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First Time at Open Barre!

A new fitness class, Open Barre, is now available right by campus! The new studio is located above Jason's Deli on Route 1! If you are a newby to barre like I was before this past week, then let me explain.

Barre is a combination of ballet, yoga, and core fitness. If you enjoy group fitness and working out to the beat of the music, then this is a class for you! Barre is an up-and-coming kind of class, and there are barre studios all over the US. What is so cool about Open Barre is that it is not a normal “barre” chain. It was created by a University of Maryland Alumni to better suit college students. The prices are lower than a normal Barre class, and the class is designed to be quick yet functional.

 

The class itself varies from 45 minutes to an hour and is $14 for students. They also offer packages at a discounted rate.

 

When I first walked in I was prompted to take my shoes off because the class is done barefoot, like many yoga and ballet classes. We started by stretching, and then we got into a ballet position on the bar. The motions consisted of a lot of squats, with pulsing in that position. After about 10 seconds of pulsing, I thought my legs were going to fall off. We did a bunch of other leg activities with the barre, as well as some off the barre. Every possible muscle in my leg was being worked out, and I could definitely feel the burn. Next we moved on to arms. We used 2 pound weights, and again we would pulse our arms in different positions to reach every and all muscles in our arms. After arms we moved to abs. This is when the yoga started to be incorporated. With almost every ab workout we would go directly into a yoga pose. It was nice to work hard and then get to relax in the yoga position. The last five minutes were comprised of all yoga poses, to relax our muscles after a hard workout.

Overall, this class was very different than any class I have ever taken before. I have never taken ballet, and it did not matter at all! The ballet poses were simple enough that I was able to do them, and if I wasn’t sure I could look at the instructor or other people in the class to get confirmation that I was doing it right. The class was moderately difficult. I feel like I am in good shape and most--if not all--of the poses were challenging, but what made it easier was that we took a quick 10 second break in between most of the poses.

If you are looking for a quick workout and want some change I would definitely recommend Open Barre. It is close to campus and easy to find. The amount of times you are able to go will vary depending on your spending budget for extracurriculars. But, if you can spare a few drinks at RJ Bentley's or a Starbucks treat on campus, I would recommend spending the extra cash trying out Open Barre! You might end up loving it and being an Open Barre Babe.

 

For more information, check out their website:

http://openbarrestudios.com/

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