bring on the barre

okay, so we all know how much i adore my xtend barre classes.  but since there aren't any xtend studios in the dallas area yet, i had to find another way to get my barre on while we were visiting the ILs.  the last time we were there, the old lady and i had spied a barre3 studio about five minutes away from their house, but ran out of time before we could get in there to try a class.  this time, i was determined to give it a shot.  i even made sure to pack a pair of sticky grippy socks and suitable workout clothes.

after checking out the website, i found a class that worked with MIL's schedule.  over the last week, the bean had accompanied her to curves for her daily workouts and zumba classes, even joining in here and there.  and so the next morning, we all hopped into the car and they dropped me off at the studio on their way to class.

and yes, i did feel a little like i was cheating on xtend.  heh.  oh well.

it was a typical studio, with an entire wall devoted to barre-themed merchandise.

their cubby/waiting area is a bit larger than that of my xtend. you know, like pretty much everything in texas.

i did like their water refilling station, though. BYOB at its best.

plus, they offer childcare. that is definitely something i wish we had. pretty handy.

time to head in for class!

selfie time!

i noticed that i seemed to be the only one wearing barre socks in this class. the cork-like floor seemed to be rather inviting to barefoot attendees. still, i kept my socks on. their ball was also a bit larger and squishier than the one i was used to. 

the class itself was okay. when the instructor found out that i was an xtend devotee, she remarked that she'd heard it was a really hard class. and as we got into her routine, i did find that it wasn't quite as strenuous as what i'm used to. not a lot of cardio, almost zero ballet moves and mostly yoga poses. don't get me wrong though - still a good workout where i got my sweat on, and required muscles i must not use on the regular as i was a little sore the next day.

all in all, i'm glad i went and tried it. it's good to know that i have a decent barre option for when we're visiting the ILs. it's close to their house and now i know what to expect when i go back. 

but don't worry xtend, you still have my heart. ha!