I hate exercising.
As a college student, I never want to get myself off of the couch and go to the gym. On the rare occasion when I did put on my workout clothes, it was usually a pair of shorts and an old T-shirt. The people who wear tight yoga pants, from Lulu Lemon and Nike tank tops, are in a group who are committed to fitness and health. I knew I was never going to be part of that group. I need to practically be forced to go outside and be active. My mother even signed me up for a summer boot camp program without telling me.
But I’m in college and that comes with a price. It’s not that I got any fatter but it was rather that the only type of exercise is walking to class or up the stairs to my apartment when the elevator is broken. However, I didn’t think anything of it: I’ve never worked out frequently, so why start now?
Then one day, I watched an interview with my favorite actress, Rebecca Mader, for Self magazine. She became very enthusiastic when the interviewer made a comment that she enjoyed going to Bar Method classes. She then described how it changed her body immensely throughout the brutal workout.
The Bar Method combines Pilates and ballet to “reshape bodies [by]targeting problem areas, improving posture and safely strengthening and slimming down muscles.” The ultimate goal is to have more lean bodies, no matter what time of the year it is. Of course, the classes also help you lose weight. Women who are pregnant can also take these classes. Teachers, like Stephanie, are able to modify the hour-long workout for those who are expecting.
It’s a bonus that many celebrities also love Bar Method. Rebecca Mader; Kelly Ripa; Natalie Portman; Ginnifer Goodwin; Zooey Deschanel and Madonna are just some of many celebrities that take Bar Method. And we’ve all seen how good their bodies look today.
Suddenly, I became intrigued. About 30 seconds later, I went on the Bar Method website and found my nearest studio: it was right across the street from my apartment. Was this a coincidence or was this a sign? Either way, I booked a free-trial class for three days. How was I able to commit to a fitness class within 15 minutes after watching Rebecca’s video? I was astounded. Then the day of my class came and I walked in there sheepishly with my best workout outfit and a bottle of water.
My teacher, Stephanie, was extremely energetic to see a new student, particularly one who was as young as I was. I was already happy when she told me that there were no shoes allowed in the studio. I kicked mine off and stepped into the most simple fitness studio in the world.
There was carpet throughout the whole room with a gymnastics mats underneath to ease the joints in my feet. Ballet bars filled the corners by the glass mirrors. About 15 women in total came to the 5:30 p.m. class and when Stephanie walked in, everyone stood up and we began.
Already I was learning ballet by lifting my knees with my toes pointed. Then came the stretching of the arms with our two-pound dumbbell weights. Against my sulking, I started strengthening my triceps for a full 10 minutes. I could tell that I was already the weak one because I felt an immediate strain from my elbow to my shoulder. I could barely stretch my arm.
Thankfully, we moved to the legs. But within five seconds, I found myself taking back that thanks. The exercise was called “The Chair” in which everyone grabbed onto the ballet bar and squatted down into a seating position. The best part? We had to stand on the balls of our feet and do squats with a mini cushioned mat in between our legs.
First, we went at a slower pace. My knees were starting to buckle and even more when Stephanie walked over to me to straighten my back. I felt like a solider at that point without any stability or strength to keep squatting. Then Stephanie told us to squat faster. My legs were shaking so violently that I had to keep stopping and starting until she finally had us do ballet stretching. My lack of flexibility was definitely tested after I clumsily threw my leg over the bar and bent my knee into an obtuse angle and tried to stretch myself forward.
The woman next to me must have been in gymnastics at one point because she had her leg stick straight without expressing any agony on her face. Once we got into a runner’s lunge, she immediately went into the splits. I rolled my eyes, knowing I was the new girl standing next to an expert.
Of course, you can’t go into a workout without doing a bit of abdominal work. But we didn’t do 500 crunches all in a row. We started out with three repetitions of crunches and then stretched back. Then we would repeat the crunches and stretching until I had to hold my neck to keep in order to going. Finally, I saw the lights dim and we all let go of our breath in relief and satisfaction.
For a few moments, Bar Method became a yoga class as we stretched our arms to the ceiling and then came into “child’s pose” to stretch our backs. We ended with a round of applause for the hard work that day and I could already feel the soreness in my left triceps and my quads.
The last thing I did was climb on the stretch bar—a bar that hangs above the ground. The goal is to hang there for one to two minutes in order to align and stretch out your back. I felt some tension being released from my lower back but my handgrip wouldn’t let me stay there for no more than 10 seconds.
Stephanie then asked me how I enjoyed the first class as I grabbed my shoes and jacket out of my locker. All I could say was “Good Lord!” That comment could go either way. I knew it was brutal and I knew how much more brutal it would continue to be if I chose to continue Bar Method.
But, this was the first time in a long time that I made a choice to better my health. And I don’t think I would be able to motivate myself to do anything else that had a structure, sweat and instant results. So when Stephanie asked me if I wanted to come back, I proudly said “yes.”
