January, and a completely new year is finally here. The busiest month of the year at fitness clubs and gyms around the world. Everyone is trying hard to make their new year’s resolutions happening…
For me, just like for most of us, January feels like a new start, but I find it difficult to start all over again with the same things that I’ve been doing the previous year, I need something new and exciting to get me motivated and inspired! So, this year I want to try; Xtend Barre!
Xtend Barre is one of the latest fitness trends to hit the world. This popular workout was developed by a former dancer, Pilates and Fitness trainer; Andrea Rogers. Xtend Barre mixes the discipline of dance with the strength of Pilates in a fast-paced total body workout. Andrea was certified to become a classical Pilates instructor. She believed in the Pilates principles (stabilization, concentration, control, flow, breath and precision) and observed the long-term results in her Pilates clients. In an effort to provide cross training and seek better results for her clients, she began to incorporate dance elements and music into her Pilates sessions in order to offer challenges in coordination, rhythm, and cardiovascular fitness. By raising her Pilates clients to a vertical position, and diversifying their range of motion, Andrea found greater results by offering Xtend Barre than by maintaining a routine of Pilates alone. Most importantly, her clients were gaining energy, enjoying elements of dance, and having fun! The philosophy is simple: Developed from a dance and Pilates background, the Xtend Barre workout combines the results of dance with the principles of strength and safety in Pilates.
The Xtend Barre session is spilt into 3 parts; the first part is inspired by ballet (thankfully you can manage without a ballet background), the second part is focusing on exercises for the gluteus, hamstrings and the quads and are performed by the ballet barre. The last part is performed on the mat and reminds more of a traditional Pilates class.
The Xtend Barre is marketed as a system that sculpts the body proportionally so that all body parts are equally challenged. This total body workout serves to strengthen, lengthen, and stretch the body from top to bottom, from inside out. The end result is a long and lean physique… without added bulk. The Xtend Barre method is best summarized by a long-time client: “If Pilates sculpts your body, Xtend Barre ™ chisels it.”
This might be my new challenge for 2012, do you have any experience form Xtend Barre? Is it a just a booming trend or something that we will find in most fitness clubs during the coming years?
/MN
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