The Booty Barre

This is Tracy Mallet, founder of the Booty Barre.
Alright! - My first class was last Saturday and can you say CALVES?!!!!
 WHEEEEW! Now the only other Barre class I have to compare this to is Pure Barre and I have to say I feel Booty Barre is much more challenging all over. Though Pure Barre has a really great ab sequence and specifically targeted burning moves, I felt the booty barre worked ALL OVER - not just one section of one muscle. IE - when we did the thigh workouts in BB my whole thigh was engaged from start to finish - in PB I feel the tops of my thighs burning out only or just the backs depending on what move we are doing.

The Booty Barre or as I will refer to it as BB, is FULL ON. Rhythmic movement and more standard barre work with the use of releve' (on the toes) first and second positions - Plie'( knee bend)  Grand plie' ( deep knee bend -not squatting) and Grand Battement (swishing the leg forward and back in a kick)  - toes pointed, nice arm position, constant awareness of the placement and engagement of seat and thighs. Keep in mind - I am someone who took ballet class as a 7 year old, then again in college for a semester! So the terms came back to me fairly quickly - but the instructor was not only calling out the moves but also doing the entire workout with us - so she was easy to follow along. There were only 4 students in class including me! It is a small studio and she prefers 8-10ish max! - This is super nice because the Pure Barre classes get overly stuffed and we end up doing only the basic new person moves because of room and the overall skill of the class.

Though Pure Barre or PB, uses a constant hips tucked under position with a softly bent knee, BB prefers straight standing leg and more of a neutral hip stance. This is something very challenging for me to correct as I have been doing PB for nearly a year now! The PB stance is beaten into me!

From the get go I think BB arms blow PB arms out of the water. We used light 2-3 lb weights for reps, though shifting from first and  second positions flat on the floor to releve (up on the toes) positions. We moved into thighs and seat work at the barre which got me sweating not only from the exertion of rhythmic movements but also for the little aerobic inserts of things like strong leg kicks back into a deep lunge while holding one hand to the barre and the other swinging naturally forward and back - then adding in repeater knees, then dropping into mountain climbers and plank knees and bunny hops, then back up at the barre for side step lunges all engaging upper body and arms. - The instructor, Beth, BOOMING - MAKE IT PRETTY!!!!!!!!! She had a great energy to her and I could tell she really loved jamming out to the music- which is all your typical current dance stuff like Britney and Flo-Rida - Madonna etc.

We slowed down for a bit to do some moves in a chair position pulling off the barre. Imagine facing the barre legs hip distance apart and parallel.Move your body to a seated position like you are sitting in a chair - with arms forward and pulling off the barre. From this deep seated position we move our bodies up an inch and down an inch - constantly creating a C shape in the back and tucking hips under. OKAY -this move is miserably hard LOLOL. But my whole body was on fire!  After a while we do it all over again cept on the TOES!

She asked us to get a ball next - and place it between the knees - in this chair position pulsing and squeezing the knees together on the ball on the toes!!

After what seemed like an eternity of high energy barre work - we move to the mat for abs. placing the mat lengthwise out from the wall under the barre we laid our bodies and hung our arms so the upper body created a hanging C shape and then the legs laid flat straight along the rest of the mat. - This is different from Pure Barre because PB wants you to be sitting flat up against the wall for all movements and pushing outward with the upper body and arms against the barre - here in BB we are hanging !
- The leg lifts left then right then both together were measured and slow - VERY challenging . then side leg swings in a can can move ALSO very challenging for me.  

In between all the different moves she has us do stretches. The idea is to work the muscle then stretch it all out to create long lean muscles - IE that DANCERS body.
So to finish we don't spend a lot of time stretching out. But there is a peaceful finishing when the music is gentle- the lights are off and she brings us through a few deep breaths for back extension, cobra stretches - then we move into a shell position or child pose. and finish!

I really loved the class and felt like it was a perfect blend of all the things I love! Cardio, interval, sculpting, toning, some ballet moves, rhythm, then stuff I really enjoyed from pure barre.

I was wiped out and really enjoyed the small class setting - also that the instructor said we can change so much up depending on what we feel we want to be working more on. She said we can add or remove more barre work - add or remove more abs. The possibilities for a consistently challenging workout that targets all aspects and leaves you with a general sense of well being is very attractive!.
- Though I love Pure Barre, I felt I wasn't getting a complete workout without the cardio component. PB has a nice overall well being feeling to it. But this has more over all attention to the body as a whole. In PB we get a deep burning feeling when moving into positions -BB doesn't have the deep burn - but an over all engagement for the entire hour long class.

I will say - I couldn't walk Sunday and Monday as my calves were on FIRE. This class is challenging on the feet as you are up on the toes a lot. By Tuesday I was fine to walk again. My obliques were also really sore!  I am someone who works out daily too!! I attended BB again yesterday Wednesday, and enjoyed the class even more - perhaps because I understood the rhythm of it more and was able to push myself more. I'm really excited about joining this little studio called Pilates Plus. It is a 99$ unlimited membership for all classes except reformers.  But I am looking forward to trying out Mat Pilates Yoga- and something called Yoga Fit.
- I also heard she will continue the 99$ specials if it is popular and I know it would be for me!!
The instructor/owner is BETH. She has super awesome energy - shes so sweet sending follow up emails and asking how you are with the work out. I can tell that she really loves what she does and she has a great attitude. I feel comfortable around her and in her classes.

If you have taken this class please let me know your thoughts!!
- I've been really thinking for a while about how much I love Pure Barre but wished it had a cardio component!! - I feel like I've found what I'm looking for!!