Pure Barre! LTB – Easy as 1, 2, 3! (Yeah right…)

Today marks the anniversary of the very first class I took at Pure Barre New Orleans. I remember it like it was yesterday… It was a Tuesday 5:30 class taught by the lovely Alli Craig. I was a little nervous because I felt incredibly unprepared for what was ahead of me – I owned absolutely no athletic apparel except shorts (and we all know you can’t just wear shorts for Pure Barre), I was out of shape from having a rather lazy summer, and I was surrounded by strangers. Having arrived way too early, I found my anxiety rising with each tick of that red clock. The suspense was terrible! What if I was bad at it? What if I didn’t understand what the teacher was saying? What if I break my ankle and have to be rushed to the hospital where they’ll tell me they have to amputate my leg and – yes, this is how my mind works. All this irrationality was completely unwarranted of course. Once that warm-up music started playing… man, I was in the zone!

PB Nola, ftw!

From that moment on, Pure Barre turned into my escape from the stress of school, work, and the world. The loud music, the driving tempo, the motivation of the instructors – it’s the perfect combination to get my energy up and my muscles working. And I’m not alone! There are at least 20 other people in class with me, all working to achieve the same goals: tucking a little deeper, lifting a little higher, squeezing a little harder. As an instructor, I find that the clients are my biggest motivation to take things to the next level. If they don’t come out of forearm plank, I certainly can’t either. Even if I’m absolutely exhausted from a long day at work, if the people around me are working to their limit, then challenge accepted! I’ll just have to work to my limit too! It’s this sort of driving, motivating community that brings me back to the barre each time. I love when I’m teaching and I tell everyone to “push their heels an inch higher and take their hips an inch lower” right before that final 10-count in thighs. I can see the determination in their eyes, the setting of their jaws, as they fight through those last seconds. They know it’s almost over, and they will push through the shaking and the fatigue and give it their best.

Training with Ashley, Alli, and Mandy
(PB Corporate, Denver, CO)

Whenever someone asks me about my favorite part in class, I always say that it’s the very end – that moment when you give your last big exhale and slowly roll up out of your stretch. In that moment, all the fatigue from class mixes with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. After surviving a Pure Barre class, I feel like I could conquer anything I set my mind to. It’s an exercise that builds strength in your muscles, but more importantly to me, it builds strength of mind, strength of character. You always hear about football being 10% physical and 90% mental; I’d say Pure Barre is the same (and we’ve had Saints players take class before – it’s hard for them too). I finish a class and suddenly the problems in my life don’t seem so daunting. I can take a deep breath, clear my head, and focus on one issue at a time. I feel more confident and driven to achieve all the things I see ahead of me. If something else troublesome is thrown my way, I just go back to the barre to de-stress and motivate. And what better motivation is there when you can actually see the change in your body and feel the strength you now possess.

Pure Barre isn’t just an exercise class: it’s a way of life. It’s that 55 minutes of the day when you can focus inward and do something for yourself – because how can you expect to take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of you first? After just one year of Pure Barre, I am physically stronger, more motivated, exponentially healthier, and overall happier. I am a proud Pure Barrista! Now who wants to LTB with me?

Lift·Tone·Burn