Day Twelve: Sproing and Pure Barre (4)

Another two-class day, with a mix of cardio and barre. And one of the most fun days I’ve had yet!

Summary:

Classes: Sproing HIIT and Pure Barre

Duration: 45 minutes and 1 hour

Intensity: 5/5 and 5/5

Fun: 4/5 and 4/5

I’ll start with Sproing. Such a cool high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class, on the “Sproing Trainer” – like a treadmill but low-impact, non-moving, and with a slightly squishy floor/base so your body weight and impact is absorbed easily. The class was based on tabata-style timing, so it was 20 seconds “on” and 10 seconds “off” – e.g. we’d “run” for 20 seconds, then rest for 10, squats for 20 seconds, rest for 10. We were strapped in by a waistband with a stretchy cord that connected to the back of the machine, so we were able to run at a forward slant in a way that would be impossible on a normal treadmill. There were times when we’d run for 2 rounds in a row, so we’d do 50 seconds of a sprint. We did squats, lunges, planks, mountain climbers, backwards runs, and jumping jacks, to name a few. The instructor was super high-energy in a great way, and kept us moving and striving to get even faster, deeper, and better.

We wore heart rate monitors, which we strapped essentially right under the base of your sports bra, if you’re a woman, and everyone’s heart rates showed up on several screens around the room, so you can keep tabs on how hard you’re working and whether you’re really exerting yourself. They have you sign in with your heart monitor (they assign you one at the beginning of class, and yes, they deep-clean them after every use), and enter your height and weight so it can estimate your resting and highest heart rates, or you can enter them yourself if you know them. Based on those values, the screen shows you what percentage of your “highest” heart rate you’re working at at any given moment. The screens also show an estimate of how many calories you’ve burned – I was at 389 by the end of the 10-minute warmup and 30-minute HIIT section. The screens were turned off during the cool down, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I got above 400 by a decent margin. Crazy!

In addition to the heart rate monitors, the “trainers” (machines?) that we’re working on use the pattern of your footfalls to show you how fast you’re “running” (even though you’re really just doing high-knees while braced against the waistband). Our instructor told us throughout the class to look at the small screen and take note of the speed we were going at. Then, during our next running section, she’d have us look back at our speed and try to get above the number we saw last time. I got up to 11.8mph towards the end of the class, which I was pretty proud of, seeing as I was exhausted and consistently at about 85% of my highest heart rate for most of the class.

The screens also classified different percentages of heart rates with different colors, with green and orange being the ideal two colors to see on the screen. Green was one step down from orange, and most people in the class (a class of 5) were in the green for the bulk of the class, with a few spurts of orange. I, on the other hand, was in the orange for about 80% of the class, occasionally dropping down to green on the highly strength-based (and non-cardio) exercises.

In case you couldn’t tell by the lengthy post, I had a great experience at Sproing! And because it’s low-impact, it’s supposed to be very good for people recovering from injuries who can’t do high-impact activities like running, and have a hard time finding a variety of cardio activities. I’m not injured, but if I had to make a guess, I would agree – after a 20 minute run, I usually feel a little achey in my ankles, knees, and hips, probably because of the impact. With the Sproing trainer, even though I was working harder than I have in a workout in months, I left feeling energized yet fatigued, with no aches at all, just a very red face and sweat-soaked clothes.

Great workout, super enthusiastic trainer, and an awesome concept!

The pure barre class was pretty standard, with one twist – it’s Pure Barre Old Town’s first birthday this week (!) so they had snacks and coffee in the studio, some fun decorations, a packed class (I counted 18 – it got a little cozy for some parts), and my personal favorite – an all-Beyoncé remixed playlist. Pretty fun! And very different from the type of workout I got at Sproing, so I’m thinking I might have to do some more two-a-days with that combination – I feel great!

Now off to take a well-deserved shower.

Day Eleven: Dailey Method + Beginning Pole (again)

Another late post… again, my apologies!

Summary:

Classes: Dailey Method Mixed, Beginning Pole Dance

Duration: 1 hour each

Intensity: 4/5, 2/5

Fun: 4/5, 5/5

I went back to both the Dailey Method and Flirty Girl Fitness today for a two-workout day. They were good complements to one another, because Dailey Method focuses on toning and strengthening, and pole dance is a light cardio class with some slight stretching and strength mixed in. I had a great experience at both studios yesterday, and even though I woke up not really feeling like doing much exercise, I left both classes feeling very glad I went to both!

