Eight Weeks of Barre Blend Burn

I am feeling so good about how much exercising I've been doing lately. My knees will probably tell a different story, but I think it's been worth the pain! This month I finished Barre Blend by Beach Body. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this workout. I love ballet and have taken adult ballet classes, so I really welcomed the opportunity to do barre work and infuse grace into my exercise routine. Well. I don't know why, but I didn't realize how hard it would be. The first word that comes to mind when I think of that very first workout is BURN. And it hits you in all of your body parts at the same time, while keeping your heart rate elevated. I was shocked at how high my heart rate got doing low impact exercise. Within about three minutes my heart rate was already in cardio zone and that was just the warm up. 

Starting out was rough. I basically felt like I sucked because I could not make it through any of the reps without having to take a break. They go on forever and I just couldn't do it! She doesn't count it out or tell you how many of any of the reps you have, so I focused on trying to get through 16 reps of whatever we were doing and then taking a break after that if I needed to, which I usually did. Sometimes I couldn't even pop back in because my legs were just dead. The instructor kept saying I'll tell you when it's time to rest. Well I don't think so! My burning body parts told me when it was time to rest, even if I wanted to keep going. Each of the five workouts per week has a different emphasis, but every workout is basically a full body workout with multiple body parts working at the same time making it that much more difficult. 

There are three levels for just about every workout with varying impact levels and modifications with bands, hand weights, and positioning. I stuck to the lower level most of the time. I wanted to feel good about completing more of the reps rather than take it up a notch when I was pretty sure I couldn't handle it. I preferred to put the weights down and do more of the reps rather than stop or opted not to jump in order to save my knees. 

Week one was just ugh. I wasn't sure if I liked it or wanted to continue but it felt less awful by week 2 and a more doable by week three. I felt a little less like I wanted to quit, and a little more like maybe was getting the hang of it. Booty Blend week four felt really good. That was the first workout where I felt somewhat competent and in shape. I still had to take breaks on some of the reps, but my back muscles (along with everything else) were getting stronger, which made the backwards pulsing arabesque movements less difficult. Interestingly enough, even with all the burning, I wasn't that sore throughout the program. Only here and there, and mostly my hamstrings when those were emphasized in a workout. I was doing great motivation wise until week six. Every workout is different which I loved, but my body was tired. The lunging and the plies were taking their toll. This is the part when I really had to force myself to keep going and like always I'm really glad I did. 

I honestly don't think I started to feel really strong in the workouts until week seven. It took me a while to get there, but I killed it in week eight. I could push through the reps better, and if I had to drop out, I was able to pop back in. I knew it was my last week and really wanted to give it my all. 

 That's the thing about working out. It takes time to build strength, and then to apply it while you are doing the exercises. In the beginning it sucks so bad and that's coming from someone who is in decent shape. I mean, I think I'm pretty fit since I've been working out very consistently over the last year, but still my body has to adapt to every knew workout I do. Yes, I did six months of Bikini Body Guide which is super tough, but that was a completely different type of work out. I'm sure it helps to have a baseline level of fitness but you still have to acclimate yourself to different movements. If you quit too soon you will never get a chance to enjoy the fruits of your labor and how good it can feel when you finally build that strength you've been striving for and can really feel the difference in your workouts.

I really, really loved Barre Blend. My body feels so strong, and I love that I was able to do that with minimal impact to my body parts. All my ballet moves feel so good right now, because I have built the strength to extend my legs hard, point my toes harder, and really lengthen every movement. I'm not a ballerina, but I kinda felt like one! And it may not be a "proper" ballet class in terms of technique, but it sure builds the strength for it. I took about two months off from being on an exercise program before I went into this one, and for now I'm done!! I'm still going to continue exercising, but I'm going to do what I want when I want. Right now my body is craving Pilates, yoga, and ballet and not being on a specific schedule so that's exactly what I'm going to do. 

Beachbody has really locked up their programs now that they have Beachbody on demand. In the "old days" you could probably just buy the DVD if you wanted to but now you either have to pay to access it through Beachbody on Demand (that's how I got it) or you can buy it in a packaged set here. 

 

Complete review on YouTube here