I did it. I survived my first Pure Barre class. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I’m sore today (mostly my butt and abs) but I guess it could have been worse.
I think I may have stumbled upon the best marathon-friendly strength training class. No jumping, no drills, no lunges, no squats…bouncing is not allowed. Instead, movement is confined to mere inches. So how can Pure Barre be so effective?
It’s fast moving. Aside from little breaks to stretch out the muscle group that you just worked on, you are constantly moving. Or I should say, squeezing, pulsing, and tucking (hence the reason why my butt hurts so much). And you work muscle groups for minutes at a time. We worked on abs for a few minutes (no breaks – I was dying), and then got into a plank and held it for 90 seconds!
We worked abs, glutes, quads, and arms. The whole shebang. My arms and quads feel fine (next time I’ll increase my weights for arm work) but my abs and glutes…not so much. What a wake-up call. As a runner, your core and butt should be strong to support your hips. I’m clearly lacking strength in those areas. I’ll never forget my RRCA instructor’s words of wisdom during my coaching certification: the knees are innocent victims to a weak ass and unsupported foot. So true. Everything works in a domino effect from the foot up or the hip down. Take care of the foot and hip and you take care of the knee.
I will definitely be going back to Pure Barre. It definitely takes a few classes to get the lay of the land. The only downside? Cost. It’s very expensive – $23 per class!
Up next…a power yoga class! Maybe I’ll be ripped by the time Boston comes around? Ripped or not, I will definitely be stronger!