Jan 12

Lifting, Toning and Burning at Spark Yoga’s Barre Class

img_5906I’ll admit it. I went into barre class with Casi at Spark Yoga with just a little bit of smugness. I’m a distance runner who, although begrudgingly, mixes strength training into her weekly plan. I figured I would be able to handle a low-impact workout, where the largest dumbells I were handed were five pounds.

 

Then, I found myself grabbing the bar, my arms shaking, my shoulders burning unmistakably. And that was only after the warm-up in your upper body.

 

Don’t let Casi’s bubbly demeanor and bright, huge smile disarm you – she is there to kick your booty, and kick it she will. The class rotates through specific focuses on each area of your body. You work (and work and work) that one specific area – whether it be your upper body, each individual leg, your booty, or your abs – until your muscles are burning and you feel as if you can go no more. You may, like me, think it’s impossible for it to hurt that much when all of your movements are supposed to be small, concentrated efforts. And you will be wrong.

 

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I loved that the class rotated through each specific area of the body – it helped me focus mentally on working those muscles completely. Not only did I leave fully confident that I had gotten a full-body workout (I felt it!), but I was able to push myself the entire time by reasoning that I’d lose the ability to challenge my left leg, for example, once we moved on to the right.

 

I also loved that Casi worked stretches into the class, between working us hard. After suffering my fair share of overuse injuries, I know firsthand how important proper stretching is for everyone. So to get a dose of it mixed into a good workout, effortlessly, was pretty exciting.

 

img_5902I would highly recommend taking a barre class at Spark – especially if you think you won’t get your butt kicked. Please report back to me when you’re wobbling your way out of the studio! And definitely try to take one with Casi. Her energy is infectious, her playlist is on point, and she made me want to try harder even when my arms were threatening to defect from my body.

 

You can find out more about Spark Yoga and their classes here!