Pure Barre “Pure Results Two DVD Package” Home Workout Series
Really? A workout video reviewed by an Elevation Outdoors blogger? Is this the most uncool gear review ever? I mean, do EO readers actually care about getting their waistline bikini-ready?
That was my first thought when I received the classy, carefully packed parcel in the mail one sunny day.
Could I forfeit precious moments of my life that could be spent outside to try and achieve tight-ass perfection? I mean, I run ultra marathons; is this really necessary?
After all, I’m a fit 30-year-old girl. Not gym fit; just good ole fashioned outdoorsy fit, capable of moderately excelling at trail running, mountain biking, backcountry skiing and kayaking with a beer in my hand.
But writing this review is part of my job, so I popped in one of the packages’ two DVDs, Pure Results Feature Focus on Abs. Seconds later, iconic workout techno music pumped from my speakers.
Turn it down, I thought. Don’t let the neighbors hear.
I looked out the window. No one was there pointing and laughing. My husband wouldn’t be home for at least another hour, so I shut the blinds, pulled on my Pure Barre Signature Sticky Socks (also included in the package) and ceremoniously unrolled my yoga mat.
I stood in the middle of the mat and pressed the Play All button. Three extremely fit, clearly former cheerleaders beamed super white smiles into the screen, their uber peppiness forcing me to stumble backwards – good thing I had on my Sticky Socks; might have slipped otherwise.
The music faded to mere background electro-pumping sounds as the middle chick warmly welcomed me to Pure Barre, which, according to the Pure Barre website , “transforms the shape of a woman’s body in record-breaking time.”
Deemed “intelligent exercise,” Pure Barre is the “largest, most established barre franchise in the nation with more than 200 studios across the country.” While the studios feature a ballet barre, the DVD series simply provide the opportunity to burn fat, sculpt muscles and create a long, lean physique at home or on the go.
After a quick intro, my new girlfriends and I started a Warm Up. Never having partaken in a home workout series (my stepmom used to follow Denise Austin’s fitness videos, a comparable activity), I felt silly and awkward, unable to keep up with their graceful, clipped movements and the instructors’ patient commands.
While the music provided rhythm and motivation, she ever so kindly moved us through a series of small, isometric movements using phrases like “tuck,” “pulse,” and “two more minutes, you’ve got this!” I’m already thinking she’s the nicest workout lady ever.
But I don’t have a long attention span, so I return to the main menu and choose Scene Selection. A list of my troublesome womanly parts shows up on the screen: arms, thighs, abs and seat. Which would I like to focus on for 15-minutes? I click on Abs.
And you know what? That 15-minutes was not as tortuous as I thought it would be. I “shook” a little, which is a good thing, but didn’t feel debilitated or demoralized. I felt good.
So I made a pact with myself: I’d do the Abs series three to five days a week for a month and see if anything changes in my core.
Now, one month later, I have to tell you, dear EO reader, that I have some waistline definition and – gasp – even a little chiseled effect shadowing my torso. I would never say I’m bikini-ready because, well, I’m still a girl, and girls never feel like they’re totally bikini-ready. We’re ridiculous.
And I can’t say it’s solely from Pure Barre either; I do eat pretty well and it is summer, so activity levels have picked up significantly. But I really do believe that spending 15-minutes a day accountable to three women I’ll never meet but have grown to look forward to hanging out with is, overall, beneficial.
Price: $64.95
Includes: Two 60-Minute DVDs (One Pure Results Feature Focus on Abs & One Pure Results Feature Focus on Seat), a pair of Pure Barre’s Signature Sticky Socks, double tubing and one year HD streaming access to both workouts
Equipment Recommended: Exercise mat, set of light weights between 2-5 lbs and a stable support surface to utilize lightly for balance
General Impression: In our high-impact lifestyles, it’s nice to have low-impact options to strengthen the big muscle groups we use so much on the trail and in the water. Life is short; protect your joints, or, as Pure Barre, likes to tout, “Defy gravity by tapering everything in and lifting it up!”
