Pretzel
I have been doing a bar method challenge for the past month, and I have just completed week 4 of my journey. While the past two weeks were more physically draining, these two weeks were more mentally challenging. My biggest hurdle in weeks three and four was the actual motivation to make it to class. While I would sign up for an early class, I would inevitably cancel it and procrastinate until the evening. At the end of my fourth week, however, I do feel like I have become stronger since my last check-in, and have more muscle definition in my arms.
Week 3:
Day 8:
I wasn’t feeling very well this week but made it to a class with one of my favorite instructors. I felt more energized when I actually arrived to the studio and was pleased to find out that she had slightly changed her playlist for the day- anyone who has taken a bar class will know that this is a big deal :P. The beginning portion of class went well, but I could barely make it through the thigh work portion. My legs would not stop shaking and I had to “reset” several times.
Day 9:
My friend tagged along with me for her first bar class, and I was super happy to have someone there to motivate me to do better. I was still feeling the previous class’s thigh exercise, but trudged through it completely. I didn’t get as low during the exercises as I had wanted to, but I still was able to the majority of the segment without stopping. Today, I felt a bit more tight in my hip flexors and quads, and actually had to strain to stretch them out. The ab portion really killed me today, and I barely could get through even half of it. At least my new bar buddy had a good time during her first class.
Week 4:
Day 10:
I only made it to bar two times last week due to an ear infection, and my motivation to go at all this week was super low. I dragged myself to an evening class on Monday and was very glad I went. The beginning warm up portion was a bit rough but once I loosened my muscles up a bit, I was able to do the arm portion fairly easily- I even went up a pound in my dumbbells! Push-ups are still a problem for me and I have resorted to doing them on the actual bar most classes.
Day 11:
I was very excited to come to class after work, but was a bit bummed that I had a “teacher in training” for my instructor. While they are just as helpful and challenging as the other instructors, the class moves much too slow for my pace and I find myself getting bored. The exercises were very similar to the ones I usually do, but it was a bit distracting to have someone filming in the corner. The ab portion was my favorite today, and had no problems during my curls.
Day 12:
This was one of the more challenging, yet fun classes I’ve been to at this studio. Most of the exercises I did today, I had never done before and that was a very nice change from the previous classes. One of the hardest moves to get through was the pretzel (see above). It targets muscles that are not used that often and made my entire leg shake through the duration of the set. I got through the class with minimal resets and am looking forward to my classes next week!
Stay tuned, dumplings, for weeks 5 & 6!
See the bar method challenge from the beginning! Weeks 1-2
Related: Getting the Most Out of Barre: Pure Barre Tips from a Teacher
Also by Karina: Warm Arugula Salad with Roasted Grapes
