Add Pure Barre to the list of things in life harder than you thought 

I have a 3 tiered exercise regimen, which varies by frequency and level of difficulty:

(1) The Cart Hustle: A couple of times a week, I enter a retail establishment, where the options are so vast, you need a large cart on wheels to haul your goods. I sprint through the aisles foraging for food and often, I participate in Extreme Cart Hustle. This phenomenon is when I realize while in aisle 20 that I needed something in aisle 1. Too. Many. Aisles.

(2) Quasi-Yoga: Yoga in my house. Sometimes with the TV on. Snacks from the pantry are invited for interpose snacking purposes.

(3) The Dorkie Chase: Once in a while, our Dorkie (Dachshund/Yorkie mix) enjoys shooting out of our house like a cannon, in hot pursuit, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane style. In this scenario, it’s the 100 yard sprint through the neighborhood.

This week, I thought I should shake things up, I’ve heard changing your routine yields better results. I have a group of friends who swear by Pure Barre. Pure Barre’s website says it’s a total body workout that utilizes the ballet barre to perform small, isometric movements, which burn fat, sculpt muscles and create long, lean physique. Yes, please! I dug out my only pair of suitable pants for this occasion and headed to the studio.

Our instructor for the 8:30 am class was Caris, who is the operating partner of the Pure Barre Ballantyne location. I should also mention that Caris is 8 months pregnant. The studio is bright and doesn’t smell of sweat at all, which was encouraging. My logical mind deduced that a workout in a clean studio taught by a very pregnant instructor would be a piece of cake and certainly easier than chasing a shooting cannon through the neighborhood.

The sign in the lobby indicated we would need weights, a ball, and a double tube. A double tube? The room was packed at go time and then I noticed it – everyone, but me, in this room is really fit. This is when I realized I might be in a little over my head, though in all fairness, I had been emoji-warned the night before.

The next hour is a little bit of a blur. Here’s what I can remember:

(1) There’s upbeat, motivating, and energetic music playing during Pure Barre.

(2) The pace is quick. You’ll move from one set to the other in quick succession. I was thankful to have a legitimate reason to take breaks and snap some photos.

(3) The focus is to lift, tone, and burn your whole body. You may sweat, but this is not a cardio workout (however, you might find that you want to run away halfway through.)

(4) The tuck! Tucking is an important movement used frequently in Pure Barre, where you tuck your hips and draw abs in. It’s harder than it sounds and Caris was so kind to let me stay in the class even though I clearly couldn’t tuck.

(5) In addition to calling out the next set and words of encouragement, Caris works the room and helps you adjust when needed. She was in my vicinity a lot.

(6) The double tube is two circular resistance tubes hooked together. The number of exercises you can do with the double tube is unreal and painful.

(7) My class was all women, which is the norm for Pure Barre. I would love to see some men out there trying to work the double tube.

(8) The women in the room were laser focused and a great testament to the validity of this workout. They were in Zen Barre mode and were conquering the sets in great form.

(9) Though I often found myself shaking while trying to tuck, lift, tone, and burn all at the same time, I never once felt that I should quit for the dignity of the group. Everyone is working to their own abilities here and there’s no shaming.

(10) Pure Barre is a great workout and I imagine it would get anyone in shape, fast.  I left the studio feeling sore, which does not bode well for me tomorrow, but I would definitely do it again.

Thanks, Pure Barre and Caris for making me realize that grown women sometimes want to cry during a workout in a ballet studio AND for helping me understand that women might wear yoga pants all day because they’re too sore to change out of them.

Charlotte Pure Barre locations

Pure Barre -Ballantyne
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8430 Rea Road
704-502-5888

Pure Barre – Myers Park
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603 Providence Road
980-329-4640

Additional studios located in Rock Hill and Lake Norman. Full list of locations can be found here.