Surviving Barre Class

Goooooood Morning readers!

We just survived our annual mid-March snow extravaganza. The power promptly went out and we listened to a podcast about Pompeii by candle light. The fact that I didn’t leave the house yesterday normally would have had my eyes rolling into my head (the most common side-effect of cabin fever) but yesterday I was actually fine with it. Why? Because the previous morning I saddled up and went to my local barre studio. The beautiful new studio at Barre 44 was almost enough to distract me from the fact that every muscle in my body was loudly protesting the agony I was inflicting upon it. But not quite; it was agonizing. Anyways, I was so sore yesterday, simply moving around the house was painful enough, let alone actually leaving it.

Whenever I experience a workout that challenges my muscles to this extent I have two emotions. 1) Excitement, I love a new challenge and I LOVE the feeling of getting a really intense workout. 2) Uncertainty, am I not as in shape as I think I am if this workout is really this difficult for me and causing me to much soreness afterwards?

To answer myself, and any others who may have this trepidation about their personal fitness levels, sometimes the question is not how in shape one is overall, but how conditioned your body is to a particular workout.

Fitness is all about challenging different muscles in different ways. The body gets accustomed to a particular workout surprisingly quickly. For example, I can do Pilates for hours without breaking a sweat, feeling sore, or any of the normal side effects. My recent barre experience clearly incorporated few of the elements of a workout that my body is conditioned to, because I was sweating, shaking, and left with the inability to perform normal motor functions the following day.

I always forget, and have written about it in the past, that experiencing a challenging workout is not a sign of the decline of your personal fitness level. It is simply challenging your body in a new way. This is how we improve, increase strength and endurance, and all of that good stuff that us fitness buffs are motivated by.

So, here I am, still shaking out the stiffness of my sore muscles, mentally preparing to go to another barre class later this morning. And guess what? I’m excited!

So to answer my question; How to survive a Barre class?

Do it more. 

❤ Cammy