Today I took my 500th class with The Barre Code, a 6am barre that was equally challenging and celebratory. Our East Lansing studio just reopened this past weekend after the pause on group fitness activities was lifted, making it quite the perfect timing. I was in a place with friends from inside and outside the studio, under the blue lights, and beyond wearing a mask, it felt like old times. My friends Ellen and Linda surprised me with a 500 balloon banner (and a cutout of Linda’s face so she could be there) to make it even more special.
It was just over a year ago that I hit 300 classes surrounded by friends at the end of 2019, a triumphant and exciting end to a really great year. At that time, I set my sights on getting to my 500th class milestone by September 2020 — in time for my 35th birthday.
Obviously COVID decided to derail those plans, like so many others we all had for 2020 and beyond. When the world began shutting down in March, I was feeling so defeated and overwhelmed that I took only two classes in the span of three weeks. Before that, I was averaging five or six classes a week, soaring along with the habit I formed when I first started regularly going to The Barre Code East Lansing in fall 2018. Going to bed early to wake up for 6ams at the studio was replaced by doom scrolling until well past midnight followed by sleeping in because our girls didn’t have school and all of the rules were out the window.
After that initial sting and confusion of the early pandemic, I tried to get my groove back. The Barre Code was doing an incredible job of stacking the days with live-streamed classes from studios across the country. Their ability to pivot and regroup was extraordinary. I took class at home with kids running around the house and our then-puppy Fozzie nipping at my face and biting my hair while I tried to hold planks in the family room.
In those early months, I tried to focus less on my stalled class count and more on keeping us all from going completely batty. There were a lot of craft projects with the girls, dropping off treats on friends’ porches, FaceTiming with family, making sure Zack was eating as he was holed up in his office for hours at a time, and binge-watching shows. Still, I desperately missed that time to myself in the studio, not to mention interacting with people outside of my immediate household.
Soon the weather got nicer, and The Barre Code was able to offer outdoor classes. I still remember that first early morning brawl class outside on June 1st, the sun streaming through the covered patio area next to the studio where we’d end up taking so many of the classes of 2020. I was equally elated and exhausted. It’s amazing what being cooped up at home during a stressful pandemic will do to your stamina. But the nine of us 6am warriors brawled to our hearts’ content, and it felt like things were a little bit like normal again.
When residents of the apartments above the patio area complained about the noise, our 6am classes were moved to the other end of the parking lot in Trowbridge Plaza. It’s funny to look back at all of the early mornings we were out there with our yoga mats completely filthy from the road, crumbled pieces of pavement underneath our sticky socks, construction workers parking nearby and walking to their work site, sequences of sprinklers going off in the grassy areas surrounding the lot.
As the weather got colder in the fall and studios could be open at limited capacity, indoor classes were slowly reintroduced. This was such an exciting development (waking up at the crack of dawn to exercise out in the dark and cold was becoming a good enough reason to hit Cancel on my class reservations list), but presented new challenges, including exercising with masks on.
Exercising with a mask on took a lot of trial and error. As I wrote about last October in my post about masks for all tasks, the trick was finding something that was breathable, stayed in place, and didn’t pull into the mouth while breathing heavily. My Athleta made to move masks ended up being the best option, and taking class in the studio became easier over time.
Having the routine of signing up for classes in person and the prospect of interacting with other adults helped with my accountability. For the studio’s Back to Sweat Challenge in September, where clients are challenged to take 18 classes in 21 days, I got back the motivation to commit to daily classes.
When our daughter had a potential COVID exposure at her swim lesson that month and we had to quarantine, I was worried it would derail my chances of finishing the challenge. Thankfully, The Barre Code’s robust schedule of live streamed classes came to my rescue. I made sure to carve out that time for myself at home, sometimes taking the classes at odd hours in order to fit them in early in the morning or later at night. I ended up finishing that challenge with 19 classes in 21 days.
The second studio closure in the late fall with a statewide pause on group fitness and other activities was another tough pill to swallow. It felt like we were all in a groove again, and sadly could no longer rely on outdoor classes as the weather got colder and colder. Thankfully, our studio continued to offer live stream classes on the studio’s Facebook page in addition to the national live stream classes. While I am always partial to our East Lansing instructors, all of the classes I took from home allowed me to get to know instructors from around the country. I took #MondayMindset classes with Michelle, where we’d journal about gratitude and goals for 10 minutes before taking an abridged class. All of these pivots and solutions along the way helped keep me on the road toward 500 classes.
I didn’t hit that magic number by September, or even by the end of 2020. But thanks to The Barre Code’s current I Came to Gain challenge, I knew I’d finally make it to 500 this January. Instead of focusing on things we want to lose in the new year, The Barre Code’s annual January challenge looks at the things we hope to gain, from strength to confidence to new skills.
Today, January 19th, I gained Club Code 500 status. The day before Inauguration Day, a day that feels more like a new beginning than January 1st ever felt.
During today’s class, Michelle mentioned that there were some women in the studio who were taking their very first class. She repeated it again during our final stretch as we were on our backs on the mat. “Whether it’s your first class or your 500th class…”
With my eyes closed I was transported to my very first class at the studio in June 2018, the way it felt melting into the mat, exhausted but proud. It’s been two and a half years, but I can’t forget that day. It was a turning point, a random hour I decided to try something new and ultimately altered the trajectory of my life. So many memories, friendships, challenges, laughs, and tears are packed into those 500 classes.
My friend Jen, whom I first met at the studio, hit her 650th class this morning. It’s a wonderful reminder that there are so many things to celebrate for all of us: that first class in the studio, that big milestone, that next step toward another Club Code goal. We’re all at different parts of the journey, but we’re all in it together.