BANG Power Dance at Sport & Health (with Sara) - The best class you will ever take. Period.

At this point, I am dreadfully behind on editorializing about the number of random exercises classes that I partake in around the DC metro area, but today(provided this is still 2/26) I took a class that was so good that I felt like I must shout it from the internet.

My dear friend Sara, who instructs both BarreOne and Zumba, recently started teaching a new class called "BANG - Power Dance." Sara, who loves exercising and is incredibly knowledgeable regarding all things fitness, had wonderful things to say about the class, and she encouraged me to check it out.  Though I am largely only proficient is bad wedding song linedancing, I really enjoy dancing.  I also have complete faith in Sara, so I will try out just about anything she suggests (not just in workouts - I now know way more bands thanks to her). 

I woke up this morning and hustled down the Sport & Health in Old Town Alexandria for my BANG.  Incidentally, I will also take any class in Old Town Alexandria because it is adorable (see picture yanked from google images to your right).

BANG is a hybrid of dance, Zumba, and kickboxing. Sometimes hybrids are an epic fail, but in this instance, BANG has nailed it.

This morning was the most fun I've had in a workout class potentially ever, and definitely in recent memory. Yeah, I know that is a big proclamation, but I am not alone.  Everyone was pumped about the class this morning.  That was evidenced by the fact that the class was jam packed with smiling faces. I started talking to a woman next to me who is a regular to the class, Rachel, and she was beaming while talking about the class before the warm-up.  She admittedly has zero rhythm (I can relate), but she promised the music was great and she just loved all the moving around. 

Additionally, two other BANG instructors were in the class!  I think is also indicative of the greatness of the class. This is a Sunday morning. The instructors can take the class anytime they want, but more than one decided to get up early on their weekend to take the class.  No one is showing up to their job when they don't have to on a Sunday morning unless it is fantastic.

Some of the participants wore one-pound weighted gloves.   Thin, one-pound hand weights that curved around your hand were also available to use during the class, so about half the class, myself included, took advantage of those. The hand weights made me really happy because I love boxing, and I love boxing with slightly weighted gloves, but once you commit to gloves, you are essentially stuck working out wearing paws.  And then inevitably your shoes come untied, or you get an itch.  And then you have to take off and put back on said awkward, giant paws.  The hand weights were easy to pick up and put down.  The curved shape made them easy to hold, ensuring they would not fall off or be dropped while boxing.

The boxing sequences consisted of traditional uppercuts, jabs, and kicks.  During some songs you only boxed, and during others the boxing moves were integrated into dance moves.   The dancing only songs included a variety of dance moves, consisting of both Zumba and what I would probably consider hip-hop dancing.  I've never quite taken anything like BANG. Everyone was having a blast.  The music was really fun. 

I must note that Sara reminded us that Ricky Martin is one of the top five best-looking men on the planet (one of his song's came on - this wasn't casual class conversation, though Ricky easily deserves discussion in any context).  So in case you forgot about him, I've included a picture of him for your viewing pleasure.

I must also take a moment to give Sara must deserved accolades.  The positive energy in the class is due to Sara. She is an amazing human, but also an amazing instructor. I don't just say that because we are friends. She is a teacher by profession, and it shows in her ability to explain things quickly and succinctly, while remaining encouraging and patient. I think this is particularly important in the exercise arena because many people are self-conscious while exercising, and it is hard for them to leave their comfort zone and take a class.  Sara is a very warm person, and her infectious smile makes it very easy to step into one of her classes and feel comfortable. After the class, she was thanked by numerous people who told her how much they enjoyed her class.  One woman complimented Sara because Sara makes the class especially fun with her animated actions and happy demeanor.  Her positive attitude is both constant and sincere while she is instructing. As I mentioned, she's a teacher, which I think is probably one of the most challenging and stressful professions known to man, so I'm sure there are days that she comes in to teach an exercise class when she has already had an exhausting day of teaching and is teached-out.   But you would never know it.  Once she steps into the workout class, she is genuinely excited that people are there to exercise, and she wants to give them the best experience possible. 

