Hey guys! I know, it’s been awhile. As you may have noticed, I took a bit of a blogging hiatus over the last month. It wasn’t intentional, and don’t worry, everything is fine. It’s just family, work, obligations and other distractions got in my blogging way.
But during that time, I’ve been toying with a post about my newfound love of barre class — you know, that trendy, “it” workout that combines Pilates, stretching, and ballet barre work.
I realize this sounds like I’m jumping on the barre bandwagon, and maybe I am. But all I know is that I look forward to my weekly class and I have reminders set on my phone to sign up for next weekend’s class as soon as online registration is available six days beforehand. I certainly don’t do that with any of my other workouts or exercise classes.
So what’s all the fuss? What do I love about barre? Ahhh, let me count the ways…10 of them, to be exact.
1. It reminds me of taking ballet class as a little girl. Trust me, I was no prima ballerina as a kid, but I loved dance class. And, yes, it’s not like you’re jeté-ing across the studio in barre class, but the fundamental moves that I remember from my childhood — plies and relevés — are there. But, believe me, this isn’t ballet. You’re using the barre for stability and support. Yet it’s still fun to remember.
2. It’s HARD. My legs were quivering and shaking after my first class…and continue to do so. It’s amazing how plieing just an inch is so crazy hard. Love those small, isometric movements.
3. It’s full-body conditioning. Barre is not a cardio workout, but that’s okay… I get my cardio from running and spin. But it’s such a nice complement to my cross-training. You spend a half hour on legs, then the second half of the class working with light weights for upper body exercises (much harder than it looks) and abs. I still remember my first class, when I grabbed those 3 lb weights with a chuckle. Really, 3 lbs? Um, yeah. Again, love those small, isometric movements.
4. It’s my escape. Even though it’s challenging, I find barre to be relaxing and therapeutic… a hundred times more so than yoga.
5. The music. The studio I go to plays mainstream music that you can get into — Lorde, Ellie Goulding, Adele, Maroon 5, etc. No instrumental New Age tunes or badly remade covers (a la everything from Les Mills).
6. I find I push myself more in barre class. I’m sure the enjoyment factor plays a pretty major role here, but all I know is that I find myself giving 110% in each class, and as a result, leave fatigued and shaky.
7. It’s a good workout that’s also low impact and easy on the joints, perfect for people (like me) with knee issues.
8. The Type A in me likes how the format of each class is the same — warm-up, thighs, upper body, abs, cool down — yet the music and routine is different every time.
9. It doesn’t require crazy coordination or flexibility, unlike yoga or Piyo.
10. There’s no competition, and it’s easy to hide (or at least not feel stupid) if you’re not sure you’re doing a move quite right, since most of the movements are so tiny. It’s not like in Body Pump, when you can see how much people are lifting, or spin class, when you can see how fast someone is pedaling.
Okay, that’s not to say there aren’t some drawbacks to barre, like the price (typically between $15-25 a drop-in class, and at least $100 for a monthly plan. Ouch). Also, I don’t think I could just do barre as my sole source of exercise — I need some sweaty cardio.
But for me, it’s a perfect complement to my running and training.
Have you tried barre class? What did you think?
By the way, this post is not sponsored in any way, shape, or form. I pay for my barre classes out of my own pocket and no one is compensating me for writing this.
Katie @ Katie moves says
I would love to try Barre classes! They seem so awesome-but we don’t have any near my small town haha. Maybe one day!
Janelle @ RUn With NO Regrets says
I really enjoy barre class and agree, the music is awesome! And those isometric movements are killer! I do wish the classes were cheaper, but you get a whole lot out of it even if there is not so much cardio.
Jill says
I did a month of Barre at a studio last year and I really enjoyed it. It made me feel like a ballet dancer too! I would have continued but it was really pricey!
Kristen says
I love this! I used to do Barre3 in Philadelphia – I had the unlimited plan and would go 4 times a week like a crazy person (even when training for a half marathon!)! I loved it and wanted to get my money’s worth, plus I felt so good after leaving class! Now that we’ve moved away I haven’t found anything else like it and I miss it so much. Yoga classes just aren’t the same 🙁 Glad you love it and you’re able to go all the time!