The Bar Method-Round 2!

Last night I was invited to attend a complimentary class at The Bar Method that was hosted by Jess from Fit Chick in the City. I tried this class once before in May and was not thrilled with it. It was not nearly as challenging as Core Fusion and did not feel like much of a workout. I decided to give it another chance to see if would be any harder this time. I also figured it would be fun to work out with a bunch of bloggers!

I walked in and was kindly greeted by the staff. The guy at the desk knew right away that I had been there before so I was able to go right to the locker room. We were offered complimentary water since we were part of the special event. I found some fellow bloggers while waiting for the class to start.

That’s Ashley, Me, Erica, Nicole, and Jacquie. It was funny trying to figure out who everyone was before actually meeting them. I recognized Erica from her Twitter picture and knew Ashley from several blog meetups in the past.

Eventually we went into the room and were told to get 2 or 3 pound weights or 3 and 4 pound weights. I went with the 3 and 4 pounders since I remembered arms being way too easy last time. Can you find me in the mirror?

I knew it was the same instructor as last time when she memorized all of our names right away! I still have no idea how she does that. We did leg lifts to warm up and then did 20 push ups. We did a plank for maybe a minute and had to breathe in and out the entire time. Interesting. No leg lifts or bending our knees to the ground like in Core Fusion. Usually I want to collapse after the plank and push up section! Next we did some arms. I grabbed my 4 pound weights for shoulders. We did about 40 repetitions of the same shoulder move. Next we did another 40 reps of one bicep move. We finished with 2 different tricep exercises. We did some push backs with the weights and tricep dips on the ground. The arm section was exactly the same as the first class.

Next came thighs.  I said this last time but I have to say it again. I don’t like that they make you put your ankles over the bar to stretch! In Core Fusion we put our feet against the bar, not over it. I tried doing this because putting my ankles overthe bar hurts! They corrected me and made me do it their way. Oh well, I got to show off my Core Fusion socks a little more. I felt bad wearing them the first time but wanted the grippies this time. The thigh section was better than last time. We used a playground ball this time and had to raise our feet all the way in the air while moving up and down. We did 2 other thigh exercises without the ball. I enjoyed this section since my legs were shaking and I felt some pain!

Next was butt time! We did FitChick’s favorite, the pretzel.

During pretzel, you lift your leg up and push them behind you. It felt nice and was more challenging than the butt section in my first class. In Bar Method, we are told to lean over to the side which actually makes the exercise easier. In Core Fusion, we try to sit straight up and sometimes even raise our arm to make it tougher. We did pretzel for a while so I definitely felt this one!

Next was round back and flat back. I don’t love round back at Bar Method because they instruct you to sit almost straight up against the wall. I feel it much more in my abs during Core Fusion since we are instructed to sit in a C-curve against the wall while lifting our legs straight up in the air. Flat back was good since I knew to lift my legs in the air instead of rubbing them against the carpet back and forth. Sorry if you’ve never taken a barre class before! You probably have no idea what I’m talking about! One day I will post a bunch of videos since it is hard to explain in words.

We finished with abs. It was the same as last time where we got in a curl position but kept our elbows on the floor the whole time.  We did have the option to raise our arms up in the air at the end which made it a little tougher.

Overall I am definitely happy I tried Bar Method again! I felt that it was more challenging than the first time I went. My heart will always be with Core Fusion though because it is a much better workout. I may sound crazy but I enjoy feeling liking I am going to cry during the entire class.  I like stumbling out of class drenched in sweat! My legs are very sore today but I’ve also been to intenSati almost every day so that may have something to do with it!

Jess rewarded us with treats at the end!

I had one on the subway ride home. It was soft and peanut buttery! Loved it!! It was a lot of fun meeting new bloggers and experiencing the class with everyone! Thanks again Jess for hosting the class and for the delicious treat!

Don’t forget to enter my Michael Season’s Chip Giveaway!

Related posts:

1. The Bar Method
2. A New Goal: Refine Method
3. Core Fusion Cardio!
4. Core Fusion Challenge: The Results
5. Core Fusion Meetup and Pasta!