The Pilates Barre's Pilates Body Class Class Review

Performing lower abdominal work on the Reformer at The Pilates Barre, Devonshire

If you're looking to tone and tighten in 2015, there are a slew of workouts to help you do that. I am a fan of pilates workouts but, to be candid, they can sometimes be too easy or routine.

There is nothing easy about The Pilates Barre's 50 minute Pilates Body class, one of the five classes the studio offers.

Exhale Spa's Core Fusion Cardio Barre Class Review

exhale spa co-founder Elisabeth Halfpapp, center

What is Core Fusion Cardio Barre? 

The cardio portion of Core Fusion Cardio Barre

It is a one-hour strengthening and fat-burning class that sculpts your muscles and gets your heart rate up. It was created for the busy person who wants to get a full body toning and cardiovascular workout simultaneously.

The class begins with 30 minutes of exhale's signature plank runs and other heart-pumping moves followed by a short recovery period.  After the cardio session comes full-body toning moves with light weights, as well as your own body weight.  The toning portion incorporates yoga moves and has dance influences.

Friends, it's a workout.  There were moments during the hour-long class that my legs were shaking, my heart was racing and I was praying for strength.  Those are all good things, though.   It has helped me rediscover tiny muscles I didn't know I had.  The feeling you get from working those minuscule muscles is uniquely different than lifting heavy weights.  It's an overall sense of having worked, in a good way.

The class ends with a solid stretch, something many of us sacrifice for the sake of time.

"The really important part is stretching at the end," exhale co-founder Elisabeth Halfpapp told me.  "We work really intense and we want to have the strength and flexibility component as well as the cardio and strengthening."

What's the Burn Factor? 

I know a lot of us are about the numbers.  How many calories do we torch in this class?

"We had Self magazine track the burn for us," Halfpapp told me after I took her class in December.  "On average it's 375 calories per hour, give a little bit, depending on body weight and your BMI (body mass index)."   

"What's amazing is that you're not only burning calories in class but because we're gaining muscle density, it (muscle density) needs more calories to function and you're burning more calories at rest." 

The Takeaway 

Cardio Fusion Cardio Barre is a challenge.  While I was completely spent after the class, I wasn't terribly sore the next day.  This class can transform your physique using your own body weight or lighter hand weights which can result in that lean, sinewy look.  Do it consistently and certain body parts will get that desired "lift"...no scalpel needed.

 

*Classes were offered on a complimentary basis for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own and based on my experience. For more information, please visit exhalespa.com.