Here’s the long story shortened: I paid 700 pesos for a Barre3 session so that I couldn’t walk the next day. Bye. JK.
It’s a funny story, really. And I enjoyed every minute of the class. This was how it went down.
I was in Manila for Selena Gomez and I had a lot of time to kill before the concert. I tried Barre3 out of curiosity. And because I didn’t want to shower in my hostel. LOL Didto na lang sa gym after the workout.
It was a little past 10 AM and I had the delusion that I was going to make it to 9th in Bonifacio High Street before the 10:30 AM class. I wound up being a little late. Nagbaktas ko from my hostel thinking I would make it. It took me about five minutes to realize na dapat nagtaxi na lang ko kay basi kapuyon na ko. Da. Yawyaw.
The front desk was accommodating and allowed me to get in class. Everyone was in the middle of their warm ups. Burgis akong mga classmate kay naka Nike studio wrap sila. Ako? Nagtiniil. haha
I think many people underestimate studio classes and think that these are for sissies. But I would like to make it clear that Barre3 is a badass.
Barre3 combines yoga, Pilates and ballet in the workout. It is designed to workout muscles to failure. It’s low impact and I think that’s fantastic.
As I caught up with the class’ pace (it was an open-level session with a teacher named Raech), I already felt my legs burn. When we were done with the dynamic stretches, we did squats and plies.
It took me some time to realize that I was going a little too deep with each rep. And I wasn’t going to last the class in that form if we were to be doing like infinite reps until failure. Yikes! Lesson learned: never, ever underestimate body weight exercises. Ten reps of plies are easy. But repeating that to death is basically armageddon.
selfie with teacher Raech kay FC man ko
With Pilates as its foundation for strength training, Barre3 sequences are characterized by high repetitions of small movements and tons of isometric holds. This lit up my legs like crazy.
Halfway through the class, I kind of wished that I didn’t attend and stayed in bed instead. (It was a cloudy day.) But I persisted knowing that I was paying P700 for the session. Lord. Mahal sya. Lugi ko kung mag-inaryat ko.
We did yoga stretches in between; they’re great momentary rests. But there’s no escaping leg day with the barre.
As the class continued with more plies and releves, I felt my legs shake.
“Are your legs shaking?” Raech asked, saying that its a good thing.
“The quaking sensation is an indication that your muscles are being put under a new kind of stress that they aren’t used to and as a result they are getting stronger,” matud pa sa Barre3 website.
I like it when instructors talk to me. “You’re going great.” “How about we try this?” (when suggesting modifications and correcting form) “Good job, Jesse.” Hearing these keeps my mind focused in the class. Ganahan pud jud ko og motivation ui. Lain kaayo’g kebs lang ang teacher.
My favorite set would have to be that one where we did plies with lifted heels together (like holding a piece of paper in the middle). That lit up my hammies.
After barre work, we got on the floor to work on our core. It was pretty intense. I love how low impact workouts with high reps result to surprisingly diabolical workouts. We worked on our core and glutes. And more stuff for our hamstrings. Pierce the ceiling with your toe stuff while prone.
We did low impact burpees pud diay! I didn’t think they would be crazy intense but they were.
I swear I couldn’t walk the next day.
That was my first Barre3 class. The second one was this 10-minute workout online with Barre3 founder Sadie Lincoln. Diabolical, too. I did it at home. Hangak sya if you do the full expression of the movements. But I like that it perks me up after. Singoton kog taman pero kanang dili hags ang feeling.
My limited experience with Barre3 cemented my love for yoga, Pilates, and ballet. It also made me realize that I have an inclination towards low impact exercises that are high in repetitions. They’re pretty addictive. Low impact exercises are officially my thing. Char.
They’re little devil workouts. They seem easy because they’re portrayed to be graceful as fuck in the media. But studio workouts like Barre3 are from hell. The fun kind of hell. Okay, forget the imagery.
I would go for another Barre3 class when I get the chance. But di sila ka open sa Davao oi, kay overs ang presyo, bes.
(Visit Barre3.com.ph for the list of studios in Manila; walk in rate is at P700; 3-class beginner package that’s valid for two weeks is at P1,500)
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