17 May Wendy Boyce May 17, 2017 Barre vs. Ballet Barre, Body 0 Comment No, Barre is nothing like ballet. You’re welcome. I grew up taking ballet lessons. I truly enjoy the elegance and stability of ballet. When I first heard of barre classes, I thought, “perfect, I like ballet and have experience in that, so I’d probably be good at it”. Then I took a class and realized first hand, nope, not ballet at all. However, it did rock my world. Thinking that the Barre class is even relatively close to ballet causes two distinct problems for some students: • Students that have done ballet expect it to be like ballet • Students that believe it to be like ballet never try it because ballet never appealed to them and it may seem like it’s for students that have taken ballet Sunstone's Barre classes offer high reps and incredible fatigue using lighter weights than you may normally use. It will tone your muscles like no other class! Those of you that have been taking it for quite some time know what I’m talking about. Those of you who have not tried it are missing out on a whole different world of soreness and sensations (reference: pretzel series into pretzel stretch, shall I go on?). Ballet is more about flow and grace, by contrast, Barre is more about small movements and the BURN! It also improves posture and strengthens the muscle structure around your joints – who doesn’t want that? Then, the greatest payback of all happens, we stretch the muscles worked after each section and it feels absolutely incredible! There is a little heat in the room to help facilitate a warmer body and a higher intensity practice. Ballet takes tremendous discipline, several thousands of hours of practice to achieve greatness in difficult positions such as pirouettes. You must also look flawless physically in skin tight clothing while in motion. What a relief this is not the case for Barre class – all you have to do is show up. In time, you will learn greater coordination, improve your rhythm skills, you will get stronger, you will see and feel results! Put the Barre class in your calendar at least once a week. You’re welcome. Quotes from students after Sculpt: “Wow, I thought I was really killing it, then I looked down and noticed my heels were barely off the ground” [heels are supposed to be lifted as high as possible] – female student “I enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would, it was completely different than I expected and challenging” – male student “I thought I had the frog position, until you [me] came over and pushed my heels closer to my glutes, thanks for the burn, that’s going to make my facebook status.” – female student “I’ve done barre classes all over town, and that was hands down my favorite – loved it in every way!” – female student “Men, you’re missing out if you haven’t attended this class yet! It’s a wild ride!” – male student Related Articles Yoga vs. Fitness Get out of the box: Yoga vs. fitness – Are you achieving your absolute best? If you would have asked me ten years ago – “Do you prefer yoga or fitness?” I would have said, without hesitation, “yoga”. That’s it, end of story. Fitness wasn’t even on my radar (Ok, maybe for a little while in college I got into circuit training, but it never got very serious.) A Catalyst for Change We like to see fitness as a catalyst for change, and fuel for sustaining mind, body and life balance. It is a tool, and like any other instrument of change, can be used by amateurs or experts on a variety of levels to accomplish an end goal. So, whether you’re a couch potato considering beginning a regular fitness practice, an avid exerciser looking for another outlet for releasing energy and building strength, or an experienced practitioner looking to “kick it up a notch,” baby steps can help take you where you want to go in your relationship with yoga and yourself. Discover Sunstone… Orientation is where it’s at! Have you ever thought about why beginning something new, or even picking back up something you have done before, is often a source of anxiety? Maybe it is because there is little frame for expectations of this fresh experience, because looking like the new kid can be embarrassing, or maybe it is just because a new path can often feel lonely. Fundamental Movements Are Fundamental movements are… wait for it… FUNDAMENTAL. That is they form a necessary base or core; of central importance. Every class or program you take that utilizes movement relies on your ability to do fundamental movements. 5 Myths You Probably Believe About High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is huge right now, and it's easy to see why. It gets results fast, and it's a lot of fun. We get it, and we love all the buzz--especially since we are now offering HIIT exclusively at our two new studios, Prestonwood Place and Alliance Town Center. But with the hype comes a lot of misunderstanding. Which of these HIIT myths have YOU fallen for? Schedule Awesomeness With the Holiday season nearly upon us it is time for our annual New Year’s schedule updates! Consequently, it's also when we receive the most questions about how we chose to make those changes. (Trust us, it's not easy.) It's important to us to not only have the best quality classes and excellent customer service, but to also develop an awesome schedule that serves our students' needs. So, with a limited number of classes slots to schedule – and a wide range of class types to offer – how exactly do we determine what classes to put on the schedule, how many of each class, and when on the schedule they should appear? Comments are closed.