If you are a member of Sport and Health, or have Classpass, I encourage you to take BANG Power Dance. I would try and get into Sara's class, but the class is spectacular and fun regardless of who is teaching.  And based on the two other instructors that were there today, they are probably pretty great as well.

On an aside, Danielle (see Orange Theory Fitness) and I periodically take Sara's barre class. Danielle is a marathon runner and does not do much barre, and I am just generally weak.  All that is to say, we aren't star pupils, but we absolutely love Sara's class.  It is incredibly challenging and she plays great music. She also takes the time to explain barre moves and expand on her explanations.  Before I took Sara's barre class, I had taken a lot of barre, but I had to f-ing clue what it meant to "tuck."  Sara also will hang out after class and answer questions, and people stay and ask, which I think also demonstrates her great ability to teach, and more importantly, her incredibly talent for making people of all fitness levels feel comfortable exercising, which probably makes them exercise more.   So thank you, Sara.  You are making the world a healthier and more fit place!

PS -  I didn't have the foresight to get a picture of us at the workout today, and we don't have one of her teaching BANG, so I have included a pic of us at one of the many great concerts she is skilled at finding.  Excuse my red eye.  My eyes are apparently too strong and frog like to be fixed by any red eye filter. 

Cyclebar - Flywheel and SoulCycle birthed something on Columbia Pike

Cyclebar opened roughly two weeks ago on Columbia Pike in Arlington. I have lived on or near Columbia Pike for five of the seven years that I lived in the DC metro area. I have a special attachment to Columbia Pike, but most people know it as an area that is "up-and-coming," rather than filled with a ton of amenities.  It is also sometimes known as that road in Arlington that spent way too much money on one bus stop.  Neither of these descriptions scream destination spot, but regardless, I love the Pike.

In the last few years Columbia Pike has worked to "arrive," or at the very least, be more than an overpriced bus stop. Columbia Pike has acquired a wine bar, a donut shop, and a little to my dismay, a Chipotle and a Starbucks.  As mentioned above, the Pike has most recently acquired a cycling studio, Cyclebar! I'm pretty sure a cycling studio means you've you've made it. I like cycling quite a bit, so I was excited to see the cycle studio pop up right next to my bus stop (I mean, I still have to use the bus stop even if it makes people bitter).

Since opening the studio has offered up free classes, which is awesome.  I arrived for my free class on Thursday evening.  A man who appeared to be the owner, John, welcomed me back as I walked through the door. I have never visited the studio, but I can only imagine that he has had a ton of women roughly my age cashing in on the free classes.  After I let him know that I was brand new to the studio, he asked me if it was my first time cycling. I responded that I have cycled quite a bit and am particularly fond of Flywheel.  This may have thrown John from his script because he proceeded to tell me how to work the bike. I listened politely, because he was obviously very excited (he should be - the studio is pristine).  He told me that I should keep my handlebars low because it made for a great abdominal work out (while motioning to an ab-filled poster). This tip will end up impacting the class more than I expected.

Much like I have my father's blue eyes and my mother's stabby chin, Cyclebar is a hybrid. It has the screens in the front of the room tracking your performance like Flywheel, but the lights and beats of SoulCycle.

As I was warming up on the bike right before class started, the girl next to me informed me that my handlebars were too low. I thought this was a very bold comment given that we hadn't said a word to each other. I politely told her that I was keeping it low due to the tip I received out front. She told me that she has never left a workout where the quality of the workout was dependent on the height of the handlebars.  Although I wanted to say, "hey, don't shoot the messenger, I am just trying something new,"  I kept it to, "thank you.  I am going to stick with it."  I think she would have continued with her unsolicited advice, but the instructor made the announcement that there was no talking in the class.  Point for Cyclebar.

