Fitness Friday – Commit to the Burn!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just because Fitness Friday has been on hiatus, doesn’t mean my fitness has been on hiatus!  I just do the same things over and over again, so I had nothing new to report on.   Until now. 

 

Okay, so I have professed my love for barre workouts a few times on here.  They are THE BEST.  They work quickly.  They give you visible results in a very short amount of time.  They challenge you mentally and physically and did I mention the results?  Seriously, inches melt off at an insanely fast rate.  I really have NO idea why there is not a barre studio in Minneapolis yet (I see that there is one, but its not one of the major barre “players” so I won’t mention it).  If Minneapolis ever gets a Bar Method (which is what today’s Fitness Friday post features) I will soooooo be there as much as I can.  And while I’m being hasty, how about someone open one in Brainerd for me?  I’d do it myself, but well, lets be honest – I think Minneapolis has to have one first and even then – Brainerd is probably too small for the big gun of the barre industry – Bar Method.  Sigh.

Anyway, back on topic.  Bar Method recently released 3 new DVD’s.  The Beginner’s Workout, Pregnancy Workout and Dancer’s Body – the Advanced Workout. 

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I recommend that if you are new to barre, that you DEFINITELY check out the Beginner Workout first.  Form is VERY important in barre and this DVD will teach you that.  Once you have mastered that, you can move onto more advanced work such as Dancer’s Body.  And if you are with child, obviously, you’ll want to look into the Pregnancy Workout. 

I only ordered Dancer’s Body, as I already have their previous 2 DVD’s that also give amazing workouts AND great instruction on form.  Bar Method’s DVD’s really are the BEST for learning barre form.  Burr Leonard, the company’s founder, is in her 60’s and looks WAAAAAY younger than that.  And its because of this method of working out that she looks this way.  It really does WORK.  She and her instructors are the best at teaching this method to newbies, so definitely check out the DVD’s if you want to dip your toe into the world of barre.

And if you are lucky enough to live near a studio – please do yourself a favor and GO! 

For those already considering themselves “barre-istas,” definitely check out Dancer’s Body.  I took 2 classes in May at the Bar Method Portland and this DVD definitely resembles a live class.  My legs shook SO violently (for the newbies who weren’t scared off already - this is common with barre work, don’t be scared!) in class and while they didn’t shake AS crazy with this DVD (though, they could if I really pushed myself more like I did in class) I can definitely tell that this DVD is one I am going to LOVE for a long time.  The upper body work is awesome and challenging – lots of pushups and planks, which I happen to love!  The lower body work is just crazy – especially because of Marnie Alton’s form tips throughout the workout.  Her tips make it easy to really go deep and feel the burn.  At one point, she yells out “commit to the burn!” which really stuck with me.  They need that on tshirts!  The ab work is awesome and the stretches are ahhhhhhhhmazing.  There really is nothing I don’t love about this DVD.  I couldn’t be happier with it!  And lucky for me – they have 2 more advanced workouts set to come out in early 2011, so yay! 

So what are you waiting for?  Give it a try!  You’ll thank me later for your awesome new butt, leaned out thighs and flat abs!  I’m totally serious too.  Look into Bar Method – you won’t be sorry!