As bikini season approaches, fitness has finally wedged its way beside the fried pickles of Tin Lizzy’s and BurgerFi concrete shakes in Emory Point.
Pink Barre, a new tenant in the Point, offers a combination of ballet, yoga, and Pilates for a toning, total body workout. When the owner, Tara Joiner, offered the Her Campus staff a free trial class, I didn’t hesitate to ditch my usual hour on the treadmill with Olivia Pope in favor of a sweaty study break.
After the quick walk from campus, I was greeted with a pink mat and a set of hand weights. Just a few reps into the warm-up, I knew the next 55 minutes would be quite the swap from my normal WoodPEC routine. A series of weighted arm raises and scorching planks later, we pulled our pink mats to the mirrored walls for Barre work. There, we swapped out arms for butt and thighs, with moves that reminded me of my old ballerina days. Some plies, squats, and thigh raises later, we moved on to some final core work. All the while, we stopped to stretch before moving onto different zones of the body, concluding with a nice yoga stretch series.
Considering I was nearly incapable of walking the next day, I realized maybe I had been a bit unproductive on the elliptical all year, and Pink Barre will definitely supplement my workouts in the future. As Tara joked during class, you’ll wonder “what the tuck?” during your first Pink Barre experience. The tuck (a pose focusing on engaging the lower back) along with other signature Pink Barre moves, can feel advanced and awkward, especially if you’ve been on the gym grind for years. But within a few visits, your barre skills will be up to par.
For optimal results, attend four or five classes a week, and you’ll slide back into those shorts from last August. New customers can get unlimited classes for a month for $99, comparable to Pure Barre prices.
A fun playlist, upbeat instructor, and an impeccably clean studio made for a perfect stress-free fitness endeavor. While we walked in exhausted from our day, we exited Pink Barre feeling as though we’d conquered both our trouble-zones and our stresses.
To register for classes: www.pink-barre.com