Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Top Barre Studios and Classes Across the U.S.

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Courtesy of Xtend Barre West Hollywood

2015 has been declared that “Year of The Barre,” by Well and Good and we’re on board (or on barre if you like.) Why is barre booking? It seems to be what most woman want from a workout: an effective way to get long and lean muscles.

We did a ton of research on the best of the best barre spots and found these studios to be truly on pointe. These are your best bets for attending a class, and, if you’re outside one of these major metropolitan areas, you can just turn on Booya!

Boston: The Bar Method
Take a class at one of The Bar Method’s spacious barre rooms and you’ll be treated to a class that will leave you shaking without putting strain on your joints. Students at The Bar Method love the quick results seen from the challenging workout, as well as the numerous modifications offered by the instructors for different abilities and any injuries.

Chicago: The Barre Code
Students of The Barre Code are huge fans of the motivating instructors who offer a great range of classes. The namesake class, The Barre Code, uses a number of props to work your muscles to fatigue and targets the lower body. If you’re new to barre, they also offer a Barre Code Basics class or your can try their Burn class, which is the classic Barre Code class taught in a heated room. The Barre Code also offers fusion classes that pair barre with boot camp, kickboxing, dance cardio, HIIT or yoga.

Los Angeles: Xtend Barre
With floor length mirrors and a modern twist on a dance studio, Xtend Barre is a great place to bring out your inner ballerina. Students love the teachers who push you to your edge without being too hardcore, and the fact that each class at Xtend Barre is different but still works your entire body. Xtend Barre offers a number of unique barre classes to challenge you.

Courtesy of Xtend Barre West Hollywood

 Miami: Barre Motion
Students of Barre Motion love the luxurious-looking studio: picture marble floors and a sleek studio. The classes are intense and really sculpt your body, and the welcoming instructors are there to offer tips on form and modifications. One unique thing about Barre Motion is that you sculpt muscles without lifting a single weight – your body’s own resistance and sometimes a resistance band is used instead.

Dallas: Pure Barre Dallas
The 55-minute barre class at Pure Barre is constantly mixed up with new moves and music, which students say helps the time fly by. Pure Barre also offers specialty classes that target different areas of your body like abs, outer thighs, inner thighs and seat.

Washington: B.Fit DC
Students at B. Fit love the intimate classes that fuse strength training, pilates and barre. Many of the instructors, who are referred to as “barre-tenders”, have a dance background and are encouraging as you work each muscle to exhaustion.

Philadelphia: allongée
The 60-minute classes at allongée will challenge your strength, flexibility and cardio. The classes add a mix of ballet, modern and contemporary dance with toning moves, as well as cardio in the form of CardioBallet choreography and Cardio Barre Band Work.

Atlanta: Pink Barre
Pink Barre’s 55 minute classes will really help you get a great burn going! Students of Pink Barre love the beautiful facility and say the instructors are really motivating and the music is super fun.

Seattle: LAB5 Fitness
LAB5 Fitness is a fitness studio that offers a range of classes including barre, yoga, pilates and TRX. Students love the instructors who are motivating and really dedicated to helping participants learn proper form. If you’re looking for a twist on barre, try their barre ballet class or TRX/Barre fusion for a challenging workout.

New York: Beyond Barre
For amped up barre classes, try Beyond Barre. The class uses classic barre moves that are intended to lengthen and tone your total body paired with gliding on the BeyondBarre Glide Board. The movements on the patented glide board are similar to ice skating for a boost of cardio that also works muscles involved in the lateral movement.

Pain and Pleasure: Upper Body

5 Moves You Need to Add to Your Workout Routine

These multitasking moves from some of our favorite trainers target multiple muscles groups at once, which burns more calories and helps you get more done in less time.

Tabletop Crunch

Start in a tabletop position.  On an inhale, extend your arms and legs overhead into an “X” position.  Exhaling, bring your arms and legs in as you crunch into a tabletop positon.  This move is excellent because all parts of your abs are involved.

Down  Dog Push Up

Unlike the traditional push-up, the down dog push up really focuses on the shoulders and upper back.  To do this, get into a traditional downward facing dog position.  Bend your elbows, lowering your head to the floor, and press back up.  You also may also feel this in your core, which will be activated as you maintain the downward dog position.

