Day One: Pure Barre

Summary:

Class: Pure Barre (pretty sure all the classes are the same idea, they just vary by instructor preference. Correct me if I’m wrong, though – I’ve only been to one class!)

Duration: 55 minutes

Intensity: 5/5

Fun: 4/5

My awesome roommate, Nicole, got me a month of ClassPass (unlimited fitness classes at dozens of fitness studios, gyms, etc., in a few major cities for $99/month) for my birthday, so I’m taking full advantage of it before I start working full-time. Today, I kicked off my membership with a class at Pure Barre – Old Town. I’d never been to a barre class, so of course, I googled “first time pure barre tips” incessantly yesterday (see the bottom for a few of my favorite reviews). All the tips online were spot-on (wear long pants, tight-fitting tops, socks (yes, sticky socks would’ve been really nice, particularly for the planks), bring water, and expect to sweat a lot). I got there a little too early (20 minutes) because the form I filled out was just basic information and took about 3 minutes. But it gave me time to ask questions before class. The instructor was great (Sara) and gave me tips and an overview before class, encouraging feedback throughout class, and answered all my annoying first-time-barre-kid questions after class without a blink.

The workout was killer. Another thing that a lot of websites told me before I went was that the point of Barre classes is to work your muscles to fatigue, so you’ll be shaking. SO TRUE. I’ve had workouts in the past when my legs or arms will shake, but never have I experienced my abs shaking from fatigue. Seriously. Think about that for a second – would you even think it’s possible? I definitely didn’t, until today’s Pure Barre class. Holy moly. But it was difficult just to the point where I thought I might collapse, and then we moved to a different section of the body, so the workout was obviously challenging, but it moved at the perfect pace for me to be able to do most of it fully.

Oddly enough, although it was kicking my butt in terms of physical fitness, and I was sweating like a pig, I really enjoyed it! I really like workouts that can pack a lot of punch (read: soreness the next day) into a short amount of time, and this class definitely had some punch.

Verdict: I’ll definitely be going back my allotted 3 times with ClassPass! And I’ll definitely be sore in so many places. Good thing I chose to sign up for a yoga class tomorrow….

Pure Barre First-Time Tips and Other Reviews:

Pure Barre’s own tips for “newbies”

10 tips from a Pure Barre instructor

This girl’s blog about her first Barre experience

And my personal favorite, this hilarious guy’s perspective on his first Barre class (please excuse some of the language… but it adds to the humorous effect)