This past October, one of my sorority sisters took me to Pure Barre on a “sister date.” I had never taken a barre class of any kind before that day, and was honestly pretty intimidated going into my first experience. I’m not going to say my reservations were misguided – that first class was a real struggle. I could barely get through any of the exercise sets from start to finish, and the instructor was speaking faster than my brain was moving at the time. But once we got to the end and she counted down our “final ten,” I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Realistically, I hadn’t experienced much success in my hour of excessive sweat and shaking muscles. Emotionally, though, I felt like my determination to keep going had actually taken me somewhere, and that was a feeling I was inspired to pursue.
The next day, I woke up in a fair bit of physical pain. In fact, I felt my abs, and they did not feel too good. My natural instinct was to complain, but after going to that first Pure Barre class and working out alongside about 20 incredibly strong women, that didn’t quite feel like the right thing to do. So, the second-best reaction? Go back!
I went back to Pure Barre the next weekend. And again, it was not so easy! That said, I felt like I was a lot more in the mental zone – I started understanding what the instructor was saying, and I could hold every exercise for about 10 seconds longer than at my first class. This may not sound like much, but let me tell you – it adds up!
So, long story short, I haven’t stopped going to Pure Barre since those first couple of classes. I bought my first month of unlimited classes and went about 15 times in November, and have been pretty much addicted ever since! Each class gave me a new milestone to celebrate – the first time I could complete the 90-second plank without dropping to my knees, the first time I could do an entire thigh sprint without standing. I started to see results, and my body confidence has skyrocketed. I’ve gone from feeling like I would never be as strong as the other women in my classes to being impressed and fulfilled by what I could do. I wake up excited each morning I have a barre class scheduled, and that’s not something I would ever have expected after that first Sunday morning class. Now, I go to Pure Barre four times a week, and I’ve noticed a change in myself. I’m more productive; I’m actually motivated to wake up early; and I love myself more, which is the most important part.
Pure Barre has taught me so many things about myself, my physical strength and what I want out of my life. But the best thing an instructor has told me – you are stronger than you think you are! So get out there, try something new, and push yourself – you might just find something that changes your life!