Day Ten: Bar Method

A little late, again… I’m still getting used to this blogging-every-day thing.

Summary:

Class: Bar Method

Duration: 1 hour

Intensity: 4/5

Fun: 3/5

Today I went to a new barre studio – The Bar Method in Lakeview. This class was very similar to the other barre classes I’ve been to, but the focus was overwhelmingly on using proper form – which I really appreciated! I had been told little tips and tricks throughout the various other barre classes, but I’d never known how to do every single move. The instructor was very helpful with verbal and physical cues and adjustments, and there were several exercises that I felt WAY more deeply with the corrections than I did when I was doing them on my own. Everyone else in the class seemed to have been going for a long time, because the instructor knew all 20+ names, including mine, and they were all so strong, flexible, and hard working – something to aspire to!

As usual, it kicked my butt, and it was a great class overall – and I learned a lot. No complaints!

Day Nine: Pure Barre (tres) and a quick run

Quick note: I realize that I used French in the title (deux) yesterday and Spanish today (tres)… Tres looks/sounds better to me than trois, so I went with it. Plus, trilingualism is awesome (not that I’m trilingual, but I can pretend!). Anyway…

Summary:

Class: Pure Barre (again) with Sara (again)

Duration: 1 hour

Intensity: 4/5

Fun: 4/5

+ Run/walk: 25 minutes (including cool-down), 2.20 miles

My overview for this class is pretty much the same as for the first and second classes here with Sara, but with one addition: because of the repeat experiences, I can now say that I’m pretty sure these classes won’t get old for me. Still very efficient at reaching my whole body, still upbeat and fun with a supportive and friendly instructor, and still a killer workout!

I also ran for about 20 minutes today. Rather, I should say I ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 5 to cool down. But I’m hoping to work my way back up to being somewhat of a runner, as well, and I know it’ll be slow progress, but I’m (sadly) impressed that I can even run for 5-minute increments. I’m taking pictures of the treadmill summary after I run (because it’s currently 18 degrees, feels like 5 degrees) so I’m hoping that in a few weeks I’ll be able to run a lot more distance in the same amount of time (compared to today’s 2.2 miles in 25 minutes).

My treadmill summary for today, 11/18. The time got mixed up because I took this picture when it was paused, rather than at the very end… learn something new every day, right?

On another note, I took pictures of myself/my body last week (on November 10) to keep a sort of live before-and-after in mind throughout this process. I almost definitely won’t be sharing any of those pictures online, since I’m only wearing a sports bra and shorts, and I don’t really feel the need to show the public most of my body, no matter how good or not-so-good it looks… Regardless, I looked at those pictures again today, and then looked in the mirror, and I can already see a little bit of difference! To be fair, I pretty much went from basically sedentary with the occasional running, stretching, or lifting some weights, to working out every day for at least an hour, sometimes doing a class and going for a run.

The Pure Barre “slogan,” if you will, is “Lift. Tone. Burn.”, and it’s sometimes shortened to “LTB. All I can say after basically a week straight of going to various barre classes (Pure Barre included, of course), is that the slogan seems to be turning out to be true! I’m definitely feeling lifted, toned, and… burned?

Anyway, overall today was pretty good in the way of fitness. I’m feeling great about my nine days so far, and I haven’t had a day yet when I really don’t feel like working out, and even on the days when I wasn’t super thrilled about it, I’ve always left feeling much better than I started!

Day Eight: Pure Barre (deux)

Summary:

Class: Pure Barre with Sara (again)

Duration: 1 hour

Intensity: 4/5

Fun: 4/5

This class kicked my butt again (literally and figuratively), as barre classes tend to do. I’m a big fan of this instructor, Sara, and I’m actually going to another one of her classes tomorrow morning, unintentionally. The workout was similar to my day one workout, but had enough variation that I didn’t feel like I was doing the exact same thing I’d done last week. We’ll see how different tomorrow’s is from today’s…. hopefully it switches up a little bit to keep it interesting, but either way, I know I’ll get a good workout!

Sorry for the shorter post, it’s bedtime! Plus I’ll write even more about barre tomorrow…

Day Seven: More Pole (Plus Tricks!)