The bike room was very spacious.   Now when I'm in Flywheel, though I can see the scores (speed, power, etc.) of the other riders on the board, I never sign up to have my scores on the board. I prefer to see mine on my bike and afterwards online. I quickly learned that keeping your scores to yourself is not an option in Cyclebar. You can give yourself a nickname if you want to remain more anonymous, but your bike number is also on the screen.  So, I was sitting next to "Serendipity," or Judgey McHandlebars.  Also like Flywheel, there was one song where we used a weighted bar for arm exercises.

Naturally, having the scores on the board and knowing where I ranked (very low at the beginning of the class) incited some competition.  In retrospect, I don't think forced competition two days after rather divisive election was a good idea. That said, I think myself and Serendipity were biking quite hard due to the screen and our differing opinions on handlebar height.

Now, the SoulCycle aspects thrown in were the lights and the musically synchronized movements.  I'm not into a multicolored light show when I cycle, but that is just me.  I have nothing against studios that do it.  If your're into that kind of ambience, you will like Cyclebar.  The instructor also got off and on the bike and danced and acted like a disc jockey at times.  He was very proud of his playlist. He said we would get the playlist at the end of class.  I did not follow-up on how that was done because I didn't have any interest, but I guess that is a cool option.  I don't know if that is a Cyclebar service, or just a service of an instructor who is really proud of his musical selection. Also like SoulCycle, we did some bike push-ups to the beat.

Cyclebar also threw in a touch of Zengo.  Specifically, we took one song to close our eyes, sit in darkness and reflect.

Cyclebar was truly a blend of everything.  If you want to smattering of all the different major cycling studios in the DC area, then this might be a good class for you.  And according to the owner, 300 more are opening nationwide, so chances are you will have the opportunity to try it if you live remotely near any city in the country.

I will return the Cyclebar because I think it is a nice facility and the class was a good workout. Most importantly, it is close to where I live.  I would say the class is most similar to Zengo or Soulcycle and least similar to Flywheel.  My favorite cycling in the area will probably always be Flywheel, but I encourage everyone to give Cyclebar a try.  While the classes are free, it certainly can't hurt. 

Also, Serendipity beat me, but only marginally, and it was probably not due to my handlebars.

PS my perpetually out of storage phone didn't have space for a ton of pictures, so check out the website https://cyclebar.com/

Madness - That class was far more structured than the title implied

Recently, I took a class called Madness at Madabolic, Inc., which in spite of its name, was incredibly structured. It was an interval class, which isn't necessarily different, but still a good workout.  There were a few notable...quirks.

We started the class with a warm-up (typical). Usually, a warm-up is done to up-tempo music; however, the Madness warm-up sounded like an acoustic session with Mumford and Sons.  It was a high intensity training warm-up, but if you closed your eyes, you would have assumed you were at a folk music festival. In fact, it was so mellow that one of the people in the class burst out laughing at the absurdity of the musical selection.

When the warm-up ended and the actual workout began, one would assume that the music would get more fast paced. It did not. In fact, it took additional individuals in the class making comments to the instructor before the instructor put on something slightly more upbeat.  The instructor told us that the theme of the class was "durability," which implies something slow and steady (I will return to this "theme").  Trust me, I am all about themes of any kind.  Be they in exercise classes, or taco Tuesday in my work cafeteria, but the theme has to fit the event.   Music can only be so slow when it is meant to inspire people to get amped up to throw punches, or row at a fast pace.

In addition to the musical choices, another thing that was a bit curious was what appeared to be the gym mascot. Now, let me back track.  This gym has all the toys you could ever want for a workout. Apparently, it opened about a month and a half ago, and they definitely spared no expense with quality and variety of equipment.  That said, some of the equipment had an odd mascot, (emblem or picture, whatever) on the front.  The mascot appeared to be a very sad, but fit, woman.  Her head was down and she was wearing boxing gloves.  See the picture of the punching bags.   It felt weird to punch a stencil of a sad cartoon woman. I don't think anyone really wants to punch a sad-looking cartoon in the face.  Maybe a ferocious cartoon?  Or one of those blow-up clowns that pops back after you hit it?

