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My Barre3 Journey: How Online Workouts Ignited My Love For Barre3
We often hear clients say they fell in love with barre3 from the very first class. Not Melanie Hunter. The barre3 Rittenhouse client wasn’t convinced after her first class—or her second, or even her third. For Melanie, the love grew slowly but surely, one challenging Plank at a time. Today, she shares her experience, including how some of the key barre3 postures have guided her journey.
Today I proudly completed my 175th barre3 online workout since the beginning of COVID-19. During the breathwork section toward the end of the intense 45-minute sweat session, I took a moment to reflect back on where my journey started with barre3.
Primary Posture
Admittedly, my journey with barre3 did not start out with love at first Sumo Squat. Like most people, I was nervous to attend my first in-person class. At the time I wasn’t feeling very confident in my appearance, and I was concerned I didn’t fit the mold of my perception of a typical barre go-er. Upon arriving at my local barre3 studio, the front-desk staff member saw that it was my first time, so she took the time to welcome me and explain where everything was. This helped ease some of my anxiety.
I found an open locker: number 44, my lucky number. I grabbed my weights: 5 pounds – “I got this!” (Rookie mistake!) Next, I strategically found my spot in the back of the class facing a wall, not a mirror.
The class began in Primary Posture, and I immediately fell out of sync with the instructor. It was as if I was in a musical where everyone knew the choreography except for me. Most everything after that was a blur. At one point I remember thinking “there can not possibly be another squat sequence after this,” but there most certainly was. At another point, I thought, “how effective are these mini-movements at the barre anyway?” Lying flat on the mat at the end of class, I was torn between wanting to run out of there without making eye contact with anyone and physically not being able to stand up.
I wish I could tell you that my life changed dramatically after that very first class, that I felt amazing, and that I was instantly hooked—but I was not. I can say that I felt sweaty, and I was also proud of myself for finishing.
Plank
I gathered the strength and went back to the studio a few more times over several months and eventually started going about once a week for a Saturday or Sunday morning class. Eventually, I did start getting familiar with the funny names of the postures, learned to anticipate when a Plank was coming up, and began to feel increased endurance during those squat sequences. I started to feel more comfortable with my body in the environment and eventually choose a spot in class a little closer to the mirror. I was ready to even start going to class more regularly during the week when…
COVID-19 hit my city of Philadelphia. There were a few weeks of uneasiness before nonessential businesses were forced to shut down indefinitely. In that time, I attended a few classes, and it was clear that the studio was taking every extra precaution they could by limiting class size, wiping down props more after each class, and keeping the locker rooms even more spotless then they already were. My studio was great about keeping everyone up to date about any new policies and changes. On a few occasions, the instructors would also take the time to acknowledge the weirdness going on in the world around us and talked through ways to breathe through it. This is when I can say I truly started to feel connected to the barre3 community.
Carousel Horse
I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home during the stay-at-home orders. Living alone and having to self-isolate was daunting, but by following barre3 on social media and doing the Instagram LIVE workouts at home, I did not feel alone. I eventually signed up for barre3 online barre3 and started seeing the advantages right away.
- My Own Time: I loved not having the pressure to do a full 45-minute or 1-hour class to feel accomplished. Squeezing in a 10- or 30-minute session at lunchtime or between Zoom calls was so convenient and still gave me an effective workout.
- Being my own prop master: I did not have all the props that were available to me at the studio, but I made do with a throw pillow for a Core Ball and stone agate bookends for 2-pound weights.
- Giving myself permission to take modifications: I was so happy to see someone on the screen that was demonstrating modifications. Being able to go at my own pace and not feel like I needed to be in sync with everyone in a class really helped me deepen my practice.
- The Fantastic Online Instructors: It is easy to feed off of the positive energy of the variety of online instructors. Their words help move me through challenging postures, but they also gave me the grace to take modifications when it made sense for me. On Instagram Live they also do “Instructor Takeovers”—it’s so fun to learn more about them. (Shout out to Christa Joy!)
- The Progress Tracker! As a self-proclaimed data nerd, I love tracking how I’m feeling after each class and analyzing the trends later. This helps me to see my emotional progress in addition to the physical progress I was seeing in my body, (believe me, I was seeing the physical progress!).
- The online community: I especially love the 15-Day Challenges and all the motivational content on Instagram. It really helps me feel like I’m part of a community of strong women who are along on this journey with me.
Breathwork
Since beginning my barre3 online journey, I have not only seen positive physical changes (hello stronger core!), but I’ve also seen healthy changes in other areas of my life. I eat more mindfully, I’ve learned to breathe through challenging moments, and I have more energy overall.
But while I do love my at-home practice and certainly plan on continuing beyond the shutdown, I’m eagerly awaiting the day I can take a class at my Rittenhouse Studio again and we can all share a collective opening breath.
Thank you to the barre3 community for keeping us connected and moving mindfully during this time.
Feeling inspired by Melanie’s journey? Start your own today by finding your barre3 studio or try barre3 online with a 15-day free trial.
