ShareLast week, I tried something completely different.
Here’s the scoop…
So, a friend invited me to do a barre class with her.
What’s a barre workout, anyway?
Well, it’s a fusion of Pilates, dance, and yoga and the moves are choreographed to funky music. You use the ballet barre and exercise equipment like mini-balls and small hand weights to sculpt, slim and stretch your entire body.
My first reaction was… Are you freakin’ kidding me?
Imagine a baby giraffe gracefully trying to ballet.
Yep, that’s me.
Don’t laugh. I did it!
But here’s the thing…
Apparently, barre classes are “functional” workouts.
Funny. I couldn’t help but notice most of the women in this class were clinging to the barre, crouching halfway down, lean back, and do pelvic tilts until their thighs were burning with exhaustion.
There’s nothing functional about that…
To push through the final set of thigh squeezes, the instructor reminded us that this series would make our legs look hot in six-inch heels.
Oh goody… You know how well I walk in high heels?
Just picture that baby giraffe again.
The other problem is that we stretched for a few seconds, supposedly to “elongate” muscles. This is another activity that is not supported by solid research.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but muscles have fixed origins and insertions, so their length does not change.
But here’s the kicker…
The workout is basically designed to exhaust isolated muscle groups with endless reps and minimal resistance. You already know exercises like crunches don’t reshape the fat around your belly. Same goes for doing a gazillion tricep extensions and leg lifts.
Research shows this is not effective for building lean muscle and fat loss!
No bueno.
Apparently, strength and cardio conditioning are possible in a barre class, but by no means a priority. In fact, the heaviest dumbbells I could see were 5 lbs! Listen, I’m not the Incredible Hulk, but I could easily lift that all day.
By the end of the workout, I was tired of being constantly reminded about my “trouble zones.”
This question often comes up about barre classes…
“Does it get you results?”
It depends. I haven’t met any curvy women who had success, since their body doesn’t dig the “long and lean” look.
Does it work for other women? Perhaps.
But here’s the point today…
It all depends on how YOU define success. With a specific type of exercise, and healthy eating, you may find your own version of perfection.
Yet a workout designed to “sculpt” everyone into ONE singular body type will most likely leave some clients feeling like a failure.
And these “workouts” seem to be designed to make us pursue an image of perfection.
Trying to restrict myself into a smaller, more perfect shape left me feeling like I was being coiled. And it didn’t feel right.
But hey… if it makes you happy, awesome.
Keep doing it.
I strongly believe that if you’re not happy with your performance in the gym, your strength or your body, there’s a far better ways to achieve your goals than in a barre class.
You can get better results in just two hours a week thanks to my fast, fat burning solution that uses a hybrid dumbbell workouts and a progressive metabolic approach.
Personally, I’d rather work on becoming more connected, whole and powerful.
There is beauty in strength… no sculpting required!
KV
