Christian Hits the Barre

Last week, Christian went to Pure Barre with me for the first time.  Ever since I started in July, I've been wanting to share it with him, mostly because he's a fitness instructor and we met through his boot camp class.  I wanted to share my new favorite exercise with him, of course!  Pure Barre and Pure Barre Boulder post testimonials each week and a few weeks ago, they posted a testimonial from a guy who's girlfriend invited him to class one day and now he goes a couple times a week.  Of course I dreamed that would one day be Christian, but it at least gave me an idea.  See, he and I play a lot of board games and we usually bet on them (lunch, dinner, a movie, a car wash, a massage, etc).  I decided to play for Pure Barre and I won!

H: What made you try Pure Barre?
C: I lost a bet.  That was the punishment.

 H: Were you nervous about going to Pure Barre?

C: Yes because I knew it was going to be mostly women.  I knew it was going to be very difficult and involve muscles that I don't normally exercise.

 H: How does Pure Barre compare to your typical work out?

C: Harder.  It involves a lot of isometric holds, which are not something I normally do.  It was fast-paced so my muscles never got a chance to recover all the way since it's a full body work out.  Five pound weights was way too much for the arm work; my biceps were super sore the next day.  I normally teach boot camp style fitness classes that involve a lot of push ups and sit ups, plyometrics, and sprints.  Most of the things we do are intervals as well.  My classes are an hour long, but there's more downtime than there is in Pure Barre.  In Pure Barre, you're basically working the whole hour.

 H: What was your favorite part of the class?

C: I liked the things next to the barre because it was new to me.  It works your arms and legs at the same time.  Stretches--yoga type stuff--were good too.
H: The studio just got a new piece of equipment that makes your arms work even harder at the barre.  You'd like it.

H: What was your least favorite part of the class?
 C: Being the only guy there, especially during abs when I had to sit next to the teacher and everyone was looking at me.  I was sweating like an Amazon river boat captain.

H: Were you sore the next day?
C: Not really.  My calves were a little bit.  Oh yeah, my biceps too.  So yes.

H: Would you go back?
C: Yes, I'd love to.  It was super fun.  Alex [the instructor] was really nice.
H: Great, because I signed us up for the Bring Your Man class on Thursday!

I gotta give it to him, going to Pure Barre as a guy probably wasn't easy.  Since Fridays are free for brand new people at my studio, it was a full class and he was the only guy.  He's not flexible and he doesn't have a dancer's background, plus, there's a lot of hip tucking.  He's a total champ for going and I really appreciate his willingness to share something I enjoy with me.  It was awesome!

 Pure Barre Boulder is hosting a Bring Your Man to class on Thursday and I was able to convince Christian to go again with the lure of free class, a free beer, and a special note from Alex, who taught the first class he went to.  Pure Barre is such a great experience for staying healthy, and beyond that!  What a great and supportive group of women (and sometimes men) in class and at the studio!