Are You a Barre Bee Girl?

First of all...Happy National Peanut Butter Cookie Day! Go treat yourself to a yummy cookie (but then again who needs an excuse).

My friend had been raving bout the Barre Bee Fit classes and asked me to join her.  As I've said before, I'm not usually one to step out of my typical gym routine.  I was definitely nervous about the class.  However, I jumped at the opportunity to do a class with a friend and told her to count me in!

For those who don't know, Barre Bee Fit is a studio in Chicago and Ann Arbor that has classes specifically designed for women.  They have a variety of classes that combine cardio, toning, deep stretching, and detoxing.  Classes focus on using light weights with high repetition in order to tone and target each muscle individually.  We chose to do the Barre Bee class, which is a 60 minute full body workout class that targets all muscle groups (and trust me...it hit them all!).  Some of their other classes are a Bario class, which focuses mostly on cardio, and a Baryasa class, which takes place in a hot yoga classroom.

We signed up for the class online a week before.  One downside to Barre Bee Fit is that since you have to sign up far in advance, you may not make it into the class you want.  Originally, I was number 9 on the wait list but made it into the class by the night before.  I later realized that the plus side of signing up for the class meant that the class did not have too many people in it, allowing for more personal attention and help.

Outside the studio

When I got to the studio, I was immediately greeted at the front desk and introduced to the instructor (brownie points for that).  They then showed me around the studio which included free lockers, changing rooms, a regular classroom, and a hot room.  They told me the props that I would need for the class (a small rubber ball and a pair of 2 pound weights) and then I headed to the class.  There were about 15 girls in class, as I said before the perfect class size.

My friend rocking her Barre Bee Fit gear

If I had to sum up the class, I would say it was intense!  The class moved through the different muscles groups going from abs to arms to legs to butt.  Each move could be modified for different fitness levels.  By the end of each segment, I was sore, tired, and ready to move on!  Despite the tiredness and soreness that I felt, the music was amazing and helped to keep me going.  Also, the instructor was extremely motivating and encouraging.  She showed us the moves, walked around the room to help people with form, and constantly encouraged us to push ourselves.

Just an example of some of the ab work we did.

Needless to say I was extremely sore the next day!  I'm so happy that I tried Barre Bee Fit and would definitely go back again!