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From Ski Slopes to Studio Shakes: Mending the Body with barre3
I asked barre3 instructor and former ski racer, Regan Nelson, to write about her experience mending her body with her barre3 practice. Her blog post inspired me so much, I convinced her to also design and teach a ski conditioning workout for all of us!
Meet Regan and then get out of your chair and do her quick workout right where you are: it’s only 10 minutes!
I grew up in a mountain town and skiing was a way of life. I learned to ski when I was two. I joined the ski team when I was seven, and at 13 years old, I committed myself to the sport of alpine ski racing: summer conditioning and on-snow training, fall dry land workouts and on-snow racing from November to April. There was never an off season. I trained hard, I was fit and strong, and I loved it.
At 14 I tore the ACL and meniscus in my left knee and at 17 my right. I had surgery, rehabbed and got back on snow as fast as I could. After college, my ski racing career came to an end, and I shifted my sports addiction to cycling: riding nearly every day of the week nearly all year long.
Seven years ago, I started having pain in my hip and back. It hurt to sit, to sleep and even worse to ride. Suddenly I not only had knee problems but hip problems as well. In my teens and twenties I didnʼt think about how my injuries would plague me as an adult. After two knee surgeries, two hip surgeries and two fractured vertebrae, I was far too young to be this “broken” and still anticipating a lifetime of sport and activity.
After a intense battle with my inner self, Iʼve finally accepted that I can no longer ask of my body what I had expected of it in the past. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, I had to let go of the life I had planned so as to live the life that was waiting for me. I realized that I had to find a new way to stay fit, a different way to challenge my body without the stress and pounding on my joints…enter barre3.
At first, I was skeptical about the “toughness” of the workout, but I quickly learned that it was far more challenging than I had ever expected. Nearly three years later, I still believe in this workout more than ever. I did barre3 throughout my entire pregnancy, even on my due date. I came back to it six weeks postpartum and went through instructor training when my daughter was six months old. My body is more toned now than it has ever been, and even more importantly the pain I feel during and after working out has diminished drastically.
Clients often ask “what else” I do to work out, and they are usually very surprised to learn that walking and barre3 are the only workouts I do regularly. I still miss my past life…I miss running stairs and doing box jumps. I miss feeling so drained after a 6 hour ride that I can barely move. I miss being able to put my body through any sort of activity I want without pain, but what barre3 has added to my life far outweighs what I have given up.
barre3 is a workout I can take with me anywhere, any time, for the rest of my life. It constantly challenges me to be a better person, a better instructor and a better athlete. It is a happy place for my child to play, and it is a community of women that strengthens my body and my soul. Because of barre3, I am a better person and a better athlete.
– Regan
I asked barre3 instructor and former ski racer, Regan Nelson, to write about her experience mending her body with her barre3 practice. Her blog post inspired me so much, I convinced her to also design and teach a ski conditioning workout for all of us!
Meet Regan and then get out of your chair and do her quick workout right where you are: it’s only 10 minutes!
I grew up in a mountain town and skiing was a way of life. I learned to ski when I was two. I joined the ski team when I was seven, and at 13 years old, I committed myself to the sport of alpine ski racing: summer conditioning and on-snow training, fall dry land workouts and on-snow racing from November to April. There was never an off season. I trained hard, I was fit and strong, and I loved it.
At 14 I tore the ACL and meniscus in my left knee and at 17 my right. I had surgery, rehabbed and got back on snow as fast as I could. After college, my ski racing career came to an end, and I shifted my sports addiction to cycling: riding nearly every day of the week nearly all year long.
Seven years ago, I started having pain in my hip and back. It hurt to sit, to sleep and even worse to ride. Suddenly I not only had knee problems but hip problems as well. In my teens and twenties I didnʼt think about how my injuries would plague me as an adult. After two knee surgeries, two hip surgeries and two fractured vertebrae, I was far too young to be this “broken” and still anticipating a lifetime of sport and activity.
After a intense battle with my inner self, Iʼve finally accepted that I can no longer ask of my body what I had expected of it in the past. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, I had to let go of the life I had planned so as to live the life that was waiting for me. I realized that I had to find a new way to stay fit, a different way to challenge my body without the stress and pounding on my joints…enter barre3.
At first, I was skeptical about the “toughness” of the workout, but I quickly learned that it was far more challenging than I had ever expected. Nearly three years later, I still believe in this workout more than ever. I did barre3 throughout my entire pregnancy, even on my due date. I came back to it six weeks postpartum and went through instructor training when my daughter was six months old. My body is more toned now than it has ever been, and even more importantly the pain I feel during and after working out has diminished drastically.
Clients often ask “what else” I do to work out, and they are usually very surprised to learn that walking and barre3 are the only workouts I do regularly. I still miss my past life…I miss running stairs and doing box jumps. I miss feeling so drained after a 6 hour ride that I can barely move. I miss being able to put my body through any sort of activity I want without pain, but what barre3 has added to my life far outweighs what I have given up.
barre3 is a workout I can take with me anywhere, any time, for the rest of my life. It constantly challenges me to be a better person, a better instructor and a better athlete. It is a happy place for my child to play, and it is a community of women that strengthens my body and my soul. Because of barre3, I am a better person and a better athlete.
– Regan
