This is about the time I tried Pure Barre for the first time recently. You see, my friend invited me to go along. I had been wanting to try it after I have heard so many things about this almost cult-like exercise class, so I decided to give it a go.
You may have heard of Pure Barre before. What is it? It is a fitness regimen inspired by ballet. No, you aren’t going to be earning your toe shoes at the class!
The class uses isometric exercises for a full body work out to help your muscles get toned and lean – there is no “bulking up” here! Their motto is “Lift. Tone. Burn”. Ok, sounds good, let’s get started!
Before getting started, the instructor showed me what “tucking” was, a term commonly used in the class. “Tucking” involves pulling your butt under you and pushing your pelvis forward.
I arrived to the class with my special non-skid socks on. Yep, no shoes allowed in the studio. Your socks have to have grippers on them so you don’t slip. They sell them in the studio if you don’t have a pair.
The studio has floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the room which immediately gave my flashbacks to the time I actually took a ballet class in college. There is a barre along all of the walls. I randomly choose to sit at one of the places next to the bar. I notice everyone staring at me. I find out why… I’m sitting where the instructor sits. Oops, my bad. At least mistake #1 is done with now. Moving on.
Instructor comes in. Music is fun and catchy. Immediately start grooving to the beat for the warm up. End of warm up – I’m feeling beads of sweat form, okay good!
Next came upper body arm toning – using only 2 or 3 pound weights, depending on your skill level. No newbie to fitness, I grabbed the 2 pound weights. 2 pounds doesn’t sound like much… until you’re doing an isometric hold and then quickly 2 pounds feels like 20! Don’t leap before you can jump!
This is the equipment in the class. Equipment pic via Wiki
After arms came abs round one. Lots of planks (that’s why you need those socks!). The ab section was great, and frankly my favorite part of the class.
Now, to the barre! We worked on legs and glutes. There were lots of “tuck and hold” and “tuck and freeze”. It took me while to get the hang of tucking, and frankly I know I need more work. Instructor helped me. There weren’t as many plies as I would have thought from a barre class (okay, because honestly I thought the whole class was going to be plies!), however there were enough where you could definitely tell that it was ballet inspired!
Then back to abs and back. And we’re done.
After each section of work out, there is a quick section of stretching those muscles you just used. I only wished the stretching was a wee bit longer, but I knew I could stretch after class.
The class went by really quickly. The instructor was super friendly and nice. She would go around and help people with their form.
What was different about this class compared to other exercise classes, is that you burn out and fatigue each muscle group. When your muscles start shaking, you know you’re doing well because that’s the goal! Try to power through the shaking. The class is low-impact so could work for those with joint problems. Only one of the exercises hurt my bad knee, so I modified and made it work for me.
Since the class is mainly about isometric contractions and holds, you could technically cheat your way through the class if you wanted to… but that’s not the point! If you work on proper form, it can get hard!
In fact, per my Apple Watch, I burned 420 calories!! I know some people only burn 200, hey, but you know what, 200 is better than none.
Was it the hardest work out? No. It didn’t have cardio, but I feel like this would be a great work out to compliment cardio days. But I definitely felt sore the next day – although not in the places I expected!
I think the biggest downside is the price – $23/class (you can buy month long or year long plans for more cost effective classes). However, that isn’t cheap! And for me, the nearest studio is quite a commute, so that is a big downside to me.
Final verdict: yes I’d do it again. It was fun!
Oh. My. Gosh. This looks perfect for me. I have never heard of it before. Yes, I heard it first on Petite Haus. Thank you so much for sharing. I have been following your site now for some time. I love it. You inspire me in many ways. I live in California and will definitely look for a location that performs this workout.
Take good care, Laura Dahl
Author
You should give it a try and see if you like it!
One thing to watch out for in those barre classes (of all brands and varieties): if they over-use the squeeze-and-tuck, it can have negative effects on your posture, especially if you spend most of your day sitting. It causes a reversal of the curve in the lumbar spine, flattening out your lower back; most of us have really weak muscles there already from sitting, or from doing lots of crunches.
I definitely prefer Xtend Barre (more ballet-class-like, even includes center work) and Barre3, both of which spend a lot of time and attention on good form (and don’t use so much tucking!). If you have those in your area, definitely give them a try!
Author
Thank you for the info and tips!
I would love to try this but haven’t been able to find it close to home. Sounds like it could really tone your body over time. Thanks for sharing!
Author
I think so, like every work out, if you keep doing it you’ll be more toned! These classes are supposed to make you leaner not bulkier.