A Month At Pure Barre

Lift. Tone. Burn. The mottos behind Pure Barre.

"Pure Barre is a total body workout that lifts your seat, tones your thighs and burns fat in record-breaking time. Utilizing the ballet barre to perform small isometric movements set to fantastic music, Pure Barre is the fastest, most effective, yet safest way to change your body. Students see results in just 10 classes."

And exactly how you will feel after a Pure Barre Burlington class.

I went into Pure Barre with absolutely no idea what a class truly entailed, but with the guidance of my friend and Pure Bare Burlington owner Jess I gave it a whirl. Jess and I have known each other since college and she had yet to steer me wrong so I knew I could trust her.

Since losing over 60 lbs through Weight Watchers, I have been working on breaking out of my comfort zone and trying new workout/classes I wouldn't normally try.

So on November 16, I walked into Pure Barre Burlington for the first time and kept an open mind! :)

Well, I was nicely asked to leave ballet when younger for my lack of grace so a workout that revolved around a ballet barre seemed out of my element. :P

But Jess, Danielle, Becca and Dana really make every person that walked through the studio door feel welcome!

Also, in every class I attended I was surrounded by women of all shapes, sizes, athletic abilities and backgrounds. Everyone was there to have a good time and make their muscles shake.

Yes your muscles will truly SHAKE each and every class.

As someone who had a back injury and subsequent back surgery in January 2011, I am always weary of unknown workouts, but Pure Barre is prepared:

"Pure Barre is intelligent exercise. The technique protects your joints as it does not involve any bouncing or jumping."

There was absolutely no point in any of the classes, where my back felt too strained and if it needed extra support during the 7 minutes of abs at the end of class (yes 7 minutes) Pure Barre provides balls to place behind you back for extra support.

The personal attention shown by each instructor towards every individual in the classes is unmatched and makes the experience that much more personal.

I thank Dana for one Monday morning in particular when a simple "perfect form Dani" settled my nerves of doing every single move incorrectly!

During my month at Pure Barre Burlington I even got to share the experience with a contest winner, who happened to also be a fellow Weight Watchers Leader Heather (who has lost over 75 lbs).

It was the second to last class where I finally made it through the whole thing without stopping during any of the segments. I like to refer to that day as Pure Barre Perfection! ;) I was beyond ecstatic when it happened. A day that will live in infamy.

What I truly loved about the classes were the consistency in the areas of the body worked, but the exercises themselves varied by class and instructor.

You normally start a class with:

*warmup - abs and arms

*thigh work

*seat work

*7 minutes of abs & 2.5 minutes of bridge work

Because...

"The workout launches a full blown attack on the areas of the body all women struggle with: abs, hips, seat and arms. It defies gravity by tapering everything in and lifting it up."

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But my entire time at Pure Barre Burlington could be summed up in just one picture

and just one blog post - here!

If anyone has any of those qualities, you will LOVE this technique.

And if you are thinking, I could NEVER do this.

Yes, yes you can! Give it a try!