Other than the music and décor creating an interesting ambience, the workout was quite good.  It was simple, but incredibly challenging. You went to five stations and maxed out repetitions of an exercise for two-minutes and thirty-seconds at each station.  Not reinventing the wheel, but highly effective.

The five exercises included: walking lunges while holding a weight plate over your head; throwing a medicine ball over your back (I will get back to that); box steps holding a kettle bell; punching bags; and, the rowing machine.  We went through all five exercises twice.

Back to throwing a heavy medicine ball over your shoulder. I had never done such an exercise, and I don't think that I was alone.  The girl next me muttered "this is terrifying." She was right. I thought the medicine ball was going to land on my shoulder and crush me. It did not, and it did turn out to be a good work out for my lower body. Win.

Another thing the gym had that I had never seen before was called a SkiErg. A girl in the class who was next to me on the rowers explained to me that the machine was hell and awesome at the same time.  No other details.

Each workout at Madabolic, Inc. has a theme. The theme of the workout that I participated in was "durability." Like tires. Perhaps, I was supposed to feel like the Michelin man? I could see something being called endurance, but durability was different. Regardless, it was a good workout. 

When I was leaving, I was walking out with the same girl that told me about the SkiErg. She was very nice and incredibly encouraging because she knew was my first time that class. I often find that when people realize it's your first time in a workout class they are especially kind and attentive. It actually reinforces my faith in humanity in a weird way. People just want to help you and make you feel comfortable.

When she saw the license plate on my car, she asked if I went to JMU.  I said yes, and I asked her what year she graduated (because she did look familiar).  She said you tell me first. This is how I immediately knew that she must've been my age because when you are 26 you don't really care when people you meet graduated, but when you are in your 30s, you are more cautious about divulging the information or asking for that matter because the person you are speaking with very well may have graduated a decade after you.  And that makes you feel about as old as learning that Luke Perry is a card carrying AARP member.

It was a good workout. I don't often do exercises that make me "durable." By that, I mean I do not lift weights, particularly heavy weights, unless I am forced. The gym was immaculate and had more toys than you could possibly imagine. I will go back, but mostly to figure out the deal with the SkiErg. I highly recommend anyone to try it out if you're more inclined to do those types of workouts because the gym is just opened and they are running new member specials.

Hiking Old Rag - A delightful combination of fresh air and fear

I have always maintained that I love the outdoors...during the light of day.  I have also always maintained that I find camping scary because of serial killers and bears (I know, I'm a totally reasonable person).  Anyhow, this love for outdoors, but distaste for the outdoors after dark makes a day hike my ideal activity. 

Last November, my husband and I decided to take an afternoon hike up Old Rag, which is located on Shenandoah Mountain.  I went to JMU, which is in the Shenandoah Valley, but I never took advantage of Old Rag because I was too busy probably partaking in a number of less enriching activities. I digress.  Here is a link for more details on Old Rag.  http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/OldRag/

If you clicked the link (hence why it was provided), you see the hike is just shy of ten miles.  Also, according to the all-knowing internet, you will burn roughly 430 calories per hour.  Prior to my Old Rag hike, I would have found this estimate wildly generous, but now I would say that is a fair estimate.  I earned the treats (cheese - the treats are always cheese) I ate at the top. 

The hike started out pretty standard (if standard hikes are a thing).  There was a path and we began to follow that path up the mountain.  At first, the path was largely tree lined, and then the scenery morphed into boulders as we neared the top.  You can see this picture to the right of my husband hiking between boulders.  

When we reached the rockier area, the spray painted lines denoting the trail began to fade.  The top of a mountain is a terrible place for lines to fade.  The few arrows still visible seemed to point us over rocks and questionable surface area.  I am a woman with a desk job, not a mountain goat.   I started to get a little nervous, which is unusual because not much makes me nervous.  My dad always had this saying to think out your worries.  If they don't end in death or prison,  then they probably aren't worth the energy.  I think this is awesome advice, but I am sure that is up for debate.

