So, let me start by saying this was a great full body workout. It’s the morning after and I’m sorer than I’ve been in a while. Butttt, it just wasn’t for me. This was my first time ever taking Barre and after talking to a few people who had very mixed feelings, I was pretty nervous. The instructions stated to wear full length leggings and socks. The girls who knew their stuff were in special Barre socks with lots of crisscrosses and toe-to-heel grips. I was in my Costco brand kb cotton blends. The instructor was nice enough but not overly warm and welcoming. She told me the workout focuses on small, isometric movements in high reps; to make sure my hips were tucked, and I was engaging my core.
Before class I was told to grab one small set of weights, one medium set of weights, and a yellow ball (picture a mini kick ball). I grabbed 1- and 2-pound weights not wanting to overdo it. The music was slow-ish pop mainly used for background noise because you really needed to listen to the instructor. That was the first sign that this wasn’t for me. I NEED upbeat (preferably hip-hop) music to be my motivator. I like to grind it out to a beat. It pushes me and provides the soundtrack to my workout, reminding me when to breathe, when to push, when to slow it down. The second sign, there is NOWHERE to hide. If you’re someone who needs that accountability, then this might be the workout for you. The studio had a huge mirror covering the front wall. One side wall was a gigantic window to the outside. Everyone can see your every move. Not that they’re looking, but the thought of it was enough to discourage me. Something about Barre made me feel like an overweight little kid. Maybe it was the little girl’s ballet class setting, the instructor’s teacher like directions, the petite women in my class, or the actual workout. Whatever it was, I felt like I was back in my elementary school gym class. Again, I was the largest in the room by far in a class of about 8 people. I would say I easily outweighed the next woman down by 70-80 pounds. It was all women in their 20s and 30s. I was the only minority. The setting didn’t allow me to leave my thoughts at the door. I don’t think anyone, besides myself, was judging me but I still couldn’t shake my own insecurities.
Enough of my own hang-ups. The class started with a warm-up reminiscent of gym class, crunches, planks (with small, controlled leg lifts/bends), push-ups. Then we moved on to upper body, grabbing the weights, and stuck with those small, controlled lifts. At times you were just giving a little squeeze, engaging your muscles. Then we went to the bar (barre?) with our yellow balls. We put the ball between our legs and got up on the balls of our feet. Then we started squatting, the instructor announcing “up, up, down, down, squeeze, squeeze”. On squeeze, you would squeeze the ball between your thighs. We performed some variation of that, adding in a tuck where you tuck your pelvic area, straightening your spine. I didn’t last on the balls of my feet, I had to put my heels back on solid ground for the last few moves. We finished the workout on mats on the floor. Revisiting some of those moves we did for the warm up and adding in a ton of glute exercises. One of the more memorable was a side-seat exercise laying on the mat in an L shape facing the mirror, up on your elbow. You lift your top leg (knees 6 inches apart), moving it up and down, bending the knee, drawing circles with your heel. This was HARD and staring at myself in the mirror didn’t make it any easier. There were a few stretches throughout the workout and a bunch at the end. I’m pretty flexible and used to regularly attend yoga which really helped. If you’re not flexible, this is going to be tough. This was a full hour workout. I find that 45 minutes is my sweet spot lol so that last 15 minutes was getting to me. When I got home I was exhausted. I’m sure it didn’t help that I worked all day then went straight to this class but either way I was in no mood (Sorry Thomas!).
Barre is a great workout. I plan on trying one of the recorded classes available on ClassPass at home while blasting my favorite jams.
Recommendations: Try Barre in the comfort of your own home first to build confidence in the movements before braving the mirrored/glass studio. There are lots of free videos on YouTube.
Notes: ClassPass Credits – 5, 60 min
What to Wear/Bring: Socks and Long Pants
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