By Samantha Finglass
High energy music is driving each movement; the person to your left is nodding their head to the beat; you’re keeping in rhythm while working up a sweat. No, you aren’t in a dance club. You’re in a Pure Barre class.
Traditional barre classes combine the fundamentals of Pilates, yoga, strength training, and ballet to create a fusion of fitness that lengthens and tones muscles. Pure Barre, the original barre class that started in Michigan in 2001, opened their doors in College Station on August 31, 2018. After successfully co-owning two studios in the Woodlands, Heather Robertson and Amy Wessner, both graduates of Texas A&M University, were asked by Pure Barre corporate to open a studio in College Station. “We love Aggieland and were thrilled for the opportunity,” says Wessner.
Pure Barre is a low impact total body workout using isometric movements to burn fat and sculpt muscles, says Wessner. “It’s like flexing your body for 50 minutes,” she says. “Your body is like your machine during class. You work through the burn to find your shake. That’s when you know your body is changing.”
Anyone who has taken a Pure Barre class before is familiar with the feeling of shaking muscles. Unlike traditional gym movements that utilize increased weights to build muscle, Pure Barre pushes your body to the point of fatigue by holding targeted movements utilizing your body weight. Coupling this with stretching throughout the class creates long, lean, and toned muscles.
Pure Barre College Station offers three different class formats: Pure Barre Classic, Pure Empower, and Pure Reform.
“Classic is our bread and butter,” says Wessner. Pure Barre Classic is what most people think of when they think “barre class,” she says. This includes low-impact, high-intensity movements using a ballet barre for parts of class for balance and resistance.
Pure Empower is perfect for those who want to tone their muscles and raise their heart rate. Through a fusion of barre and interval training, Pure Empower builds strength and increases metabolism, says Wessner. Unlike Pure Barre Classic which targets one muscle group at a time, Pure Empower includes ankle weights, a plyometric platform, and dynamic movements to target multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
Inspired by resistence training, the third class format, Pure Reform, merges barre movements with resistance bands, sliders, and the barre to challenge your strength, coordination, and balance, says Wessner.
Trying to understand the terminology, correct placement, and movements can be challenging for beginners to Pure Barre. To help ease the transition into barre life, each Sunday at 3 p.m. Pure Barre College Station offers Pure Foundations. The free class introduces clients to the basic movements of Pure Barre, says Wessner. Pure Foundations offers a great opportunity to break down the fundamentals so that you gain the most out of your Pure Barre experience, she says.
“Give yourself grace,” Wessner says to those just starting out with Pure Barre. “Don’t judge it by your first class. It will be fast, furious, and unlike anything you’ve ever taken before.” When taking advantage of Pure Barre College Station’s first-class-free deal, Wessner recommends arriving 15 minutes early and staying late to take a tour of the studio and utilize the time before and after class to talk with your instructor and ask questions about form and technique. “Our instructors are here to help you; utilize them!” she says.
In addition to being a killer-workout that strengthens your muscles, Pure Barre College Station provides a support system of members who lift each other up, says Wessner. “I didn’t know I was missing community in my life until I found Pure Barre,” she says. “More than just a workout, it has become my support system, my accountability, and my opportunity to help others.”