PURE BARRE - It’s Not Your Typical Workout
03/01/2024 05:13PM ● By MERYL SIEGMAN
WHAT IS BARRE?
You pull up to Pure Barre on Dorset Street in South Burlington, wondering if it’s a place to have a drink, practice law, or study ballet. You become even more curious when you see the offer to take a free class. The next thing you know, you’re a fan for life.
What is Pure Barre? Just ask Andrea Giardino, the owner of the Dorset Street fitness studio. “Because of the word ‘barre,’ people think it’s ballet. But it’s not,” she explains. “You don’t need to be a dancer or even have any experience in dance. It’s a technique that fuses the concepts of other methods or elements of exercise to produce a well-rounded, full-body routine.”
So, what exactly is barre? It’s a low- impact, full-body workout with a focus on high-intensity movements that work each muscle group to fatigue, coupled with stretching exercises to improve strength, endurance, and flexibility. It’s offered in group classes. “Pure Barre welcomes everybody,” Andrea says. “You don’t have to be flexible to start.” It differs from other fitness methods because it uses a ballet barre and incorporates movements from ballet, yoga, Pilates, and now, with the newest class, Pure Barre Define strength training. The exercises target muscles that support and stabilize the body. Benefits include improved strength, posture, flexibility, balance, and muscle tone, as well as weight loss and reduced stress.
FROM INSTRUCTOR TO OWNER
Andrea has devoted the last 20 years of her life to movement, fitness, and preventative health.Growing up playing sports year-round, she became fascinated with all movement, eventually becoming involved in Pilates, calisthenics, and weight lifting and finding her way into the fitness industry as a personal trainer. She ultimately came across barre. “I quickly realized how much I enjoyed barre in general, with its really big range of motion and 360-degree approach, which hits my body from all angles. It gives me a feeling of completion,” Andrea recounts.
When she had the opportunity to audition as an instructor in South Burlington at Pure Barre, a franchise with 600 locations and over half a million clients, Andrea jumped at the opportunity. For the next six years, she was a part-time instructor at the studio she would eventually purchase. Now in her tenth year, she says, “My love for Pure Barre has grown since then. I can see doing it for the rest of my life. It’s low impact and supports all of those components that we tend to lose with time if we don’t condition them: deep core strength, balance, flexibility, agility, and mind-muscle connection.”
WHAT YOU’LL FIND AT THE SOUTH
BURLINGTON STUDIO
Pure Barre’s membership consists of mostly
women, but, according to Andrea, “It is so
beneficial to conditioning for everybody,
male or female, no matter what age.” In fact,
the clientele ranges from 20 to 75 years old.
Andrea continues, “Pure Barre draws a lot of clients who are on their prenatal pregnancy
journey, allowing them to maintain condition
and strength. But we encourage men to come
too because it offers them strengthening and cross-training exercises that result in
strength, balance, and flexibility.” What’s most important, she says, is prioritizing the
personalized experience that each member has
at Pure Barre.
The ample studio accommodates up to 22 participants in classes, which is a class size just large enough to create a busy, energetic vibe in the room but small enough so that the teacher can create that personal experience for every single student.
Music plays an important role in the workouts, too. Curated by “amazing masterminds” at Pure Barre’s headquarters, movements are driven by the beat. “It’s current, high-energy music,” says Andrea. “The tempo changes based on what we are working on in class. For the challenging sections, the music is driving and motivating. The teachers connect the choreography with the music to help everyone stay driven during the class.”
CORE CLASSES TO KEEP YOU
MOTIVATED AND FIT
Andrea believes the four core classes the studio
offers differentiate it from other workout
options:
CLASSIC: The studio’s “bread and butter,” everyone starts with this core strength, full- body workout class.
EMPOWER: This high-intensity interval training class helps elevate the heart rate and build strength.
ALIGN: The unique emphasis of this strength- building class is on flexibility and balance. It’s the perfect class for those days when you want something less strenuous.
PURE BARRE DEFINE: The newest addition, this weight-based strength-training class helps develop muscular strength and power. A real crowd-pleaser, it builds confidence in one’s form.
“One thing I simply love about barre,” Andrea concludes, “is that it continues to evolve. Just like fitness and nutrition, our knowledge continues to develop and progress all the time based on new research. It’s what our bodies need in this day and age.”
So what are you waiting for? Sign up now for your free complimentary class and get hooked.
Pure Barre
150 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT
