Raising the barre: Join Emma Barry Murphy's 10-minute fitness class

Starting this week, follow our four-week challenge with barre instructor Emma Barry-Murphy

September is a time for new starts, returning to routines or even taking up something new.

The start of autumn can be overwhelming, with lots of change, but it is also the perfect time to get into – or back into – fitness regimens.

This doesn’t mean going from zero to 100 — we know it’s not sustainable in the long term. What is sustainable, however, is building from scratch with short and simple exercise routines.

Meet our fitness instructor

With a background in dance and ballet, Emma Barry Murphy has had a passion for movement since she was three. After moving from Cork to Dublin, she began to sample other activities, such as pilates and boxing, but she was drawn to barre, given how similar it was to ballet.

She qualified as a barre teacher in 2017 but did not begin teaching classes until 2019, starting with her colleagues at work.

Like many other fitness instructors, she transferred her classes online during the covid lockdowns, and continues to grow her content (@barrebyemma), while working full-time.

She also works as a brand ambassador for Lululemon and with Vogue Williams’ Bare by Vogue self-tan brand.

“I really need movement to satisfy my mental health. My day doesn’t feel right without it. For me, ten minutes is better than nothing,” says Emma Barry Murphy

Barry Murphy “prioritises” fitness and health. She makes a point of snacking on nuts or rice cakes and getting in a workout between calls or at the end of her working day.

Balance in everything is her mantra. She eats chocolate every day and has the odd alcoholic drink, but movement has always been part of her life. “It’s constantly scheduled into my week, no matter what. It’s been like this since I started dance.”

Barry Murphy says she can feel guilty when sitting down, especially as her job requires sitting at a desk all day. There are a few days when she doesn’t feel like exercising, and it’s more than getting physical exercise.

“I really need movement to satisfy my mental health. My day doesn’t feel right without it. For me, ten minutes is better than nothing,” she says.

When it comes to her favourite foods, it’s Asian salads with dumplings, noodles, and vegetables. She has recently got into fish after stopping for a few years. She tries not to eat much meat and supplements meals with protein shakes to ensure she is getting enough essential nutrients. Eggs are often her go-to for a quick, nutritious lunch. An easy dinner encompasses her love of Asian tastes. “For a quick healthy dinner, throw a lot of veg into a pan, and a lot of soy sauce. If you have chicken or prawns, anything like that is helpful.”

Feelgood fitness

Barry Murphy’s four-week challenge takes just ten minutes daily. Designed for all ages, fitness levels and strengths, participants get to work on their strength, stability, breathing, and fitness.

“Some might think it’s easy, but it’s supposed to be,” she says.

Each Friday until the end of the month, a new routine will be published in ‘Feelgood’ with an accompanying step-by-step video. Any equipment required can be found in your house. Simply practice the 10-minute workout daily for a week and continue with the following week’s routine.

It’s important not to see the exercise programme as a panacea, says Barry Murphy: “During the challenge, readers need to be aware that ten minutes of exercise daily will not fix everything. The basic principles of health and fitness still apply. You’re not going to lose [a lot of weight] - that comes down to the rest of your lifestyle.”

However, the programme will encourage “healthier habits by avoiding barriers such as equipment, too high an impact, or pressure”.

Barry Murphy says while it’s normal for our motivation to wax and wane, the incremental gains will pay off. “When you’re finished with the challenge, you can say to yourself, ‘Over the last four weeks, I made ten minutes for myself, ten minutes for movement. Can I increase that? Can I build a routine where I do longer workouts every second day?

“As well as the movement, the added discipline could encourage you to make healthier eating choices, such as reaching for a piece of fruit rather than a bag of crisps.”

Emma Barry Murphy demonstrates the tabletop hover position

Ten-minute programme

Week one focuses on dynamic stretching and mobility, core and glute activation, and the demi-plié in first position.

Part 1: Dynamic stretching and mobility

Cat/Cow: Kneel on the floor in an all-fours position, keeping your knees below your hips. Put your hands on the floor in front, keeping them shoulder-width apart. Taking a deep inhale, lift your chest, tailbone, and eyeline while dropping your belly and relaxing your abs (cow). As you exhale, round your lower back, and tuck your chin to your chest. Draw your belly button to the spine, tilting your pelvis up (cat). Repeat three times.

Low runners lunge with rotation each side: On all fours again, step your left foot outside your hands into a low lunge stance. Your left leg should be in a 90-degree angle, keeping your knee above the ankle. Your back knee can be on or off the mat but make sure you feel a stretch in your hip. Turn your torso 180 degrees before turning back and repeating the routine with your right foot forward.

Emma Barry Murphy demonstrates the bird-dog position

Part 2: Core and glute activation

Tabletop hover: Lift the knees an inch off the floor as you exhale (draw the belly button to the spine and maintain a neutral pelvis). Drop the knees as you inhale, bracing the core. To start, aim for eight reps of each.

Bird-dog: Place your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Extend your right leg behind you and reach your left arm out in front, parallel to the ground. Hold for two seconds, then repeat on the other side.

To start, aim for eight reps of each. Increase the reps when you feel more confident about your form and positioning.

Emma Barry Murphy demonstrates the demi-plié

Part 3: Intro to the demi-plié in first position

Standing tall, maintaining a neutral pelvis with shoulders over your hips, rotate your legs into a ‘V’ position. Everyone’s degree of turnout will be different and your turnout is controlled by your outer glute muscles. You need to turn out from the tops of your legs, instead of your feet, and the rest of your legs follow suit.

From here, again, keeping a neutral pelvis, softly bend your knees while keeping your knees over your middle toes as you inhale (again, held back by your outer glute muscles). Keep your heels on the floor to start and straighten the legs to stand back up, squeezing your thighs and glutes and bracing your core as you exhale.

To start, aim for eight reps of each. Increase the reps when you feel more confident about your form and positioning.

• See Emma Barry Murphy’s online video above to follow the class step by step. 
• We’ll have another routine next week, so stay tuned. The best of luck.

Feelgood September Reset