February 5, 2019

This week on My Rec Life, the Blog Squad ventured into a Barre group exercise class. Barre is a choreographed exercise sequence that utilizes body weight and the ballet barre. It combines movements common in ballet dance with the energy of a group exercise class. Barre focuses on isometric movements, which are very small, incremental reps performed for an extended period of time. These movements challenge muscular endurance and tone specific muscle groups gradually without tearing them like heavy weight training would. That said, Barre is by no means an easy class, especially for those that are new to this type of exercise (like the entire Blog Squad). Since the class requires minimal equipment and just a limited understanding of the fundamental movements involved, participants can easily learn at their own pace and get a good workout at the Rec Center’s Barre group exercise class.

Hey guys it’s Connor! Having experience in dance, I went in thinking I was going to breeze through the class. WRONG. Despite knowing and having practiced some of the workouts in my individual training, I was very challenged in my endurance. This exercise class is designed to string the different techniques together to work out the body, rather than being a learning process in a studio’s class. Throughout Barre, there are options. For instance, on a basic move, like a plank, if you decide to challenge yourself more the instructor gives you options to make the moves harder so that you can get a more rigorous workout in. Or you could just default to the plank if that’s what your need is at the moment. My legs were sore for a few days after this class, and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a kick in their workout routine, or something new to add to it!

Hi guys, Taylor here! This was my first time ever taking a Barre class, but I was really excited since a few of my friends are obsessed with it. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into it. I knew there were both elements of pilates and ballet and some of the exercises were done standing at some kind of railing. I later found out this railing is actually the “barre” the name is referring to, which shows exactly how little I knew about this class going into this. The class turned out to be a really fun and challenging workout! It lasted about an hour and incorporated both groundwork and exercises standing at the barre. Most of the moves were repetition moves for a couple minutes at a time. I think it’s safe to say it was an effective workout because I was insanely sore the next two days! I really enjoyed this class and would definitely recommend it to anyone considering trying it.

Hey guys, Robbie here. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything for you here. I know what I have claimed in the past: “Body Pump is the most intense group workout offered at the Rec”. Well as always gang, Robbie was wrong! This class physically and mentally broke “ya boi” and I will not lie, I was not expecting it. I guess there is a sort of stigma about ballet dance not being physically straining, and rather being about technique. At least that’s what I believed and I am here to report that this was extremely physically intense, especially on the lower body. I do believe anyone can complete this course because I was able to survive but I do give a warning, if you are just starting taking on working out or hitting the gym, I would make this a personal goal to attend in the future. Once again the structure and instructor were great and I really got a great work out of it, but tread lightly with this one Drexel, it’s not easy to say the least. Peace.