Taken down by Ballet Barre

Last night Lululemon sponsored a free ballet barre class at Pure Movement. I love that they offer these free classes at different locations around the city. It lets me try new classes and new places that I might not even know about. As a former gymnast and dancer, I've been wanting to try ballet barre for awhile. And I can't pass up a free class!

Pure Movement is on Middle Street in the Old Port on the second floor above Akari Salon. I couldn't get over what a beautiful space it was. There was a high ceiling with gorgeous exposed white beams and a fantastic chandelier. The walls were lined with mirrors and ballet bars and the whole room felt spacious and luxurious.

I took a crappy picture.... it was pretty, I swear!

Since, it was the night before Halloween the class had a dance recital theme and we were encouraged to dress up. It was pretty funny seeing a room full of grown women (and 1 guy!) rocking tutus, leotards, and legwarmers.

We started class with a few minutes of cardio to warm-up and them moved on to upper-body. Jaime, the instructor recommended that us newbies only use 2lbs weights. Since I lift regularly, I was pretty skeptical that 2lbs would do anything for me. So wrong! We basically held our arms out at shoulder level and did little pulses in different directions for a solid 10 minutes. My shoulders and triceps were on fire!

We then moved on to a leg series standing at the bar.  Again it was a lot of small movements that we did many, many times. My quads were screaming for mercy. This was following by a glute series on the floor. Can you guess what I am going to say? Yep, my butt was burning! We finished with a long abs series that nearly did me in. Luckily they had free pumpkin protein smoothies waiting for us after the class for instant muscle replenishment.

Ballet Barre is a totally different workout that anything else I do. I wasn't dripping sweat (my usual barometer of a good workout), but I definitely felt like I worked my entire body. I really liked both Pure Movement and the instructor, Jaime. The space was great and everyone was so welcoming. Jaime struck the perfect balance between pushing us (she totally called us out if she taught us cheating), offering modifications, and sympathizing with the pain we were in. I will definitely go back.

I woke up this morning pretty sore, but I still had to go for a run. I had to put in at least 3 miles to get myself over 100 for the month. I ended up with 104! My first 100 + mile month in awhile. 

Have you ever tried Ballet Barre? What did you think? What are your Halloween plans?