On February 21, 2011 my life as I knew it changed forever….
The Journey... my journey wait to a pre-kids body!!!
If you know me well I am sure you are thinking, What could have changed so much? I mean I already have two wonderful boys, a great family, good job and through all the trials I have had in my life have discovered who I am… Well drum roll please….
Pure Barre came to Huntsville… as a former dancer trained in ballet, tap, jazz and acrobatics, also a former athlete (softball, Basketball, cheerleading, you name it), after having 2 kids, yes I know they are not babies anymore and will both be in school next year, I have been looking for a way to keep myself motivated and back in the “gym”. My youngest child will be 6 years old here in a few short weeks and I still have not lost the weight I put on during my two pregnancies like many mothers. I am sure I have all the same excuses like I don’t have time, who can eat healthy all the time when you have kids and all of these activities to go too, I am too tired, I work to much…. The list goes on and on.
I have tried ever diet under the sun, own more exercise tapes and equipment that I will admit too and have had a trainer and attend boot camps. And what did I find with all of them…… They worked as long as I kept at it and I watched what I was eating. Note I am not saying that I threw out all sweets, gave up eating out or enjoying a treat now and then. What worked for me.. Logging my food (keeping a food journal) and exercise. That is the secret.
In December 2008 I met Mike Enright , my trainer, and he showed me the way back to the gym. Over the next several months of training I kept a food journal that he checked and gave me guidance and we worked out together 2-3 days a week and he made sure I was getting that extra cardio you need on top of the weight training. My time at that “gym” was up and I started taken what I had learned from Mike to my regular gym.. Luckily one day I got a phone call and come to find out he was at my current gym. We have trained off and on since that as time has allowed in our schedule but I have not made exercise/eating a priority in my life since we left “gym”. Of course some of life circumstances caused that. You all know what I am talking about; well if you know me you do… Well last year (2010) I got motivated again and joined Bootcamp again.. Yes I say joined it again because while MikeE was away I went to camp… I enjoyed bootcamp because it was an all female bootcamp but at 530am in the morning, outside on the hot summer days or cold winter morning no so much. But Scary Bootcamp Man was always there for me!! Yeah I am talking to you Joe! However he now offers night classes but normally by then I am knee deep in baseball, football or soccer..
So here we are at present day… 2011.. My goals for this year…
1) Get certified as an ACE Personal Trainer, which requires getting back in shape since no one wants a larger out of shape trainer, meaning I want my dancer body back or as close as I can realistically get after two kids
2) Get my waterfowl and game bird business doing well enough that hopefully within the next few years the farm and trainer can be my income and I will have more time to spend with kids
3) Keeping working the Dave Ramsey Plan
4) Find prince Charming…. Ok not really but three goals was like some kind of genie in a lamp kind of list
So Pure Barre.. What is it? It is wonderful… it is a mixture of Pilates, ballet movements and some weight training for the arms and shoulders… and I am totally hooked! I haven’t been this excited about going to an exercise class since I can remember.. I honestly look forward to going to class every day, well almost every day. There are those days that I can’t roll out of bed because I am so sore from class but I know once I go I will feel much better. I think that is the trick, you keep going day after day and that soreness doesn’t have time to set in…. I can tell a difference when I miss a day.
First for the good part, What are the results like, of course that is what everyone wants to know.. Well since Feb 21st I have been to 22 classes. As of last Thursday when I trained with MikeE I had lost .5 inches in my foreman and .5 inches in my upper arm (biceps/tricep area).. MikeE took my measurements at the end of January and until Pure Barre I can honestly say I haven’t don’t much so my measurements could have actually been bigger.. You might say that is not much but here is the kicker.. Lift Tone Burn is what Pure Barre is all about and it is working. I am down 4lbs since I started and if I had been watching what I was eating I know it would have been more. My pants and fitting loser and I feel so much better!! My grandmother even said she can tell my legs are thinner and my stomach is becoming flatter!! Now there is some motivation for you. A few of my friends have said they can really tell it in my face.. So I am hooked!! I love it!!
Now for the bad part, if there has to be a bad part…. I remember my first day of class.. I was so excited. I arrives to class and Meredith and Katie were just so friendly and WOW look at them.. Sign me up if I am going to look like that! I bought a pair of the Pure Barre Socks with the grippy things on them because I knew I would need them. I was told where to put my stuff when I got there and that no shoes were allowed in the studio. Sock only! Ok that is cool.. I hate to work out in shoes which steams from all those years of dance and wearing just a piece of leather on my foot. Of course I love shoes though.. Heels to be exact. So Katie I believe is who taught class that day. She showed me the equipment we needed 1 set of weight (2,3 or 5 lbs), a ball and a tube.. That is all.. here I am used to 10-15lb+ weights, tires, medicine balls.. oh this is not going to work was my first thought! So I got what I needed ball, tube and 2lb weight because since I was knew I had no idea what I needed them for…
Class goes like this.. Warm-Up, Thigh, Seat and the Abs… ok in all honestly after the ½ was through the warm-up I was done.. I mean really done! My heart rate was elevated and I have never felt so out of shape in my life.. Yeah it was the hundreds (pilates move) and then the 90 second forearm plank that turned into the full plank and side planks.. I think I made it through like 30 seconds of that. Next we moved on to weights.. Ok picture this, 2 lbs weights that after you are done feel like lead!! Oh yeah and I keep going back for me.. I am proud to say I am up to the 3lb weights and almost up to the 5lbs.
Thigh… The most dreaded word in thigh exercise.. Chair, yes chair, something about that word today makes my stomach turn and my muscles shake! The rest of the class just burns and makes your muscles shake, but chair.. oh no… The instructors will say in their polite little happy cheerful voices.. If you need to just work higher. If you can feel the burn then it is working, okay feel the burn, what if your muscles feel like they are about to rip off your legs or Abs… yeah it is in a good way but man it burns at the time!!
Seat… lots of little movements and you have to really have that mind/body connection..
Abs..what can I say except for Down an Inch, Up Inch, Down an Inch… I hear that in my sleep now!
I love Pure Barre and I am hear to stay.. In a little over a month, I have gotten my shape back and have a waist line. I started really watching what I was eating and have lost 4 lbs since then.. I am hooked and in love with Pure Barre. I will be at the Barre for at least he next 3 months if not more and will be blogging about my experience and the results I am getting… I will be tracking my food intake and any other exercise I get through myfitnesspal!! I will post some pictures eventually of before, after and some milestone points! I can’t wait and I have been looking for something like this to keep me motivated for a long time.. the dancer in me loves it!! And yes in 55 minutes you can change your life!!
And to all of my English professors out there that might have just finished reading this, I am sorry….
Remember: The Higher the Heel the Thinner the Thigh!! –Pure Barre instructors!!
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