Tuck and Tone

Once again there is so much going on that I could write about.
My expanding yoga teaching schedule,
our engagement and the craziness of trying to plan a wedding,
Ben's recovery after getting hit by a car while riding his bicycle,
our recent Easter trip to Florida,
or the festival season that has crept up on me with Wednesdays in the Square and Jazzfest upon us!

But, because I'm feeling stressed, I thought I'd write about something completely lighthearted and maybe interesting to you all (yah I could've said ya'll there): my new workout.

Now, since I am not one for working out in any way you may be surprised to hear that I have decided to try the Pure Barre method to lift, tone, and burn. The DVD says I will see results in just ten sessions and that I should "do the dvd" two to three times (she actually says in the video three to four times) a week to change your shape. I'm not looking to change my shape too much (although I would Love to lift my seat and tone my thighs- they're my weakest areas in terms of strength), I am looking to become a little stronger and change up my normal routine of yoga and sitting on the couch.

Luckily, for me, while I was at the grand opening of Pure Barre New Orleans I put my name down for a free raffle and won the 16th Street 1 & 2 dvd's and the double resistance tube! (I have been winning a lot of contests, raffles, and sweepstakes lately!) The Pure Barre classes are $25 a class making them completely out of my affordable workout budget (which includes $0 a month). Since I have the dvd and tubes I figured I'd try it out.

So what is pure barre? The website says that it is an exercise that "launches a full blown attack on the areas of the body all women struggle with." What will you be doing? Well, it is tiny isometric movements of your legs, arms, and core while using a resistance band. When I say tiny I mean tiny. As in lift your leg one inch and then lower it twenty times. The method also uses a ballet bar (I hold onto a chair) and some yoga asanas (think cat/cow and paschimottanasana) on a mat. Well, while the back of the DVD says that you don't need any equipment I don't know how effective this workout would be without the double tube for resistance. There is no cardio work involved at all and while I'm doing this in a 86F room, I sweat a lot. You probably wouldn't in AC.

I've done the workout on the 16th Street 1 dvd twice, yesterday and today, and found that it is kinda challenging at times. But while I expected to be sore today I am not at all. It's the kind of challenge where I think in a few weeks my body will be used to the movements and I'll have to move up to the 16th Street 2 dvd. But I like it!

I'm going to keep it up for a while and see how I feel. Besides yoga, what other activities or workouts have you been trying lately?