I made it through Pure Barre

I had the opportunity to attend a Pure Barre event this past weekend with some fellow DFW Bloggers. All opinions are my own.

Let’s start off by saying that I have never attended a Pure Barre class prior to this experience. I have heard of it, but had never participated. I was excited to attend, but a little nervous as well. I love to work out (I’m a Certified Personal Trainer and have a B.S. in Kinesiology) but I don’t like attending group exercise classes all that often because I don’t like to be the one on display. Is that weird? I have no problem standing up in front of a crowd and teaching a class, but actually participating, well I get nervous. 😉 I am weird. I know.

Moving on.

On the day of the event, I was running on very little sleep. I felt like I was rushing to get to the event and felt that a few of the stoplights I sat at were taking a lot longer than normal (like seriously 3 minutes at one). I had to circle the parking lot a couple of times looking for the space, as the signage wasn’t all that great. But my good friend Nicole was also on the hunt and I spotted her in the parking lot and she showed me the way.

The class was a good one. I definitely worked muscles that I hadn’t worked in awhile. In fact, I was pretty sore for a few days after the fact, which told me that I was really working in the class. The instructor was attentive. The music was motivating. And there was a mixture of strengthening exercises that kept the class moving and prevented me from getting bored.

I definitely enjoyed the experience. However, I probably won’t repeat it unless it’s another complimentary experience. And for a few reasons:
1. Distance: I live 40-45 minutes from this Pure Barre studio. The next closest one is in Dallas which is even further away.
2. Cost: For a single class the cost is $22 and for a package of 5 classes it’s $105.

So for the 2 reasons of distance and money, I probably won’t make the investment.

A couple of side notes: One thing that bothered me a bit is the marketing language used by Pure Barre. And let me just say this: I’ve heard this language for years…so it’s not just Pure Barre. I’ve heard this in the Pilates realm too. Example from their website:
“Each strength section of the workout is followed by a stretching section in order to create long, lean muscle without bulk.”

First of all, you cannot create long, lean muscles. You are born with what you’ve got. If you wanted to make your muscle any longer than it currently is, you would have to cut it out and physically stretch it. You cannot change the insertion point of the muscle or it’s origin point. You can tone your muscles (lose weight and strength train). You can have better definition in your muscles (lose weight and strength train). But you cannot physically create a long muscle. And muscle is lean by itself. There’s typically just fat in the way.

In my experience from Saturday, there wasn’t really an effective stretching portion or portions. You have to be in a stretch for at least 6 seconds for the muscle to realize you are in a stretch. And for there to be any benefits achieved from stretching, you’ve got to be in a stretch for at least 30 seconds.

And lastly, ‘without bulk’: ladies…most of us will not and cannot bulk up. We don’t have enough testosterone in our bodies to do this. Plus it takes heavy weights and 6-8 repetitions with those heavy weights of an exercise to even attempt this. Pure Barre is similar to Pilates in the fact that you don’t lift any weight other than your own bodyweight.

Again, I know this is all marketing language, but I always hate it when I see it.

Okay, so now that we are clear on those things, I’m good. 😉

I had an amazing time hanging out with my fellow bloggers. And Nicole and I had a great dinner at Pappasito’s afterwards (which for those of you saying you were going to attend, sorry we missed you).

Have you ever tried Pure Barre?