Don’t forget your hot girl walk!
Anyone on the fitness side of TikTok may have heard about the 12-3-30 treadmill workout going around the FYP. While the 3-2-8 barre Pilates workout from TikTok sounds similar, it’s actually quite different. Aside from the obvious Pilates versus treadmill, the 3-2-8 Pilates method is actually a workout plan rather than a routine. The numbers don’t represent incline, speed, and workout time, but rather full-body weighted workout days, Pilates days, and a step goal.
The beginning of the year is traditionally a time when people are looking to get more organized and active. The 3-2-8 barre Pilates method is a great tool for both New Year’s resolutions. It not only offers you a plan for how to workout each week, but it’s also goal-oriented. Since it offers you tasks to do each day, you’ll feel more motivated to actually work out. Let’s be honest, it can be difficult AF to work out when you’d rather just watch another episode on Netflix. Luckily, the 3-2-8 Pilates method for the most part is easy to do at home, potentially minus the eight portion. But first, let’s go into how to do the 3-2-8 barre Pilates workout so you can customize it to your lifestyle.
What Is The 3-2-8 Barre Pilates Workout?
According to TikToker Natalie Rose (@natalieroseuk), the 3-2-8 method is broken down into three goals. The first is “three weighted workouts per week.” This means doing a workout, either at the gym or at home, that includes weights. You want to do a full body workout, but you can split it up over the three days to include an upper body day, lower body day, and full body day.
The two is representative of two barre or Pilates workouts per week. On the days you’re not doing a weighted workout, take a Pilates course with your besties or try an at-home barre routine.
The final number is eight, which stands for 8,000 steps. This is the minimum number of steps you should try to get each day of the week, and it includes both the days you’re working out and the days you’re resting.
Aim For Three Weighted Workouts Per Week
To begin, you may want to start with a weighted workout during the week. As Rose mentions, you can do this at home, but you’ll need some equipment. Of course, you can always DIY some weights with bottles of water and canned foods, but Rose does say that you want to “progressively overload the intensity at least every four to six weeks.” For beginners, you might want to start off with your DIY weights, and invest in something heavier as you keep up with the 3-2-8 workout method.
Since you may choose to do your workouts at home, you can definitely follow along with some of your fave celebrity’s go-to routines. While your goal is to work out your full body, you can plan one lower body day and follow Bella Hadid’s 15-minute leg workout. While Hailey Bieber’s workout routine is meant to focus on the lower body, it actually covers full body exercises, making it another great routine to follow. For more intensity, you could even follow Khloé Kardashian’s full body HIIT routine at home.
Schedule Two Days Of Barre Or Pilates Workouts Per Week
On “active recovery days,” plan to do either a barre or Pilates workout at home. These are more chill than the weighted workouts, so you can definitely make it more fun by inviting your besties over to follow along with a routine you found on TikTok or a fitness app.
If you’re trying this in your dorm room or studio apartment, there are plenty of Pilates routines to follow for small spaces. You can even find quick Pilates routines to do in the morning or right before bed when you’re in a rush. For barre, this quick routine from a Lululemon Mirror instructor is a relatively easy workout that targets your full body.
The goal of these low-intensity workouts is to help reduce inflammation, improve your flexibility, build up your core strength, and assist lymphatic draining, which according to Rose, helps with bloating. Speaking of bloating, if you suffer from bloating on your period, Rose also says to plan these low impact workouts on days where you start your period or you’re not feeling great.
Get Up To 8,000 Steps Per Day
This last one might be a bit hard to achieve in your apartment, but that’s what a hot girl walk is for. If you can, go for a quick walk around the neighborhood to get up to 8,000 steps per day. For anyone who works from home, you might want to treat yourself to a walking pad ($369, Amazon) for under your desk. While they can be a little expensive, it’s worth it if you’ll actually use it every day to reach your goal of 8,000 steps. It can also make reading emails more fun or at least make you feel more productive while doing it.
Rose says that this step in the 3-2-8 Pilates method helps you to “burn an extra 300 calories per day.” Even if burning calories is not your main priority, walking each day can have a number of additional health benefits like reducing stress, improving your sleep, and upping your endurance. TikTokers weren’t joking when they went on walks for their mental health, so if you take anything from the 3-2-8 method, it should be this last goal.