Barre on a Budget: Free Physique57 Classes
Forget New Year’s Resolutions: there’s no better time than the day after Thanksgiving to start working on the good-glutton balance.
They say that the average person gains 1-2 pounds over the holidays each year, but if you’re already even a little overweight, or just in a cycle of bad eating habits, that could easily get as high as 7 POUNDS of weight gain between November and January. And nothing can cost more — emotionally or financially — than no longer fitting into your favorite clothes. Trust me, I know.
As a former ballet dancer and figure skater (and one-time Pilates instructor) I’m no stranger to the yo-yo diet, but with age comes maturity and what I’m hoping is a healthier approach to eating and exercise and balancing the two on a daily, if not weekly, basis. In addition to walking as much as possible, and hiking with my dog daily, I’m a huge fan of barre classes, which really amp up the muscle toning and conditioning for a lot of results in a little time — not to mention, they trick me into thinking that I’m having fun back at practice instead of working out. But at an average cost of $25/class (or $100/month) at favorite places like Exhale’s CoreFusion or Barre3, it’s pretty hard to justify unless you’re going regularly — like, multiple times a week regularly — and going to a studio period can be hard when you’re entertaining guests, traveling, or just all-around stressed out and busy during the holidays. Or just, you know, LIFE.
When I was traveling two weeks of every month for The Swapaholics, I used to pack exercise bands and sneakers in my suitcase, and try to walk versus driving or taking public transit whenever possible, but exercise wasn’t always easy to fit in at a shared hotel room — never mind when we were crashing with friends or family to shave a few bucks off our startup budget. I gained almost 15 pounds that year. Not good, especially when you work in fashion!
Which is why I was psyched when Physique57, a trendy barre studio in places like NYC, Beverly Hills, and Dubai, announced that they were launching online classes in December 2015 and offered me a trial month to review their brand-new streaming class offerings. Just in time for their Black Friday sale today. Um, yeah, that’s worthy of me breaking my Black Friday shopping ban. Read on for my full review, or just try it out yourself FOR FREE over the next four days (November 28 through Dec 1st) at Physique57.com.
THE GOOD:
On Wednesday, I did my first class: the Physique Cardio Blast workout. (Let’s just say I was really struggling to stand up straight on my wobbly quads yesterday while cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family.) By 6:17 into the 30-minute workout, I was hurting — like, burning in muscles I forgot I had hurting, ready to throw in the towel hurting. But I took a quick break to stretch — particularly my hamstrings and calves — and jumped back in. Somehow, miraculously, I made it to the end. Staring at my lithe little pure-muscle whippet Pixie while I exercised might have helped. It was definitely as good as (if not better than) some of the CoreFusion and Barre3 classes I’ve done in person at the studios so many times before, but this time in the comfort of my own home — while house guests were sleeping. I’m so pysched to have Physique57 access while traveling over the holidays, too, because I can just flip open my laptop and do it anywhere with carpeting, a sturdy chair, and a $2-3 playground or Nerf ball from the drugstore. No excuses.
THE BAD:
I really wouldn’t recommend these online classes if you’ve never done barre class or Pilates before, particularly not the cardio classes. I’m not an exercise instructor, but I was a ballet dancer and competitive figure skater for 25 years — the last 15 of those in constant variations of physical therapy, particularly for my knees from overuse injuries and poor form! As with many exercise videos, there’s a lot of assumption about technique and you could put yourself at risk for injury moving at such a fast pace without proper form. So if you’re just starting out, with exercise in general or barre in particular, I would highly recommend you either start out with one of the mat conditioning classes before moving into a standing cardio class, or wait until January when Physique57 launches additional Physique Beginner Barre online workouts covering barre basics with a slowed-down pace and an in-depth focus on their signature barre moves. According to the press release, “You will master correct alignment and form from thigh slimming favorites to seat sculpting sequences. Expect to see quick results (in your jeans & in the mirror).” I believe it.
THE BUDGET:
Sure, you can find free online exercise videos on YouTube, including barre classes with varying levels of quality (my sister is a huge fan of the HIIT and Tabata workouts). But if you’re a barre/Pilates fanatic like me, the Physique57 videos are a steal even at the normal cost of $5 a class (compared to $25+ per class in studio) or $57 per month unlimited (compared to $100+ in studio), especially because of the flexibility of doing them anywhere, any time, armed just with your laptop, tablet, or even smartphone. I’m looking forward to trying out the rest of the videos over the course of the next month — especially with the super helpful Monthly Challenge calendars to help rotate workouts so you don’t overuse any one particular set of muscles (or let’s be honest: just get bored), including tracking your progress with weight and measurements. Definitely take advantage of taking at least one class during their free Black Friday access today through Monday!
And stay tuned for more updates on Twitter and Instagram (including a special TBT this week where I actually share photos from my skating days for added motivation). As instructor Chad Levy says at the end of every workout:
“You are as strong as you allow yourself to be. Be proud of the work you’ve done here today, and every day. We look forward to seeing you again.”