Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie
After years (and years) of doing my DVD workouts at home, I made a change last year. A dear friend of mine opened a personal training facility. She does personal training and has a daily interval class. I started training with her and doing the class every evening. I still do DVDs once in a while (maybe once a week), but the majority of my working out is now at her gym.
I have seen some pretty good changes. I have more definition in my arms, back and shoulders. I am not doing that much different than I was with my DVDs, but I think I am being challenged more because she is there with me. Not sure. I do enjoy it immensely. I like the companionship of working out together. It does take more of my time because I have to drive to town now, but it works out just fine for me.
The interval classes have really become a favorite time of my day. I've enjoyed the competitiveness of everyone in the class and forming new friendships with the class participants. We work hard and everybody inspires everybody else!
It wouldn't have worked for me at any other time of my life, but now I have the time and the means to do it this way.
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I was a home exerciser for... goodness... 20+ years until last fall. My kids are finally both in school. One is just in preschool, so I don't have loads of time, but it's the first time in pretty much my whole life that I had time and some money to spend on classes! So I started going to live barre classes regularly.
I loved it for all the reasons that Jeanne Marie mentions. I loved the additional challenge of having an instructor correcting my form and I was really inspired by some of the other women in the class. Not just the badasses, but some other women who were working around their own particular limitations and getting done. I also loved that it was a distraction-free zone--no kids, no phone, no dishes in the sink needing to be ignored so I could workout. It really was a treat to go to the studio!
However, I was finding I was really missing my home workouts. I've been on hiatus at the studio since March because of my shoulder injury, and wow... I don't even think I realized how much time going to class was eating out of my day. I'm getting so much more done without the bite of travel time.
I also think I might have pushed myself more than I should have in class. I'm more likely to give myself a break if no one is watching, and at this season of my life, that's a good thing. And I enjoy the variety of workouts that my (vast!) collection allows me at home.
I'm finding myself reluctant to reactivate my membership at the barre studio. I need to give them 30 days notice before I fully cancel my auto-renewing membership, so I have to go back at some point. I do enjoy the classes very much, but I won't be as sorry as I would have thought once I do cancel.