper Body Rx program to help define and strengthen the upper body with the training exercises without enhancing too much in muscle size in the shoulders. In the upper body rx program, you will be working with heavier resistance for the lower body to achieve the metabolic benefits of resistance training and helping to balance the lower body with upper body.

Thanks Leah. That makes perfect sense and I look forward to trying the lower body program. Do all of the Rx programs train the core sufficiently? Or would I need to supplement with pilates based core exercises, for example?