Regardless, my rare episode of nervousness escalated when a woman in front of us had a panic attack when she needed to hop into a narrow rock crevasse to get through a certain point on the trail.  Her panic was infectious, and not in a delightful way.  My fear apparently triggered the fear of the couple behind me.  So things were going well. 


About that time, a random head popped out behind the corner of a rock.  A man was hanging off the  mountain complaining that he could not see next step in the trail.  The gentleman accompanying panicky lady one (remember, I am panicky lady two at this point), tells the head (that was literally all that we could see) that the head was not actually on the trail, but in fact was just randomly hanging off of the side of the mountain.  At that point, the entire crowd was a bit uncomfortable. 

How did this resolve?  Well, the head turned around, and I honestly couldn't tell you how that ended.   Panicky one got over her panic.  I got nudged into the crevasse by the building crowd. 

Eventually, we got to the top, and it was absolutely beautiful.  See the picture to the right.  It was totally worth the fear.  At least the front end fear.  The backend fear did not end with a beautiful view.  Now I will get to that part of the hike.  What goes up must come down.

So remember how I mentioned that it was November.  Well, it gets dark early in November, and we had the bright idea to start this hike around 2.  I had no concept of how many hours it would take to hike ten miles.  I should have reasoned that I am a painfully slow runner.  It takes me roughly two hours to run ten miles, so I should have probably doubled or tripled that estimate for a hike.  To this day, I could not tell you how long we hiked took, but darkness fell.  And as referenced above, I do not like the outdoors after dark.

On our way down, as the sun was setting, we ran into a child who was leading his parents on the hike.  The child announced that he was six, he was leading his parents, and they were lost.  Indeed, this seemed accurate since night was falling and they were headed up and not down. Perhaps they were brave enough to be camping with nothing but smiles and a walking stick.

By the time we reached the last mile, it was pitch black.  My husband's cell phone was dead, so we were using my cell phone flashlight to see.  We were all alone.  If this scenario sounds familiar it is because it is the opening scene of every horror movie.  Needless to say, I was not a fan of the last mile of the hike, but I might have a higher opinion of that section if I tackle it again in the light of day. 

When we reached our car, the sky was full of stars.  That was the rewarding end to the hike down. I highly recommend hiking Old Rag. Just try to go during the light of day and don't follow overly confident kindergartners with walking sticks.  His parents looked like they were in for a long night.

Elevate Interval Fitness - How does one warm-up?

I am a sucker for interval training.  Interval training is the best workout on the market right now (based solely on my personal opinion).  I love the variety, and you can do the workout anywhere.  While scrolling through Classpass, I ran across Elevate Interval Fitness.  The description on Classpass stated we would use free weights, rowers, TRX, and some of the best treadmills on the market.  I googled for a little more information, and the description on Elevate's website (www.elevateintervalfitness.com/workout) stated we would use a balance of anaerobic and cardiovascular exercises to improve fitness.  The website also says that "you select the weight, pace, and intensity that is comfortable for you."  I think comfortable is a real subjective term, and "you select" should be followed by "based on strong suggestion."

I went the first time, and not surprisingly, I loved the workout.  The workout began on the treadmill. Desiree, the instructor, gave me a little warning when I first stepped onto one of the "best treadmills on the market."  She told me to be careful getting on and off when we moved between sprints and rows because two weeks earlier the machine kept going after a runner hit pause to get off of the treadmill, and the runner stepped on the not-stopped tread and face-planted.  She knocked out all of her front teeth. Not a terrifying introduction to the class at all. 

The warm-up consisted of rotating between treadmill sprints and walks on a steep incline, and then we moved on to using a water rower to round out the 30-minute cardio portion of the class.  Following the cardio portion, we moved on to the floor exercises. For 30 minutes, we performed a variety of different weight exercises using free weights, an abdominal roller, and TRX machines.  Basically, the Classpass description was accurate.  Thanks, Classpass.   