We often hear clients say they fell in love with barre3 from the very first class. Not Melanie Hunter. The barre3 Rittenhouse client wasn’t convinced after her first class—or her second, or even her third. For Melanie, the love grew slowly but surely, one challenging Plank at a time. Today, she shares her experience, including how some of the key barre3 postures have guided her journey.
Today I proudly completed my 175th barre3 online workout since the beginning of COVID-19. During the breathwork section toward the end of the intense 45-minute sweat session, I took a moment to reflect back on where my journey started with barre3.
Primary Posture
Admittedly, my journey with barre3 did not start out with love at first Sumo Squat. Like most people, I was nervous to attend my first in-person class. At the time I wasn’t feeling very confident in my appearance, and I was concerned I didn’t fit the mold of my perception of a typical barre go-er. Upon arriving at my local barre3 studio, the front-desk staff member saw that it was my first time, so she took the time to welcome me and explain where everything was. This helped ease some of my anxiety.
I found an open locker: number 44, my lucky number. I grabbed my weights: 5 pounds – “I got this!” (Rookie mistake!) Next, I strategically found my spot in the back of the class facing a wall, not a mirror.
The class began in Primary Posture, and I immediately fell out of sync with the instructor. It was as if I was in a musical where everyone knew the choreography except for me. Most everything after that was a blur. At one point I remember thinking “there can not possibly be another squat sequence after this,” but there most certainly was. At another point, I thought, “how effective are these mini-movements at the barre anyway?” Lying flat on the mat at the end of class, I was torn between wanting to run out of there without making eye contact with anyone and physically not being able to stand up.
I wish I could tell you that my life changed dramatically after that very first class, that I felt amazing, and that I was instantly hooked—but I was not. I can say that I felt sweaty, and I was also proud of myself for finishing.
Plank
I gathered the strength and went back to the studio a few more times over several months and eventually started going about once a week for a Saturday or Sunday morning class. Eventually, I did start getting familiar with the funny names of the postures, learned to anticipate when a Plank was coming up, and began to feel increased endurance during those squat sequences. I started to feel more comfortable with my body in the environment and eventually choose a spot in class a little closer to the mirror. I was ready to even start going to class more regularly during the week when…
COVID-19 hit my city of Philadelphia. There were a few weeks of uneasiness before nonessential businesses were forced to shut down indefinitely. In that time, I attended a few classes, and it was clear that the studio was taking every extra precaution they could by limiting class size, wiping down props more after each class, and keeping the locker rooms even more spotless then they already were. My studio was great about keeping everyone up to date about any new policies and changes. On a few occasions, the instructors would also take the time to acknowledge the weirdness going on in the world around us and talked through ways to breathe through it. This is when I can say I truly started to feel connected to the barre3 community.
Carousel Horse
I was fortunate enough to be able to work from home during the stay-at-home orders. Living alone and having to self-isolate was daunting, but by following barre3 on social media and doing the Instagram LIVE workouts at home, I did not feel alone. I eventually signed up for barre3 online barre3 and started seeing the advantages right away.
- My Own Time: I loved not having the pressure to do a full 45-minute or 1-hour class to feel accomplished. Squeezing in a 10- or 30-minute session at lunchtime or between Zoom calls was so convenient and still gave me an effective workout.
- Being my own prop master: I did not have all the props that were available to me at the studio, but I made do with a throw pillow for a Core Ball and stone agate bookends for 2-pound weights.
- Giving myself permission to take modifications: I was so happy to see someone on the screen that was demonstrating modifications. Being able to go at my own pace and not feel like I needed to be in sync with everyone in a class really helped me deepen my practice.
- The Fantastic Online Instructors: It is easy to feed off of the positive energy of the variety of online instructors. Their words help move me through challenging postures, but they also gave me the grace to take modifications when it made sense for me. On Instagram Live they also do “Instructor Takeovers”—it’s so fun to learn more about them. (Shout out to Christa Joy!)
- The Progress Tracker! As a self-proclaimed data nerd, I love tracking how I’m feeling after each class and analyzing the trends later. This helps me to see my emotional progress in addition to the physical progress I was seeing in my body, (believe me, I was seeing the physical progress!).
- The online community: I especially love the 15-Day Challenges and all the motivational content on Instagram. It really helps me feel like I’m part of a community of strong women who are along on this journey with me.
Breathwork
Since beginning my barre3 online journey, I have not only seen positive physical changes (hello stronger core!), but I’ve also seen healthy changes in other areas of my life. I eat more mindfully, I’ve learned to breathe through challenging moments, and I have more energy overall.
But while I do love my at-home practice and certainly plan on continuing beyond the shutdown, I’m eagerly awaiting the day I can take a class at my Rittenhouse Studio again and we can all share a collective opening breath.
Thank you to the barre3 community for keeping us connected and moving mindfully during this time.
Feeling inspired by Melanie’s journey? Start your own today by finding your barre3 studio or try barre3 online with a 15-day free trial.
