There I was, in the middle of a ballet studio, sweat pouring off my forehead, legs quivering in fast-approaching muscle failure, surrounded by 15 women infinitely more flexible than I.
There was spandex, leggings and hair-ties all around me, as well as yoga pads, tension straps, rubber balls and other torture devices incomprehensible to me at first.
A ridiculously-fit instructor named Lisa snapped off position changes like a seasoned theater director as we all re-contorted our bodies in various positions that made my legs spasm within seconds. “That’s right, Mark, find your shake,” Lisa encouraged, introducing me to barre terminology.
For the next 55 minutes, I was indoctrinated in the edict of “LTB,” or lift-tone-burn, which means lifting, toning and burning your muscles in ways you never thought possible. My delts, abs, glutes, biceps, triceps and more all got served up a pain buffet, and I barely resisted moaning aloud in agony to a room full of women.
Yet I had to admit, I really liked it.
137 classes later, I’m here to say: My name is Mark Radcliffe, and I’m a barre-aholic.
How did I get here? I confess it wasn’t initially by choice.
I’m a former ski racer, bike racer and long-time runner, so I’m stiffer than a cast iron beam. And I had to give up running not long ago. Eight years of running on concrete sidewalks in New York left me with a collapsing arch and persistent throbbing pain in my left foot. So I needed a new workout. I’m not a fan of the “bro” culture I usually find in gyms, and a lot of the bandwagon-esque fitness crazes in New York like CrossFit, Soul Cycle, Barry’s Bootcamp, Orange Theory–smack a little too much of cultism to me. I’m not much of a ‘joiner.’ I wanted something off the beaten path.
So when a Pure Barre studio opened up a block from my apartment in NYC, it tempted me inside.
I worried I’d be the only dude in class. “No, not at all!” a woman at their front desk assured me. She said they had about five guys. It sounded like I might be the only guy most of the time, but hey, why not?
So for over 100 classes now, I’ve been dutifully lining up to the barre, embracing the “lift, tone and burn” band of pain they’ve inflicted on me and finding my “shake” as my strength builds by the week. I’ve come to look forward to the suffering each day. And I’m kinda getting ripped.
Yes, I’ll be honest: a lot of the time, sure, I’ve been the only dude in the class.
I want to change that.
Here’s what’s great about Pure Barre, guys:
First off, ever seen how ripped male ballet dancers are? Well, a big part of that is due to their work on the barre and many of those exercises you’ll be doing.
Second, the classes are all done to high-energy music, so think less ‘ballet class’ and more ‘upbeat dance club.’ But it’s more of a strength-training workout than an aerobic one. The classes are 55 minutes, and while my heart rate usually averaged only 110-115, I left nice and ‘worked’ every time from the sheer muscle burn.
Classes take place in a large studio equipped with a “barre” on all walls with anywhere from 10-20 students per class, and each person gets their own 5 feet of barre to work with. An instructor leads the class, changing up the exercise pretty much every minute or so, and often making adjustments every 15-30 seconds. Overall, they work on 5 different muscle groups during class including abs, arms, quads, glutes and core, and you’re eternally grateful every time they move on. I’d classify it under “strength resistance training,” as you’re mostly just using your own body weight as resistance. You’ll hear instructors saying “find your shake” throughout class, because that’s the goal; push yourself until your muscles are shaking from near collapse. That’s where the results lie. Pure Barre might start out slow, but it steadily breaks you down and wears you out.
And the nice thing about Pure Barre is that when they do correct a person’s technique (e.g. mine), they turn off the mic, come beside you and quietly adjust your pose. Pure Barre is about inspiration and positivity. No embarrassment required.
If enough guys get over their fear, you won’t be the only dude in the class, either.
Some guys have told me they don’t wanna join because they’re worried they’ll look like a joke next to an incredibly flexible woman. But the classes are much more about strength and mental toughness than flexibility or actual ballet skills. Personally, I worried that women might not want a guy in what I supposed might have been a “safe space” for them. Men are annoying enough to women in gyms as it is, and if part of the reason some women were coming here was to avoid men, I didn’t wanna be the guy screwing that up. But when I confessed that fear to a few women down the road, they all said they’re there to focus on their damn workout and never really even noticed me. It was mostly in my head. So let that worry go.
And if you’re thinking, “Hey, must be a great way to meet girls!” let me kill that notion real quick:
GUYS, DO NOT GO TO PURE BARRE TO MEET WOMEN.
You will become annoying real quick, stand out like a sore thumb. Also, I doubt you’d be very successful. Classes keep you working out the whole 55 min, and there’s loud music and an instructor belting out instructions, and no one’s in the mood to talk while they’re in abject suffering. Plus everyone pretty much scatters as soon as class is done. But more to the point; while there might be wonderful women around you, they’re there to get a workout, not get worked over.
Go to barre if you want to get fit.
- If you want to work your core.
- If you want more muscular balance throughout your body.
- If you want to be more flexible.
- If you need a low-impact workout that’s friendly to your joints.
- If you’re sick of the gym or just want to try something new.
In addition to the 5 pounds of muscle I put on in the 100-plus classes I took, my core got so strong that I also escaped a pretty bad car accident where I was rear-ended at about 30 mph without a hint of injury.
And yes, you might be the only dude in the class–for now. But we can change that, gents.
I genuinely think tons of dudes would love it–at least once you get past the awkwardness of learning new moves the first couple classes. Yoga classes are often 50% male these days, I don’t see why barre should be any different.
So guys, jump on in, the studio’s warm. Hell, you might even find me next to you.
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Photo courtesy of the author.