Barre.... Round 5

Barre... as in exercise. Barre is a combination of Pilates, ballet/dance and yoga. It has become quite popular. You see it in magazine now or hear of celebrities trying it. I've blogged about it before, yet I have never kept it up. This time though I'm trying a dual approach. Committing to blogging about it AND testing it out as a sole form of exercise. Can committing to just barre really be enough exercise??? This lady is going to try it out for real this time. What makes this time different? A lot of things actually. I discovered Barre a few years ago when a friend brought me to a class with her sister. I was both very self-conscious about it and intrigued by it. It was even a bit humbling. Who knew moving just inches could inflict so much pain, but it does. To prep for my wedding, I combined working out in the 'regular' gym along with regular barre classes to get the ever-so-coveted 'wedding arms.' This combo was actually very effective. It toned all the places I was looking for. Fast forward 3 almost 4 years. I've now been married, had a baby and work full-time. I worked out throughout my whole pregnancy, including barre classes, cycling, yoga and group classes. I set myself up for those baby pounds to just melt off right!?!?! Wellll not so much. Some weight came off, I was on track and then life happened. Colicky baby, working full-time, buying a house, moving all before she was 1. Followed by another health set back and a mini stroke right before she turned 1. Needless to say my idea of where I would be now is not reality. A new Barre studio opened within minutes of my house, YEAH! I took a free class this weekend, and it was great. The real question I have always had about barre is.....is it enough to just do barre? I've never canceled my gym membership because it just feels wrong. It goes back to that mindset that you need a real gym or classes to fatigue yourself in, in order to be in the shape you want. But is that true? What I know is that when I did Barre3 (my favorite of the barre classes offered in Seattle) my body was the most toned it had ever been. BUT I did do some workouts at the gym still. I also know that I always felt great when I left barre class. Unlike other exercises where you feel whipped afterwards, I felt energized. I had this same experience this past weekend. It begs the questions, can I turn to barre alone for exercise? You never know until you try. So here we go. What do I have to loose? I've struggled to find a good exercise routine that fits in with my busy schedule and really makes me feel great. This seemed like the perfect experience to see for real if barre is really enough and see if I can get back on the blogging bandwagon.