If you know me, you know I love a good fitness video. My latest fitness idea to complement my running is to attend a fitness class at the local community center. In my city, you can choose from many classes in 6-week class-pass increments (vs drop-in sessions). I picked Barre Fitness to start off the new year.

The word barre refers to the bar used in ballet dance classes found in the front or back of gym/studio rooms. The barre fitness class uses little movements with light weights (if any) for many repetitions.

This wasn’t my first go of it! I had tried this type of exercise once before, years ago – like 10?! I had no idea what to expect, it was a drop-in class, and I remember grabbing the 5-lb weight to use. My sister and I quickly realized that that was NOT going to work!! The instructor came over after we had started, obviously we were struggling to perform the movements, and replaced our weights with 2-lb dumbbells. I may have been embarrassed; I can’t recall as that embarrassing moment probably moved to the bottom of the list since then. But I do know that 5-lbs in this kind of fitness class is extreme, at least for a newbie!

At this class, we wore socks instead of our street shoes. I grabbed 3-lb weights (I’m reallyyy trying to get toned! We’ve got beaches to go to this summer!). And we brought our yoga mats. The instructor blasted instrumental (digitized?) music of the pop hits and we got started.

I was never one for dance. More like a wannabe dancer. I had the standard ballet in kindergarten and tap in 3rd grade at the community center. A similar cheerleading class. Jazz in 5th grade, which I remember enjoying despite showing up for class in jeans, haha! I think I felt bad that costumes were expensive for the recital. And you had to get pictures done, too! But parents probably wanted that, no different than the team sports pictures each year… And I’m awful at Just Dance video games! I do it anyways because it is fun but I get tired of waving my arms around! Aka dancing!

I bring this up because barre fitness classes incorporate dance-motions into the workout. Our arms moved above our head much like a ballerina would. Our legs lifted and pulsed. We held the bar and did leg lifts until our muscles burned and we thought the leg could fall off. I was a little worried at some of the side steps I would slip in my socks. Some students wore grippy slipper socks. We did bent over rows and and the oh the triceps burned! The instructor used a 2-lb weight and sometimes wore ankle weights. We balanced extended or legs like tin soldiers. We ended the workout with a little core exercises on our mats. And I learned how weak my glute muscles are!

Overall, it was enjoyable! My Garmin watch estimated about 150-170 calories burned in the hour. Leaving the community center, you go down a flight of stairs and you can instantly feel the work your legs went through. I felt it in my arms and shoulders when I was shampooing my hair! For $6/class, I would take the session again! Next up, Strength and Tone fitness class!!

Tell me – have you tried a barre fitness class?

Here I am sneaking a picture of the room before class starts.