I took a barre class this past Saturday at a Pure Barre Studio in Druid Hills and I thought I’d share my experience. I wasn’t going in as a complete newbie. I’ve done barre workouts before (Exhale Core Fusion and Tracey Mallett), but I knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I was right. I got there about 10 minutes early to fill out some forms and was then taken to a room to store my bags and shoes while I worked out (no shoes allowed).
The class was held in a smaller room, more dimly lit with wall to wall mirrors so you could see your form and of course, wrap around ballet bars. I got the sense that a lot of the people there were regulars but there were a good bit of new people as well. It was a smaller sized class with about 15-20 people. The actual class lasted for 55 minutes including the warm-up/stretch and cool-down. While I did recognize a few of the moves, most of them were completely new to me which I loved. For equipment we used 2 or 3lb hand weights depending on preference, resistance bands, and a small ball. We used the ball pretty much throughout the lower body section and it made the moves much more challenging.
My arms were sore from workouts I had done earlier that week and I thought going into this class that I’d be okay because they’d probably just focus on legs. I was wrong. They hit everything. We worked our arms, abs, quads, calves, and glutes. The instructor would come around and correct form, if need be. She corrected mine a couple of times, which was nice because I feel like I got the most out of the moves and the workout. The music was also spot on. Not distracting or offensive but still motivating. At the end of the class, they had some instructors walk around to the students and gently push us deeper into the stretches. I thought that was a nice touch.
Overall, I thought it was a well-balanced and very challenging workout. I felt it especially in my glutes for the next few days which was awesome! Will I go back, perhaps, but it won’t be too often. The first class for new clients is $15 but after that it’s $23 a pop. The price per class goes down as you commit to more classes, but I don’t want to lock myself in to just barre because I want to take all kinds of fitness classes. Stay tuned for more fitness features!Have you ever tried barre classes or workouts before? If so, tell me what you think about them!
