Meet Me At The Bar...

I am the ultimate couch potato. Give me a 1-terrabyte hard drive with all my favorite movies and shows and I. Am. Good. I literally would not leave the house for a week if there wasn’t a legitimate need to.

In my twenties, the magic words to get me off my butt were “Open Bar”. Those two little words could get my minimum wage-earning behind dressed and ready to go in the blink of an eye. The inevitable “dancing the night away” that ensued after consuming so much free alcohol would be my form of exercise for the day.

Now that I can actually pay for my cocktails and my dance moves are no longer appropriate for a thirty-something-mother-of-three, I have discovered a different kind of bar to get my derriere into shape! The ballet barre!

Although the barre method routine was developed more than 30 years ago, the last few years have seen an emergence of different variations on this revolutionary exercise. One of these is barre3. Bolso Babe Karisia is mainly responsible for getting me started and now I am hooked!

Barre3 is a 60-minute workout sequence of exercises drawn from the three disciplines of ballet barre work, yoga and pilates. Aside from channeling your ballerina wannabe from within, it’s a total body workout that targets your arms, core, back, hips and legs. And any skeptics who take a class will realize exactly what “total body workout” means the following days.

Even though it’s technically a low-impact form of exercise, barre3 is brutal on a couch potato’s body - the pain you feel the next day will show you all the muscles you normally neglect on a daily basis. Even Ms. Physically Fit Karisia will agree that you’ll discover muscles you never even knew you had! While I must disclose that you won’t see the same weight-loss results compared to a high-impact cardio regimen, you will definitely notice your posture improve and those muscles tightened and toned. Paired with any cardio activity, I’d say the bar method is a great way to get your body into shape.

As I write my blog, a similar barre method is set to open in Manila. In fact the instructors are training as I type...It’s called Physique 57. I’m set to try out a demo class so I’ll keep you all posted for those who are interested!

Let me leave you with this site for all things barre...because I couldn’t have blogged about it better myself! - KGG


* Photos from mizzfit.com