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Thursday, November 20, 2014

These are a few of my favorite things... about Pure Barre



If you don't know Pure Barre is one of the best things you can do for yourself! So what exactly is Pure Barre? Well their website says "We’re thrilled that you’ve decided to try out a class. You won’t regret it! We believe that everyone is capable of rocking our classes- no dance experience required. As long as you can hold a ballet barre, you can do Pure Barre. That’s not to say that it’s easy, your first class will likely feel challenging at times, but we encourage you to stick with it. Try your hardest and let loose and feel free to ask your instructor plenty of questions after class if you weren't clear on any of the moves. At Pure Barre, we believe that exercise should be fun!"


They pretty much sum it up well but what exactly does that mean? It means you can go into a class and experience a workout like you never have before and you can definitely expect to be hooked!

I started at my local Pure Barre studio in December of 2013 and I have been in love ever since. I want to tell you about my five favorite things about Pure Barre!

First, the people. 

I know this may sound cliche but it really is a family at Pure Barre. Not only the teachers and owners but also the other clients. When I started Pure Barre I had turned a new leaf and it was a few months after I had decided to get healthy and this was something my best friend Amber had been begging for me to come try.

When I went, the instructor made sure to come up to me and introduce herself and make sure I felt comfortable. She went over some of the basic techniques and told me that she would make sure to come around during class and fix my form when I wasn't hitting it quite right (Which will happen a LOT your first class so don't freak!).

After my first class I was hooked and signed up for my first month. Every class I attended other instructors would make sure to greet me and get to know me and other clients would do the same. Everyone was so friendly and it made me feel very at ease since I was very inexperienced when it came to fitness and Pure Barre.



Second, the encouragement.

The encouragement and helpfulness you get from everyone at Pure Barre is my second favorite thing. When you are hitting your 90 second plank in warm up or you are on your last change in seat work and feel like you can't possibly hold it anymore without collapsing on the floor you can bet you will hear some wonderful words of encouragement. "You can do anything for 30 seconds" "Best 10, Final 10" " Great form Jessica" "You can do it, mind over matter." These are just a few of the many encouraging phrases that are said by the instructors during a typical Pure Barre class.

The encouragement alone has helped me not only complete a rep but also push through and give it my all when I have felt I couldn't give anymore. It makes you want to go back and go to more and more classes because you know they will push you to push harder, sink deeper, or lift higher.



Third, embracing the change.

It is possibly the scariest and yet most energizing feeling you will ever experience. What I am referring to is being able to physically feel your muscles changing and strengthening during each section of class. In the beginning I could barely do a sit up and could barely balance on the balls of my feet for thigh work let alone lift my leg high enough off the floor. The more you go the more flexible you become and the more you understand your body and you establish your mind body connection. When you are in class and you are in a thigh position and are holding a hard set up and you feel your muscles screaming and you want to stop that is where you have to focus and tell yourself that you are close to the shaking point. When your muscles shake you are making them stronger. There is a saying at Pure Barre and it is "shaking legs are changing legs" and I can tell you from experience that is very true.

Pure Barre slenderizes your muscles while burning away fat and when you can reach that shaking point even after going for weeks, months, and years, that is when you know this is something that will always work. It does not matter how long I have been attending classes at Pure Barre there is always a way to tweak a move and take it to the next level by either digging deeper and sinking lower or flexing harder. You will never become stagnant in a Pure Barre workout.



Fourth, the afterglow.

That is the only way I can think of to describe how you will feel after you have attended a Pure Barre class. You have such a sense of relaxation and satisfaction by spending 55 minutes to focus on you and bettering your body. In between each different section of class there is a stretch sequence to help either stretch out the muscles you have just worked or to warm up the muscles you are about to work. To me, this helps to achieve this euphoric feeling that I can only describe as afterglow after a Pure Barre class.

At the end of the class you also get a chance to slow everything down and stretch while listening to calming music while the instructor is encouraging you to thank your body for the work it has put in and to just have a general appreciation for your body and muscles. The promotion of self love is huge at Pure Barre and when you leave you feel proud of what you accomplished and you feel 10 feet tall because you just kicked major butt in a really tough and rewarding workout.

Fifth, No experience required.

The last point I want to touch on is the fact that you can walk in to any Pure Barre studio with no workout experience, no dance experience, no fitness experience and go right in to a class with people who have been going for years and not only learn from their experience at Pure Barre but not be intimidated because there is no prep necessary to jump into a class and be able to do it all. Each instructor flawlessly guides you through the entire 55 minutes demonstrating each move and setting you up for each section while also walking the room the entire time to ensure that everyone is doing the work safely and in good form without risk of injury.

In all of my experience and time spent at Pure Barre I know that even if I go to a class and there is a new move or new instructor I don't have to worry because they will set everything up for me and I don't have to worry about keeping up with how many reps I have done or how much longer I have. I can lose myself in the workout and focus my entire attention on connecting to my body and listening to it to push myself to the next level.




Pure Barre has nothing but positive benefits and I have not stopped raving about it since day one. I fully believe that anyone who tries Pure Barre will fall in love with all of the things I have mentioned above and also countless other benefits that you get from such an amazing environment.

So what are you waiting for? Go find the closest Pure Barre studio and go try it for yourself!

xoxo Jess

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