Sorry this one’s a day late…

Summary:

Class(es): Beginning Pole and Open Pole with Lindy

Duration: 1 hour each – 2 hours total

Intensity: 3/5

Fun: 4/5

I went to pole again with my friend Meghan who was in town for the weekend – she’s the one who convinced me to go to my first pole class because she’d taken some over the summer, so we tend to go to a class together whenever she’s in town. The first class was the typical beginning pole class, with mostly dancing-style choreography and a few spins worked into the routine. This one was very high-paced and more challenging to keep up with, which made it a more rewarding workout than usual, for my body and my brain. Then we stayed for the class that followed the beginning class, because the instructor told us that even though the format of an “open” class is usually just to warm up and then work individually on whatever you want to work on, she would be happy to teach Meghan and I a few new tricks, inversions, etc. So that’s what we did!

I climbed the pole for the first time, which is difficult when your hands are sweating and bruises the top of your foot and ankle like crazy, but it allows you to do some cool stuff when you’re up there! I also got upside-down a few times, but I’ll need to get a bit stronger to really feel good at it. And we learned four or five new spins, which was the most fun and instantly-rewarding for me, because it doesn’t require quite as much strength, but looks cool with less effort.

Anyway, I’d say it wasn’t the best workout I’ve ever gotten, but better than an average pole class, and it was definitely cool to try to learn a few new tricks!

Day Six: AIR (Aerial Fitness)

Summary:

Class: AIR Foundations with Ryan Castillo

Duration: 50 minutes + 15 minutes of “playtime”

Intensity: 5/5

Fun: 5/5

This class is such a fun way to get in great shape! My roommate, Nicole (the same one who got me ClassPass for my birthday!) has been going to AIR classes for a few weeks now, and she’s had nothing but positive feedback from her experiences, and I can tell she’s getting stronger, so I figured I had to try it out. I am so glad I did! This class, at AIR Chicago – River North, uses silk fabric loops that hang from the ceiling as the basis of all the fitness work, and today’s was mostly focused on strength training. We used our arms to climb up the silks for a bit, and then we put one leg in the silk loop and did one-legged squats, pulses (like barre classes I’ve been to), push-ups, planks… you name it, we did it one-legged if we could! I’m already feeling it in my arms in particular (the weakest part of my body), so it was definitely an effective workout, but the novelty of hanging from a silk “rope” distracted me enough from the struggle that I got a lot more out of the workout than I normally would.

The most complex/silk-specific part that we did, in my opinion, aside from climbing the silks with our arms, was inverted sit-ups. We put the silk behind us, just above our sit-bones, leaned back, and looped our legs twice through the silk on either side, so we were hanging upside down by our legs. Then we crunched up so many times I lost count, and my abs were definitely feeling it!

Based on Nicole’s reports, it sounds like each instructor brings his or her own experience, knowledge, and preferences to the classes, so every day is pretty different. I can’t wait to try out two more classes here this month with ClassPass – there are so many ways you can move your body and work it out that wouldn’t be possible without the silk, so this class is a fun departure from the classic workout or fitness classes that you can find a lot of other places.

After the class was over, there were 15 minutes allotted to what Ryan, the instructor, called “playtime.” What this meant for me was Nicole got to show me all the awesome poses, moves, tricks, whatever you want to call them, that she’s learned, and then taught me a few, like the one below.

AIR fitness – one of the most basic “cool things” you can do with the silks. I look forward to learning lots more!

Overall a good day and a great workout! Plus, it’s my birthday today, so I’ve received several emails from gyms I’ve visited with ClassPass offering discounts on classes or apparel, and my personal favorite, a free class from Pure Barre in Old Town! I’ll definitely be using that one!

Day Five: The Dailey Method

Summary:

Class: The Dailey Method Lincoln Park – Mixed

Duration: 50 minutes scheduled, went for an hour with extra stretches afterward (but people could leave if they needed to)

Intensity: 4/5

Fun: 4/5

The Dailey Method is another studio that does barre-style classes, similar to days one and three that I’ve posted. Basically a full-body toning and strengthening class with tiny movements and high repetitions. And man, does it seem to work. Since it’s only been five days, I haven’t noticed much change in my body yet, but I feel every single workout in so many places the next day, so I know it’s doing something good! Today’s class particularly challenged my legs, and we did several exercises with bands (stretchy rubber things) that moved my legs in ways that I couldn’t have come up with on my own. It got a lot of inner- and outer-thigh work in, and I had to take breaks every so often just to make sure I wasn’t going to collapse (as is the norm for me in barre-style classes).

The instructor, Natalia, was great – super helpful, very encouraging, and fixed my (and others’) alignment when I was doing things incorrectly without making me feel dumb, which is definitely a skill. She even followed up with an email thanking me for coming in to class and offering to answer any questions I had – a really nice, personal touch.

