Fitting Fitness Into the Holidays! Work Out with Pure Barre and See Your Body Change!

It’s often hard to keep up a fitness routine once you start heading into the holidays. With all the parties and events (not to mention food and drinks), it’s not hard to pick up a few pounds.

Here’s a workout that I personally have used to help get my body into shape (and I am already pretty lean) and keep it that way during the holidays. This workout is a blend of Lotte Berk, The Bar Method, a bit of ballet, a soupcon of pilates and perhaps a bit of Fluidity tossed into the mix. (I have personally reviewed over 200 workout videos & DVD’s, and I know what I am looking for having worked with a number of physical therapists about proper body mechanics and alignment) It’s best done with at a waist high counter, desk or barre (the Fluidity barre is good fit) , it can be done if you are creative no matter what your environment and you will get a solid workout.

Carrie Rezabek at the barre
I have a lot of experience with The Bar Method and Lotte Berk workouts (on dvd/vhs). While the production value of the workout isn’t as good as some workouts,

Carrie Rezabek really knows what she is doing and she keeps moving right along, never stopping to talk. She will keep you on your toes (literally and figuratively) while you are doing standing leg work, the plies and butt-shaping & lifting work.
Realize I am a real fitness junkie, I have a ton of equipment *step, pilates machine, circles, Fluidity, weight equipment and more) and this workout made my thighs shake the first time I did it all the way through. My thighs still quiver (a lot!) when I am doing the standing plie work. It’s a pretty tough workout. This is a complete body workout!

Group standing barre work
While the production value might not be the best, it’s always good to watch a workout at least 1-3 times all the way through to see what it’s like. Do it in sections until you master each segment. What’s crucial here — and Rezabek stresses this– is form is everything. She’s encouraging and actually her comments often come at “the perfect time” when I am about to wimp out. She’s upbeat and easy to follow– particularly on the floor work where her cueing is spot-on! Her descriptions on how to do particular movements are very helpful.

Floor ab workout
A word to the wise: this is not a beginners workout. If you choose to purchase this workout, start by mastering the warm-up and the standing leg section only. Once you get those down, then move on cautiously. You will be sore. You will see slimmer thighs, and a firmer butt. I would recommend that if you need more ab work, rewind and do the section again. Also I would highly recommend larger stretching segments because you will need more stretching.
Rezabek– based in San Diego, Calif– offers classes and s l o w l y they are spreading out through California and and in select states across the country. I would love to take a class to see how it compares to the video. Based on what I saw in some photos, there are things that the video doesn’t cover that the class does. Perhaps Rezabek could create another workout that would incorporate some of the more advanced moves like the one shown in the video below. While I am not a huge fan of the production values, I do this this is one of my favorite workouts and this workout has *challenged* me in a way that few do– and has changed my posture a great deal. It definitely made more of a difference than Wii did in that area.
This workout can be purchased on Amazon.com , PureBarre.com
Stevie Wilson