For someone with a desk job, I’d proudly admit to having an active fitness routine. In between headlines and deadlines, I make it for cardio and weight training sessions to the gym at least 4 times a week. And on off days, I usually dive in for a 40-minute swim. I’ve never found the urge to try my hand at Pilates or do an Instagram-worthy inversion in a soft, silk hammock or any other celebrity-approved workout . But when Physique 57, a New York-based barre boutique asked the ELLE Team to try their supermodel-tested barre workout, I had to give it a shot.
A typical session lasts for 57 minutes and is a combination of resistance and bodyweight training, mat Pilates and barre. You start off by working your arms and back on a fluffy mat in the centre of the room. There’s a series of push-ups, triceps extensions and planks to the tunes of Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber, but our mic-bearing instructor enthusiastically warns us that this is just the start. Next, we move on to the ballet barre to tone those legs and seats. With a continuous set of small movements focused on just one part of your body, you begin the feel the burn and (in all likeliness) even watch your muscles vibrate. Relaxation then comes in the form of long stretches, post which we’re all pumped up to strengthen our core with ab exercises.
Just like any good exercise session, my legs and glutes feel sore the day after the barre workout. I find walking a cumbersome task, but I realise there’s an addictive quality about this workout that I can’t put my finger on. Maybe it’s the adrenaline boost or the fact that you can actually see a toned and stronger body in eight classes. But more than anything else, it’s putting yourself up to a challenge and the feel-good factor thereafter. I guess happy hours at the barre just got a whole new meaning.
One session at Physique 57 at The Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai costs Rs 2,000.
