Pure Barre!

I decided to try a new workout class before our Maui trip and talked Anne into giving it a try with me. It's called Pure Barre and it's a combination of pilates and ballet training. We signed up for the new client special - one month unlimited for $99 and made a pact to try to go at least 4 times a week for one month.

The first day was hilarious - I wish I could go back and watch us in class now!! We stood out like sore thumbs! Everyone wears socks in the studio and they sell these special Pure Barre socks that are black. So there Anne and I are in our white athletic socks with seriously everyone else in the room in black socks....we decided then and there that we were going to have to check our pride at the door when we walked in! (note: Lauren Brennan bought me a pair of official PB black socks when she was in town visiting so I blended in for the last 2 weeks...thanks, Lauren!).

The workout starts with some core work, then arms using very light weights, then thighs, then butt, then core/abs before we finish. It is VERY intense though - I leave sweating every time. I remember thinking the first day I was there that the arms section was going to be a piece of cake for me because they use 2lb weights and I'm used to lifting 8, 10, & 15lbs for p90x. You can imagine my frustration when my arms were burning so much during the arm section that they felt like they would seriously fall off! I said to myself over and over in my head, "Lauren...this is ridiculous...these are 2lb weights. Arms - stop shaking" but to no avail. I actually ended up having to put my weights down before we finished and finish out the section just doing the moves but with no weights! Talk about humbling!!! All of the movements are small, isometric movements so they just work different muscles than what you are used to! As if that wasn't bad enough, the thigh series is AWFUL (in a good way). The first week I couldn't make it through any of the thigh exercises the entire time. My legs would start shaking (once again...imagine my inner voice saying "Lauren...you can do this, legs - stop shaking"). One day I swear I almost cried after a thigh section...it was that painful and physically/emotionally exhausting! I knew then that if this workout didn't change my legs, nothing would be able to!

As the weeks went on, Anne and I got better. I can now make it through all of the arms section with 2lbs and sometimes even pick up 3lbs for some of the moves. I can hold my plank for the full 90 seconds, and most days can make it through the thigh series without feeling like I am going to vomit! Toward the end, we were even getting shout-outs during class from the instructors. Speaking of the instructors - we had code names for each of them - there were 2 that we referred to as surfer girls because they looked like California models that could have been posing with a surf board, one who looked like she walked in off a fashion magazine cover, and we can't forget the one we referred to as Giselle. Seriously - she looks like Giselle! She is so strikingly beautiful. When Giselle is telling you to push through the thigh series - there is something inside your mind that says - "I can do this, if for nothing else because Giselle is looking at me and I don't want her to see me quit." Now that is some messed up motivation...but hey, whatever works!!!

Anyway - I don't know if it is just psychological or not, but both Anne and I felt like our bodies were different at the end of the month than when we started. My posture seems better, my flexibility is 20 times improved, my butt seems perkier, my abs flatter and more defined, and my legs - well, I still don't particularly like them but Ryan says he can tell a difference and if I'm really honest, I think I can too. So - 3 cheers for Pure Barre!!!

Unfortunately...it's really expensive if you aren't on the new client special (think $200 for 10 classes or $350 for 20 classes) so it certainly won't fit into our budget for me to continue going. They have a DVD that I bought so I'm planning to do that at home and Ryan bought me one series for mothers day so at least I'll be able to go a few more times. (Thanks, babe!). It was so much fun to experience this with Anne and I must say, we have officially drunk the kool-aid and joined the Pure Barre revolution! Here we are headed out on our last day of class.