Single Leg Bridge with Leg Circle

This move really gets deep into your glute muscles to help boost your booty!  Begin laying on your back with your knees bent, palms pressing into the mat for stability.  Extend one leg up in the air, toes pointing towards the ceiling.  As you raise up in bridge, swing your leg in a partial circle out to your side.  As you lower, swing your leg back to starting position.  By swinging the leg, you’re really activating the glutes and upper quads and requiring the core to be involved for stabilization.

Push-up with Opposite Arm & Leg Extension

This intense move works multiple muscle groups at once, including arms, core and legs.  Begin in a plank position and complete a push-up.  As you reach the top, extend an opposite arm and leg and then lower and complete another push-up, this time extending the other arm and leg at the top. By working in opposition, you’re really needing to use your core to maintain balance.

Plie Squat Jack

This twist on a jumping jack not only boosts your heart rate but also really works your legs, targeting those inner thighs.  Begin in a plie squat with your arms extended overhead.  Pulse in your plie squat, and then jump, moving your legs together and your arms down into chair pose.  Repeat.

 

#BooyaBuzz- Amanda Rose Walsh’s Take On Fitness’s Most Talked About Topics

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Think beyond Atkins and find out what diets are trending right now as renewed commitments to health are in full swing. According to Yahoo! and their extensive search data, the top searched for recipes and diets for the New Year are The Mayo Clinic Diet, The 3-Day Diet and The Dash Diet. We chatted with personal trainer Amanda Walsh from Amanda Walsh Wellness to hear her thoughts on the latest trends.  Check back weekly for our trainers’ take on the trending topics of the week.

Booya: What are the pros and cons of The Mayo Clinic Diet, the official diet developed by Mayo Clinic that is based on research and clinical experience?

Amanda:  “For pros, It focuses on daily movement, healthy food choices and habits and portion sizes plus lots of fruits and veggies. Also, I like that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.”

“For cons, looking at a sample menu from the diet, I was appalled to see fat-free and non-organic diary, fruit being combined with other food groups, white refined pasta, cheese pizza and fat-free dressing!  Nothing about the clinic’s menu seems healthy to me. Also, you are allowed a calorie-free beverage at each meal which could essentially mean diet soda or artificially sweetened ice tea, both of which are horrific for your body.”

Booya: What are the pros and cons of The 3-Day Diet, which claims you’ll drop up to 10 pounds if you follow it for three days?

Amanda: ” For pros, It uses calorie restriction for three days which helps people lose weight.”

“For cons, the food suggested is atrocious. Hot dogs, ice cream, sliced meat, bread are all really unhealthy foods. Plus it allows for diet soda, sugar free drinks and TAB! I am not sure what is enzyme balanced about heavily processed foods like the ones listed on the diet sample menu.”

Booya: What are the pros and cons of The Dash Diet, which was originally developedto lower blood pressure without medication?

Amanda: ” For pros, emphasis on fruits and veggies, whole grains, nuts and seeds.”

“For cons, I believe in full fat diary other non-fat diary so the body can absorb vitamins better. Plus looking at the sample diet, although its cleaner than the other diets, it still includes processed meats, fruit juices, cheese and white bread.”

Booya: Any overall comments?

Amanda: “For all the diets mentioned above, none speaks of the importance of adequate water intake, eating organic foods and dairy, proper food combining, the danger of processed foods and the necessity of reading ingredient lists.”

Booya:  According to Yahoo!, the top trending recipes are chicken, breakfast ideas and snacks. Why do you think these recipes are so popular during resolution season?

Amanda: “These items are generally easy and simple to prepare or change. Making small changes, for example, by improving breakfast and snacks can go a long way in weight loss efforts. I am a huge believer that small changes lead to great progress and by focusing on snacks and breakfast are a great place to start. ”

Booya: What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Or any go to dishes you make yourself?

Amanda: “My favorite source of inspiration is how I feel when I eat clean. I know that if I fuel my body with optimal nutrition, I function at my highest level. Conversely, when I don’t eat as healthfully, my energy levels drop, I do not feel as clear and my body complains a lot more! My favorite go to dishes are salads with chopped veggies and hemp seeds, avocado on German bread, honeycrisp apples with almond butter and green juice!”

Check out Amanda’s Warrior Fight Club workout here.

Amanda’s Note On Any Diets: “I want to be clear that not any one diet works for everyone. I believe that it’s important to experiment with different approaches and find what works best for the individual.”