Pure Barre: Deceivingly easy, incredibly fun

I like fitness classes. They're fun, keep me entertained, and much better than trudging on the treadmill after thirty minutes, trying not to think about how much I hate running. 

A few months ago I tried kickboxing, which left me exhausted and sore days later. Last summer, I signed my soul over to the devil and took up weekly Saturday morning SoulCycle classes. Both were so much fun for me, and now I'm always eager to try the next best thing (like trampolines!) 

Enter: Pure Barre. The ballet-infused fitness class doesn't focus on cardio and how much you sweat, but rather, micro-movements that engage your entire body and really work to strengthen muscles all over. One of their mantras is 'Lift. Tone. Burn.' for a reason, people! 

Image credit: Pure Barre

I was so happy to see they opened a location in Annapolis, MD - a town that hasn't exactly jumped on the fitness class trends of SoulCycle or FlyWheel - and absolutely loved the studio. The instructor was wonderful with us newbies - about four out of the eight of us in the Friday morning class. I never felt intimated for not knowing exactly how it all worked, and the atmosphere was oddly relaxing, as we were shaking, trying to hold certain poses. 

I had thought I'd get through the class relatively unscathed. I can do a 2-minute plank, have fairly impeccable balance, and consider myself in shape (I've been working out four-six days a week for a year now.) Uh, yeah. Didn't really work like that. A 90-second plank is a lot harder to do when you're constantly correcting your form in the mirror. You have to use your own weight against you, 'tucking' your abs tight and hips under your waist.

Just hanging out or working their abs to the max?

While the class did feel good, there were moments where my legs experienced a new kind of pain. At one point, as we were standing on our tippy-toes, grasping the ballet barre, leaning away from it at at 45 degree angle, I honestly thought my thighs were going to burst into flames. The class is 55 minutes, split between a variety of arms, abs, legs and full-body toning. They use weights, exercise bands, small bouncy balls and yoga mats. And, of course, the ballet barre. 

The moves themselves are nothing new, but as I was holding three pound weights and pulsing them above my head, my shoulders and biceps burning, I just begin to feel better. Like I knew that the pain would be worth it (and I had paid for the lesson, so why not get something substantial out of it.)

I'm home for one more week and I think I'll just got ahead and purchase the 5-class series (saving a whopping ten dollars than if I bought them individually.) Just as SoulCycle promotes finding your inner soul, Pure Barre encourages you to "embrace the shake." 

I'm not exactly feeling the same kind of post-workout exhaustion than if I had run four miles, I think tomorrow I'll wake up and need to immediately begin stretching.