Pure Barre Jacksonville Beach

This morning has been a go, go, go kind of morning. I am currently blogging from the Jacksonville airport as I wait to board my flight to Denver where I’ll have a brief layover en route to Salt Lake City. Once I land, I’ll meet up with my new blogging buddies and join the rest of the Columbia Omniten gang in Park City. I’m ready for the fun to begin!

Now let’s rewind a bit to yesterday evening…

Pure Barre

Last night, after I arrived in Jacksonville, my sister and I met up for a 6 p.m. workout at Pure Barre in Jacksonville Beach. We really wanted to take a class together over Christmas but never got the chance, so we made it a point to finally sneak in a class while I was in town yesterday.

We were both first-timers and though I knew enough to expect lots of small, isometric movements, I wasn’t really sure how the class would go. I figured it would be very similar to Physique 57 which I love.

The class began with a warm up that incorporated a lot of core work. We then moved on to work our arms and grabbed three-pound weights. This may not sound heavy, but after pulsing my arms in front of my body, to the side and around in circles, my shoulders were on fire. The class put me through a workout that is totally different from the workouts I usually do and I definitely felt like an amateur!

Pure Barre wasn’t hard to follow, so I never felt lost, but I definitely felt challenged!

By the time the 55-minute class was over, we worked our entire body. My sister and I had to try not to laugh when our legs started shaking like crazy during the portion of the class that targeted our thighs. And we really had to hold in our laughter when we were stretching and the instructor said, “And now you may slide into a split, if you like.” We looked around and noticed everyone stretching low to the ground while we looked like two inflexible lumps curled over our legs, trying to get as close to the ground as possible. Natural flexibility is clearly not something either of us possess!

When we left the class, we thanked our instructor and had fun chatting to some of the other women who took the class. I really loved the experience and the way the class worked my whole body in a new way. I’d love to take Pure Barre classes regularly if they were available in Ocala. (I also think they’d be really fun to teach as long as the class didn’t mind an instructor who wasn’t incredibly flexible!)

If you’re looking for a low-impact class that makes your whole body burn, Pure Barre is worth a shot. It was a great workout! (FYI, for my Jacksonville friends, the Pure Barre in Jacksonville Beach is currently offering a buy one class, get one free promotion that I took advantage of while I was there.)

Workout + Breakfast

This morning, I set the alarm for 5 a.m. so I could get in a short at home workout before a day of traveling. Since I know I’ll be sitting on a plane or in an airport for most of the day, I wanted to work up a sweat before I’m stuck sitting for hours.

Once my workout was done, I quickly showered, packed up my bags and made a quick breakfast to eat in the car on the way to the airport.

I microwaved oatmeal, almond milk, cinnamon and egg whites in a mug and stirred the mixture every 30 seconds or so until it was fully cooked. I then added chopped walnuts and stirred everything again before tossing in a small handful of blueberries.

It doesn’t look very appetizing, but it was quite delicious and easy to eat on the go.

After I arrived at the airport, I made it through security in no time at all and now I’m waiting to board my first flight of the day.

See you guys from Denver!

Question of the Morning

• Have you ever taken a barre class? What did you think?