I figured my husband would love the workout, so I convinced him to come the following week.  This is not the first time that I've done a little recon on a workout and later brought my husband.  And so far, this has been met with success.  He enjoyed Flywheel and Solidcore (and has gone back repeatedly), even if during the classes (or shortly after) he stated he would be ill.  Actually, when I see a look of nausea and disgust on his face that tends to be the moment where I consider myself having non-verbal confirmation that I made a great workout suggestion.

When I returned to Elevate, husband in tow, the workout was just as good as the first time, and my husband enjoyed the class.  However, he thought I should provide a disclaimer regarding warm-ups. 

Apparently, there are lots of different definitions of "warm-up."  For example, I think that we did warm up before class.  I ate a donut and drank coffee while we wandered around a farmer's market and scoped out cupcakes and vegetables for a good 20 minutes.  It was like 90 out.  I was super warm.  We even looked in a science store and sat in some chairs outside of Elevate drinking water.  Bam. Warmed. Up. Obviously, my husband followed my lead regarding the warm-up that I felt was appropriate prior to the class.

I would be told later that my concept of a "warm-up" is not an adequate warm-up for normal humans - particularly in light of the workout. 

We walked into the studio.  My husband started to stretch, which as you read above, is not part of my warm-up routine.  He was quickly instructed, by name, to get on the treadmill.  I must mention the classes are small, so  Desiree will know your name. 

We start the class.  The class "warm-up" (if you think my donut stroll is inadequate) consisted of a very brief jog (a minute or two), leading into sprinting for 80 seconds on a treadmill at a 5 percent incline, then hopping off and doing ten kettlebell swings at a pretty heavy weight, getting back on the treadmill and sprinting 90 seconds, hopping off and doing 20 kettlebell swings.  Basically, we did sprints and kettle bell swings on rotation, going up in ten-second and ten repetition increments, for eleven minutes.  It was incredibly hard, but a great way to kick off the class...in my opinion.   Some would even call it great "warm-up."  My husband seemed less smitten with the warm-up.  After that portion of the workout, we paired off and one partner used the water rower, the other partner was on an air bike, rotating every few minutes  That concluded the cardio portion, and we went on to do the weight lifting work.  A lot of push-ups, clean and presses, lunges, etc.

Interval training is good for me because I will never up weight myself while lifting; however, an instructor will always up the weight for me...whether I like it or not....  I never like it at the time, but appreciate it afterwards.  I look stronger than I am, and Desiree fell for the optical illusion and upped my kettle bell weight.  I was sore for days.

Elevate provides the great workout of Orange Theory Fitness, almost exactly, but without the annoyance (in my opinion) of wearing the heart monitor and there being so much orange you might think you're exercising in a jack-o-lantern.  Yes, I would say Elevate is less high maintenance than Orange Theory and less cultish than Crossfit (no disrespect to either of those great workouts).  Please, please try Elevate.  Also, try doing flutter kicks with your feet six inches off of the ground while doing overhead presses.  I learned in class that it is impossible (for me), so I want to inflict that exercise on everyone else.

My husband wants the disclaimer included that even if you are in good shape, you should do an adequate "warm-up" (aka, his version of a warm up), such as jog around for ten minutes and stretch.   Neither my coffee guzzling, cupcake scoping warm-up, nor the intense sprints and kettle bell warm-up, are actually appropriate warm-ups.  I can't imagine there is a middle ground between cupcakes and sprints, but that is what he alleges.  And you should do that before the class.  With the exception of the disclaimer that I failed to provide, he loved the class.  I was accurately reading the look of illness and disgust on his face during the sprints.

