Anonymous wrote:I see women 50+ in my barre class who are so strong and fit. I admire that! Is it just barre? Or are there other workouts included?

bulimia

Haha! This is precisely why I will not go to a barre class or any other class. I am overweight but not obese and quite fit. I can run at a decent pace 3 miles straight and then after some work on the weight machines, jump in the pool and do 10 laps non-stop. But, if people are going to judge by looking at me, they probably think I am some fat nasty couch potato. To be fair, my midsection is very distended as I had surgery on my intestines, and severe damage still. They are ALWAYS inflamed and there is nothing I can do about it. I do not want a total removal. So, my legs and other parts of my body look decent and then I look pregnant. But, I WILL outrun and outswim you and probably would kick those barre bishes butt.

I go to barre 3 and studio barre - there are a variety of different sizes and shapes of both attendees and instructors. No one is judging or cares. I am not sure where you did classes, but sounds very different from the places I have attended.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I don’t want barre class you go to, but the ones I’ve been to are either frequented by thin frail looking older women, fit middle aged women (who likely do other forms of exercise), or overweight woman of various ages

Not my experience. I am overweight and was judged harshly at barre class. I took my fat ass and my money elsewhere.

Haha! This is precisely why I will not go to a barre class or any other class. I am overweight but not obese and quite fit. I can run at a decent pace 3 miles straight and then after some work on the weight machines, jump in the pool and do 10 laps non-stop. But, if people are going to judge by looking at me, they probably think I am some fat nasty couch potato. To be fair, my midsection is very distended as I had surgery on my intestines, and severe damage still. They are ALWAYS inflamed and there is nothing I can do about it. I do not want a total removal. So, my legs and other parts of my body look decent and then I look pregnant. But, I WILL outrun and outswim you and probably would kick those barre bishes butt.

I go to Barre3 and use their online classes as well and many of the instructors are built like you are. No one there would flame you for your body type and if other students judged you, that is their problem. It's a very accepting, body positive place.

Other barre classes might be different. I've certainly been in barre and other fitness classes where the students and instructors are judgmental and awful. But they aren't all like that.

I do Barre3 both at home and in studio, 5-6 days a week. My only other exercise is walking (I used to run but had a back injury a few years ago and have found barre to be a much better form of exercise for helping me maintain the alignment and mobility I need to avoid back pain). I am definitely super fit and very strong -- I do strength-focused barre classes with 15lb weights and have really good endurance too. Late 40s and in great shape.

I think some barre classes are more strength focused than others -- some are a lot more cardio, and also some barre studios really don't encourage using heavier weights or working to your max. But I think Barre3 does.

In a previous life I was a fitness instructor and performed acro balancing semi-professionally. I think the idea that you can't get a good workout from barre indicates that either you aren't pushing yourself far enough in these classes (you can always find a deeper position, longer holds, add heavier weights, do a more challenging variation, etc.), or you may be at a barre studio that is just focused on cardio or really limited focusing on butt/core exercises.

One reason I became such a barre devotee is that when I was rehabbing my back, my physical therapist recommended it for rehab. I had been before, but never thought of it as my primary workout. But once I made it my focus, I realized what an amazing full-body workout it is and how strong it can really make you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And I don’t want barre class you go to, but the ones I’ve been to are either frequented by thin frail looking older women, fit middle aged women (who likely do other forms of exercise), or overweight woman of various ages

Not my experience. I am overweight and was judged harshly at barre class. I took my fat ass and my money elsewhere.

Haha! This is precisely why I will not go to a barre class or any other class. I am overweight but not obese and quite fit. I can run at a decent pace 3 miles straight and then after some work on the weight machines, jump in the pool and do 10 laps non-stop. But, if people are going to judge by looking at me, they probably think I am some fat nasty couch potato. To be fair, my midsection is very distended as I had surgery on my intestines, and severe damage still. They are ALWAYS inflamed and there is nothing I can do about it. I do not want a total removal. So, my legs and other parts of my body look decent and then I look pregnant. But, I WILL outrun and outswim you and probably would kick those barre bishes butt.

All of this is good and fine until you get to the last sentence. First of all, most people who are in good barre shape can easily run 3 miles or swim 10 laps, that’s nothing remarkable and - honestly- doesn’t qualify as “quite fit”. But also why are you attacking barre class women, why can’t you just say you feel strong yourself? The fact that you’re writing off “barre class or any other class” tells me this is a YOU issue - which is valid, but no need to attack other women (you also managed to throw in “fat nasty couch potato”…), that’s just not classy.

I’m a barre fanatic and the answer is: they are either doing the workout daily (this is me - I’m passionate about the workout so it keeps me coming back regularly), or incorporating other intense workouts like running, solidcore, weight lifting and doing barre like 2-3 times a week…you’re just seeing them at barre and not on the trails.

I think barre appeals to white wealthy women who are looking for a certain type of aesthetic - long, lean and thin. These women often have the time and money to put into their appearance, and have probably spent their entire lives trying to stay thin.

Anonymous wrote:

And I don’t want barre class you go to, but the ones I’ve been to are either frequented by thin frail looking older women, fit middle aged women (who likely do other forms of exercise), or overweight woman of various ages

Not my experience. I am overweight and was judged harshly at barre class. I took my fat ass and my money elsewhere.

Haha! This is precisely why I will not go to a barre class or any other class. I am overweight but not obese and quite fit. I can run at a decent pace 3 miles straight and then after some work on the weight machines, jump in the pool and do 10 laps non-stop. But, if people are going to judge by looking at me, they probably think I am some fat nasty couch potato. To be fair, my midsection is very distended as I had surgery on my intestines, and severe damage still. They are ALWAYS inflamed and there is nothing I can do about it. I do not want a total removal. So, my legs and other parts of my body look decent and then I look pregnant. But, I WILL outrun and outswim you and probably would kick those barre bishes butt.

And I don’t want barre class you go to, but the ones I’ve been to are either frequented by thin frail looking older women, fit middle aged women (who likely do other forms of exercise), or overweight woman of various ages

Not my experience. I am overweight and was judged harshly at barre class. I took my fat ass and my money elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was very dedicated to Bar Method for a long while. If you are doing it right its very hard and effective. If your Bar/Barre class isn't working you aren't doing it right.

+1. I’m an experienced athlete and I think barre is harder than running.

Ditto. I used to run 5-6 miles 5-6x/week, plus do strength training. An injury sidetracked my running and I just never got back into it, and I stumbled upon barre a few years ago. Barre is my main workout now, 5x/week. My body looks (and feels) WAY better than it did when I was a runner, and I also agree it’s a harder and better workout. It it feels easy you’re not doing it right, your muscles often literally shake from exhaustion during a class

I found Barre 3 classes to be a good workout (meaning: hard, heart rate up, & muscles are tired after). Barre classes at the gym much less so. You do have to listen to the instructions and do it right, so you are actually working the intended muscles & not just using momentum to swing your legs around.

It is probably an add for flexibility on to whatever else they do. A lot of people use a variety of resources.

People ask me all of the time how DH got into such great shape. It is variety, trainer at least twice a week, Bikram 3 days a week and solid core two days a week. Plus intense stretching/mobility work every morning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Purebarre is bull.

Real dancers do real barre. They look a bit different than the women in Purebarre classes

This. Former dancer here. The Pure Barre class is a joke. Absolute waste. It is hardly a work out at all.

This is not true at all. I got very toned doing nothing but pure barre classes.

I feel like the women who are attracted to Pure Barre are also going to other group fitness workout classes like Pilates, Solidcore, etc…

Barre is really painful, I think it attracts exercise junkies. No way it’s their only workout.