fitness
Tiny dancer moves
Three Pure Barre-style exercises you can try — without installing a barre in your living room Parallel This exercise is designed to lengthen and tighten the front of your thighs. Here you can substitute a sturdy kitchen chair for the barre. Stand facing the back of the chair with feet and knees together. Squeeze your inner thighs together as tightly as possible and raise your heels off the floor. You’ll be on the balls of your feet. Lower your seat and create a soft bend in your knees. Squeeze your muscles (thighs and seat) for 30 seconds. Pulse up and down for 30 seconds. Keep in mind that the movements should be very small — up one inch, down one inch. Repeat 3 times. If you can.
Pretzel This “muffin-top blaster” targets the side of your seat, hips and love handles. Sit on the floor with your right knee bent directly in front of your right hip and your lower leg pointing out at a right angle. Bend your left knee behind your left hip, and keep both legs resting on the floor. Place both hands on your right thigh and keep your torso facing forward. This step will be imperceptible to anyone but you: Squeeze your left hip and glute for 30 seconds. You’ll feel this up through your hip and into your left side. If you can, lift your left ankle off the floor and pulse for an additional 30 seconds. Repeat on your right side and envision yourself shimmying into your skinny jeans.
Curl The curl flattens your abdominal muscles, everyone’s favorite body part. Lie down on the floor (this is the easy part). Raise your legs off the floor and point your feet toward the ceiling. Squeeze your legs together as tightly as you can. Place your hands behind your head and raise your head, neck and shoulders off the floor. Squeeze your abdominal muscles—imagine your navel sinking through your back. Pulse your abdominal muscles for 30 seconds. Your lower body should contract toward your head. Your legs will move slightly, but the movement should not come from your leg muscles; the movement should be created by the tightening of your lower abs. Follow this by pulsing your upper body and lower body at the same time for 30 more seconds. Focus the work in your core muscles; don’t pull with your arms or legs. Imagine yourself curling like a leaf. If you’re up for an “advanced” variation, follow up by straightening your arms — your hands should be on the outside of your thighs. Pulse for 15 seconds. — K.S.
20 D e s e r t C o m pa n i o n D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1
Barred for life Nevertheless, don’t expect an easy first foray. It is a challenging regimen designed to target the problem areas that plague most women: hips, thighs, butt and abdomen. You’ll be holding onto that barre for dear life as you attempt to squeeze tiny muscles you never knew you had. Small classes allow instructors to interact with students individually. After demonstrating the exercise, teachers circulate through the studio, offering hands-on corrections to ensure students are employing proper form and exercising the right muscles. “It’s very similar to a Pilates-type class, but it’s faster and more upbeat,” says O’Nan. And the music that fills the room during classes isn’t what you might expect in a ballet studio. There’s no pianist in the corner tickling away at some Tchaikovsky. Instead, up-tempo tunes pump from an iPod to keep people on their toes and motivated to keep moving. Expect a routine that targets very specific muscle groups along with heart-pumping, calorie-burning cardio. Don’t expect a bouncing, gyrating Jane Fonda aerobics class, but do expect to feel that oft-discussed “burn.” Each class follows a similar format, including a warm up, stretching, thigh exercises, seat exercises, core exercises and a cool-down, but exercises change from class to class to avoid the development of dreaded “muscle memory.” And the instructors’ resumés certainly don’t hurt. One performs in Le Rêve and one with Nevada Ballet Theatre; other instructors boast strong fitness backgrounds. Because of the intensity of the Pure Barre method, achieving quick results is actually a realistic expectation. The program also offers a special program for recent mothers, aptly named The Baby Bounce Back. O’Nan says one new mom lost a total of six inches and 30 pounds in three months. With regular attendance (three to four classes per week), most people start to see results after the first 10 classes. Student Patricia Ochal began taking classes in June. “When I turned 40, I put on 10 pounds. I tried everything — nothing was working. I started to come here, and I try to average 6 days a week,” Ochal says. In just less than a month, Ochal says she lost 10 pounds without making any other alteration to her routine or diet. She says, “My clothes fit loosely now, and I feel muscle all over. I feel strong. I feel great.” For more information, visit www.purebarre.com.