There are two Elevate locations, and I am talking about the Mosaic location.  I have no pictures for this post because my phone is perpetually out of storage.  This is likely due to the fact that I always buy the "new" phone that is a few years old.  It got weird standing around an empty gym after class deleting pictures trying to get more storage.  I could only fake drinking at the water fountain for so long. But you can always go back to my Orange Theory post and envision the room less orange.

The End.

Shimmy Shakedown at Saffron Dance - In case I wanted to purchase a stuffed camel

I took Shimmy Shakedown at Saffron in the fall, which contrary to the name, did not involve a shimmy or a shakedown on my part, but it was fun.  Shimmy Shakedown was described as "ideal for the aspiring belly dancer."  That is not me by any stretch of the imagination, but the class still sounded interesting.

My friends were all conveniently busy that night.  Not like when they are too busy for cycling, and it sounds legitimate.  More like, I already fell on the stripper-pole workout for you Kelly (thanks again, Liz and Nicole), so I am definitely not taking some iteration of belly dancing. Fair.

I show up to Shimmy Shakedown, and I check into the class.  "Oh, you're the only one in the class," the girl at the front desk announces cheerily.  I hear that phrase way too often.  Fantastic.

I have time to kill, so I decide to explore. Like most workout studios, there is a shop in the studio, but this shop sold a variety of things that I have never seen in a workout studio.  Most notably, stuffed camels. Outside of a zoo, I can't imagine an appropriate venue where I would expect to find stuffed camels, but there they sat all shelved and plush right in front of me.

I have provided pictures of the items in the studio, so you can really soak in the studio ambience.  Although the camels were the most prominent (my nice way of say oddest) item, one could not overlook the homemade jewelry and inspirational pillows. #Fitness

I moved past the stuffed camels and other weird accessories.  After a few minutes, a number of what I assume were experienced belly dancers walked out into the main sitting area. Their belly dancing outfits (hence my Nancy Drew conclusion that they were experienced) were very pretty, and they jingled, so right off the bat I could see why the workout was inviting.

It was finally game time.  The instructor directed me into the dance studio that we would be using.  Pretty small and barebones.  There were a few yoga mats and free weights...and the always included full-wall mirror.  Thankfully, another girl walked in.  She was, of course, in the belly dancing garb, so not new, but at least I had another soul with me. Turns out, she was just another instructor killing time.  Great. I lack rhythm, I don't know what a shimmy entails, and it is obvious from the under armour that I am wearing that I missed the memo on the jingle jangles.  Now it was just me and two belly dancing instructors. I was getting more skeptical by the second. 

Luckily, both of the instructors turned out to be incredibly kind and patient. 

The workout was really fun.  The shimmy involves a lot of gyrating of the hips, and "looking sexy." I do not have an aptitude in either of those areas, but the instructors were sweet and just told me to "move around."  There was also so movements with the arms, which were supposed to sync up with the hip movements, but again, just moving around was fine.  You can get a fantastic workout just moving around and laughing.  Essentially, it is the same tactic I take in Zumba.  The music was a nice change. You don't hear a lot of cool middle-eastern music on Today Show radio or 90s on 9, which are embarrassingly my go-to stations (thanks, Sirius).  It is always fun to hear something new and different.

The instructor that was just taking the class for fun had to leave the class early, and the remaining instructor decided to wind down the class shortly after her exit.  And remember, by class, I mean awkward private dance lesson for a girl with no shimmying or dancing skills.

We spent the remainder of the class talking about how she got into belly dancing.  She danced in college, and when she moved to the area got into Saffron.  Most of the regulars at the studio perform, which promotes a lot of camaraderie in the studio.  Here is the link in case you want to go check them out http://saffrondance.com/.  Actually, you should check it the link in general because there appears to be a four week immersion class in learning Lebanese, and based on the picture, you will learn the language while you dance.  That is either a very misleading picture, or a very interesting way to learn a language.

Shockingly, the studio continues to grow and has multiple locations.  I don't say shockingly because there was anything wrong with the class at all.  Belly dancing just seems like a niche market in an area with numerous exercise facilities. 

