Originally Posted by: KCWThanks for your suggestions. I will try them. I am still looking for a woman who has conquered the bar chords. Even teenage boys I know have gotten the bar chords in a matter of weeks. I find myself envious of men's hand strength. I wish I understood which muscles in the arm make the bar chord work. Maybe I could try to strengthen those muscles. I really want to be able to make the classic bar chord and do it well.

Make sure that the guitar is in a place that is ergonomically correct for you. If you are struggling to do barre chords, make sure that the guitar is in a place where you can appropriately have your arm in the right position to allow for comfortable access to the fretboard.

Here's a post I made about that:
http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?p=232803#post232803