Here is the story of how I fell in love with The Barre Code.
This past June, I had my first taste of The Barre Code when the East Lansing location held its grand opening. I even wrote about the transformative experience I had, thanks in large part to the philosophy of The Barre Code that focuses on self-appreciation and finding your own strong.
As part of The Barre Code East Lansing’s grand opening, the first two weeks of classes were free to the public. I took advantage of this opportunity and tried out a couple of other classes. The team from Chicago also gave me the chance to attend a class at their Lakeview location when I was visiting my friend Jen this past July.
While I loved everything about The Barre Code, I already had a gym membership elsewhere that wasn’t getting as much of my attention as it should have been getting. In my mind, I wasn’t prepared to make the commitment to myself and the consistency of exercise. There were so many excuses, from having to think of childcare (or bringing my clingy one-year-old with me to the gym) to figuring out when in my day I would have time to fit it in.
Yet the words from my very first Barre Code instructor Kaye stuck with me deep inside of my soul: A 50-minute class was essentially 5% of my day. That is 5% of my day just for me and no one else. Why was it so hard for me to give that to myself?
Then, late in the summertime, The Barre Code East Lansing’s owner and instructor Michelle Gimbutis reached out to me and offered me a free unlimited month of classes as a thank you for my early promotion of her business and so that I could continue to write and post about Barre Code. This was such a gift. It would activate once I took my first class, so I waited to get through the first couple of weeks of the school year and Labor Day holiday before signing up.
It worked out perfectly that my first class would line up with The Barre Code’s Back to Sweat 2018 challenge: 18 classes in 21 days. While I was certain I wouldn’t be making that particular goal, the challenge gave me an incentive to take more classes throughout the week than I might have normally. Plus, earning a gold star for each class felt symbolic of this new commitment to myself.
I figured out that my best bet for sneaking in classes throughout the week was to attend the 6am classes. This meant waking up around 5am. I learned very quickly that while it was difficult to roll out of bed that early, I was able to knock out a class before the rest of my family was even awake. By the time I got home on those mornings, there was still plenty of time to eat breakfast and help Stella get ready for school.
Perhaps the best part of these early classes was that by the late morning, I would almost forget that I already exercised for the day, save for the sore/tired muscles. It was like a strange but wonderful amnesia. Instead of dreading a workout all day, I didn’t even have time to worry about it in the early mornings. And because I have been using Margot’s nap time to write, I didn’t have to also sneak in some exercise and a shower at home during that time, too. The early classes also helped me make better food choices for the rest of the day.
That first week, I took classes on Monday (TBC), Wednesday (Barre Code), Thursday (Barre Code), and Friday (TBC) morning. Barre Code is their traditional class, which features a low-impact, full-body workout of four areas: arms, core, seat, and legs. TBC features segments of HIIT moves with segments of strength training. By the end of that week, I was wrecked. All weekend, my body felt so sore.
The second week of the challenge, I took classes on Monday (TBC), Wednesday (Barre Code), and Friday (TBC) morning. I learned from the week prior that taking back-to-back Barre Code classes left my muscles feeling overtired, so taking classes every other day helped me feel stronger.
By the third week of the challenge, I was feeling more confident in my ability to get through the classes, but also to wake up for those 6ams. In the third week, I took classes on Monday (TBC), Tuesday (Brawl), Wednesday (Barre Code), Saturday (Barre Code), and Sunday (Barre Code) morning. Brawl was a class I was intimidated by, but I absolutely loved it. It is a cardio-focused kickboxing class, and I think the Zumba lover in me appreciated the constant movement and choreography.
Out of 21 days in the Back to Sweat Challenge, I took 12 classes. More than half of the days of the challenge. I felt so proud of myself for pushing through and committing to getting to class all of those mornings.
Aside from the challenge aspect, what helped me continue to show up was knowing that I have many friends who are members at The Barre Code. The community aspect has been so key for me. Knowing that a friend would be there in the morning helped keep me motivated and accountable. I even signed up for classes I wasn’t planning to take when I heard that a friend would be there.
I also got to know some of my instructors. Mikayla, Chloe, and Kathryn have helped to keep me motivated and excited to come to class. I never knew what to expect from class before entering the room, and that variety kept things interesting.
After wrapping up the Back to Sweat Challenge on Sunday, October 7th, I think I completely lost my mind because I signed up for classes for the following three mornings. That meant five classes in a row. Whoa.
Surviving those five classes in a row is what truly helped me realize how much stronger I have gotten since my first week at The Barre Code. I enjoyed some much-needed resting days on that Thursday and Friday, but I also really missed going to class. I was more than happy to be signed up for a Saturday morning class this past weekend.
Who have I become? I don’t recognize this person who wakes up at 5am and takes multiple classes a week.
As I looked on the MINDBODY app to schedule this upcoming week’s worth of classes (side note: this app is awesome and makes signing up for classes so easy), I realized that my free month at The Barre Code was ending on October 17th. I immediately felt sad that I wasn’t able to sign up for Michelle’s Game Day Barre Code class on Saturday morning.
After consistently attending classes at The Barre Code, 19 classes by the time my free month expires on Wednesday, I made it official this morning by signing up for a membership. My husband and I had already put a hold on our other gym membership while he is working on the governor’s race, so it felt like the right time and reason to commit to this new love of mine.
While I hope in the coming months that I see changes in the scale, I’m trying not to focus too much on that right now. I can already tell that my strength and stamina have increased, and that helps me see this program works. That aligns with the philosophy of The Barre Code: it’s not about focusing on what you can/will lose, but about what you will gain.
I’m ready to evolve and exceed my own expectations.
I’m ready to live by The Barre Code.