The studio is a little under a mile from my apartment, which is really convenient, so I walked (yes, in the 25 degree weather) there and back, which was a nice way to warm up and cool down from the burn of the barre. I’ll definitely be back!

Day Four: Beginning Pole Dance (yes, you read that right)

Summary:

Class: Beginning Pole Dance with Kristen

Duration: 1 hour

Intensity: 2/5

Fun: 5/5

Full disclosure: I’ve been to several pole dancing classes before this, most with the same instructor, Kristen, at the same studio, Flirty Girl Fitness. I originally went with two of my friends, one of whom had been with one of her friends this past summer, and I had so much fun that I went back. And then I went back again. These classes are such a blast! And they definitely stretch your legs a bit – my hamstrings are usually sore afterwards for a few days (although I am really inflexible, too). Anyway, I’m actually getting to the point where I feel like I’m decent at the various tricks and moves that we’re doing in classes, which makes it even more fun. I might try an intermediate class and/or a pole tricks class sometime soon.

We did some choreography to some Chris Brown song I’d never heard before, but it was a booty-shaking, hip-thrusting, body-rolling good time, as always! And it got my heart rate up and had me moving consistently for the hour, so I feel good about the fact that I exercised today.

The studio is a mile from my apartment, and even though it was snowing and 30 degrees, I walked back from class since I was warmed up from dancing for an hour. So I definitely got my body moving a bit today. It was a good rest-ish day between two barre class days!

Day Three: Barre Code (bu-dum tssss. get it?)

Okay I have to start by saying I love the name of this studio. The logo is exactly in line with it, as well. Here’s a link to the Barre Code website.

Summary:

Class: Barre Code (the signature/typical class at this studio)

Duration: 50 minutes

Intensity: 5/5

Fun: 4/5

*Bonus note 1: definitely invest in some sticky socks if you’ll be doing barre classes on a regular basis. I’ve been using normal socks and I’m sliding all over the place in pushups and planks. At least for the first 20 seconds before I’ve dropped to my knees…..

*Bonus note 2: the floor at Barre Code is a foamy/forgiving surface, so it doesn’t hurt your joints at all to walk or jump on, and it makes it a little more comfortable to sit on the ground, or to be on your hands and knees for butt work, or forearms and toes for planks, etc.

Okay this one kicked my butt, too! I think it’s just the whole barre class idea that totally whoops your butt into shape (literally). But regardless, what an awesome workout. It was similar to the Pure Barre class (see my post from day one), but the instructor put her own twist on it, as I expect every barre instructor does. We started with some jumping jacks and side-step things to get warmed up, then we got right into arms and abs. Planks, pushups, more planks, more pushups, plank-ups (go from forearms to your hands and back down), more planks, one-legged planks while pulsing your raised leg, normal planks as a break from that, switch legs, more pushups…. you get the idea.

Then right when I was going to collapse, we stopped. For about three seconds. Then it was back into a seated position, and tricep dips. And more tricep dips. Keep going, keep going, almost done, and HOLD for 10 seconds. Holy cow I’m gonna feel that tomorrow. But it gets worse better. Arms are just starting. We stand up. Arms straight out, and make little tiny circles. For about a minute. Then make your circles a little bigger (about a foot in diameter) for another minute. Then big circles for another minute. Then if you haven’t collapsed yet, keep your arms out, and flip your palms up. Then pulse up like you’re slightly lifting something. Do about 30 of those, then doorknobs. Then twist in and out, then more doorknobs, then I think my mind stopped recording memories because I was so focused on anything but the pain. And  then we’re done.

Just kidding, it’s legs time. Oh my lord, is it legs time. My butt has never gotten such a workout. Basically the same idea as everything above – make tiny little movements repeatedly, and when you’re done with one, NO BREAK just go to the next movement. Then we did some inner and outer thigh work at the barre (just as butt-kicking as the rest of it had been). And it ended with some cardio braced against the barre – butt kickers, mountain climbers, then wide-legged burpees and touching the bar when you come up.

What an awesome workout. It was fun in the worst possible way. Or awful in the most fun possible way. I can’t decide. Maybe both. But regardless, I’m definitely digging this barre thing. I’m trying another studio on Friday, so I’ll let you know if it’s the workout, the studio, or a combination of both that I’m liking, but rest assured I’m a new-found barre addict!