Will I go again?  Probably not.  Not because I have anything against the class, but generally I don't steer towards dance classes.  That said, it is worth checking out.  I think they have a very nice mantra, which is essentially encouragement and support for any women who want to explore dance.  Obviously, that was too much to fit on the pillow, so just Keep Calm and Shimmy On.

Barre3 - All smiles and sassy pants

So believe it or not, I have a managed to take a new class almost every week for the last year and a half (thanks, Classpass and weird schedule), but finding the time to both exercise and expatiate about my exercising adventures is proving difficult.  Stupid adulting. Therefore, I am just going to write about my various workouts as I have time and in no particular order.

On July 4th, I took Barre3 in Georgetown.  I have attended a class at Barre3 on one previous occasion, and on my first adventure I learned that the people working at the facility were incredibly nice.  I base this conclusion on the fact that they were sweet about the fact that I was late due to an inability to find parking and getting lost.  They still pleasantly showed me around the studio and allowed me to sneak into class (side note - super attractive studio).  Though a great workout and a nice facility, there wasn't much to note after my first workout.  Totally different story July 4th.

The instructor on the 4th of July was an incredibly patriotic woman.  This was evidenced by her announcement that July 4th was her favorite day of the year, she wished that every day could be July 4th, she would only be playing patriotic music...and we would be playing July 4th trivia.  I'm a huge history nerd who just recently listened to the book 1776, and I am a sucker for that Lee Greenwood song, so everything sounded great to me. 

Even if the instructor had said nothing, her enthusiasm for America was evidenced by her awesome workout ensemble. I've included a picture of the pants she was wearing while they were on the hanger in the studio (she obviously purchased them there).  I figured that trying to capture  a picture of the instructor's workout ensemble on her would probably be creepy.  Explaining, "don't worry, I just want a picture of your bottoms to put on the internet" seemed like it would roll off the tongue poorly.


All the songs were American themed-ish. I learned that "America themed" could also just mean from the 80s. That might be the most patriotic decade of all time. I had that epiphany during class when I heard "Eye of the Tiger" and "Life is a Highway." Thank you, 1980s, for providing the soundtrack for the United States.  Sadly, no Lee Greenwood, but I survived.

The instructor yelled things like do "13 more repetitions for the 13 colonies." Or, "push your feet up towards the ceiling like you're pushing open the doors of freedom." I am comfortable saying I will probably never hear that line for encouragement in  another workout class.

Also, her trivia was hard.  She knows her America. I was expecting like 6th grade history class, which I would still consider no joke since recalling any historical facts while squatting or doing overhead presses is a challenge.  I didn't know the answer to a lot of his questions, and I was not alone. I did learn some nuggets, which I will pass along because why not.  Fun fact, Vermont was the 14th state to ratify the Constitution. Also, the Philippines left the United States on the Fourth of July (of a different year) making in their Independence Day as well.

She wrote everyone's name on the workout mirror to track points.  This trivia wasn't just for fun.  This trivia was competitive.  I did not offer any answers, which was largely due to lack of knowledge, but I would have tried a little harder to recall things had I known there were awesome prizes at the end.  Swell bottles and tank tops. How nice is that?

Seriously, instructors with great personalities (albeit, perhaps a slightly quirky holiday obsession), and a studio offering fun incentives to their customers - great place.  

You also get to enjoy the Georgetown waterfront when you go to class.

The instructor shared that her cute boyfriend of almost a year, who was not from the area, was very excited to see the DC fireworks . I really hope the fireworks happened for them even though it poured.  I also hope he heard her overshare to the class that he was cute and dreamy.  He was.  And it was sweet of her to say.

I've been the Barre3 twice. I would definitely go more if I lived closer to the facility. They are incredibly nice, the workout is good.  I didn't even care that the hour-long class went an hour and 18 minutes in honor of America. Go USA!

Barre 3 is great!  Go check them out!  Maybe one of the instructors is all about Labor Day!