(Image source Bar Method)

According to their website, The Bar Method is a one-hour, non-impact total body workout. It starts with a warm-up, free-weight exercises and push-ups and then moves on to intense, isometric leg work at the bar, followed by abdominal work at the bar and on mats. Every exercise includes active stretching to elongate the targeted muscles. It can trace its roots back to German ballet dancer Lotte Berk who combined ballet barre routines with rehabilitative therapy back in the 1930s.

In the early 1990s Burr Leonard bought a license to open a Lotte Berk Method studio after taking classes at a studio in NYC for nearly 10 years. In the late 1990s Leonard worked with a physical therapist to rework some of the exercises to best meet her clients needs and the Bar Method Was born in the early 2000s. It has now grown to over 75 studios across the country.

Autumn Frk opened Bar Method Charlotte after her career as an oncology nurse moved her and her husband to Charlotte. She’s been involved with The Bar Method since 2008.

(Image source Bar Method)

Okay, so let’s talk about the experience. The space is beautiful. Clean white decor with pops of purple, fresh flowers and chandeliers. Walking into the studio I was surprised to find the floors lined with plush, white carpet. Carpet and working out are not exactly synonymous in my world of lifting, running and hot yoga but I stayed totally open minded.

Autumn led us through a one-hour beginner’s class and while I didn’t break a sweat (it couldn’t have been more than 72 degrees in the room and the fans were going the whole time), I certainly felt the burn. Autumn was an incredible instructor, so specific in her cuing, hands-on with her adjustments and she used our names throughout the course of the class. She’s adjust you one inch and you’d feel an exercise in a totally different way. (Trust me, you should have seen the look on my face after she got me into the right positions. I was all “why are you doing this to me!?”)

Throughout the course of the class we targeted many muscle groups including triceps, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, abs and much more. One thing I really appreciated was the mix of strengthening and stretching. After we fatigued a muscle group, Autumn led us through targeted stretches before moving onto the next set of work.

I left the workout feeling like a noodle in a totally different way than when I run long or lift heavy. I was surprised to find myself noticeably sore for two days after the workout.

The verdict? I don’t need one more thing to add to my workout plate but I could see how this workout could benefit me. I have a pretty horrendous anterior pelvic tilt and so many of the exercises that we did in the Bar Method class were all about the “tuck” and reinforced good posture (I need to tuck all day, every day!). I also think it could help my hip strength and stability.

So given my limited time to workout, I would still choose barbells and sweating over 3-pound dumbbells and air conditioning but I really enjoyed my experience and would be totally open to doing more classes in the future. And again, Autumn was just a phenomenal instructor and so lovely to take class from.

Tell me about your experience with barre classes? Have you tried them? What do you think?

Here’s a quick look at my weekly workouts.