For those of you who like a mix of balance, ballet, yoga, pilates and isometric strength training (aka holding certain moves until you feel the burn) then barre is for you.
When I went to my first barre class, I was expecting an easy class because I exercise daily, but I was totally wrong. I went up and grabbed the five pound weights, even though everyone else was picking up the three pound weights. After being overly-confident that I was not gonna sweat at all, we began and I was shocked at how hard it was. We started with warm up lunges and squats and held our dumbbells out to the sides for what seemed like several minutes of my muscles burning with joy. I regretted getting the five pound weights because my arms started becoming jello after holding them out into a lateral raise.
My core, arms, and glutes were burning and I literally mean FIRING, but I loved it. This was such a new, exciting challenge for my body that I was not used to. We used dumbbells, bands, balls, core sliders, mats and of course the actual bar. You do not need any dance or ballet experience in order to rock a barre class. We performed small movements like squats, but extended up onto our toes and we focused a lot on glute work and on the hip abductors. I instantly regretted doing a leg workout the day before and once the workout was over I was pretty sweaty!
Barre made me realize the importance of switching up a tedious workout routine because your body will react better to new challenges and workouts. There are also so many great benefits to doing barre on a regular basis.
What I liked:
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It’s all about that core strength
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Posture is improved
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Your glutes will thank you
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Improved flexibility
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It’s HIIT training and strength training all in one
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There are ways to modify for any level of fitness
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I am uncoordinated, but this class helped me tackle that
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Your stress levels go down because you’re taking it all out on those core sliders
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Everyone is super motivating
To me, barre was an exciting way to test my strength and push myself and it could easily be the same experience for you.