The 3-in-1 workout

Yesterday, I tried my hand (and the rest of my body) at a new class called barre3. It combines "the grace of the ballet barre with the wisdom of yoga and the strength of pilates."

The equipment: a ballet barre, a strap, a ball, a mat, and muscle! (Photo from the barre3 website)

It is described as "a highly effective 60-minute workout using the ballet barre as a prop to create equal length and strength in the body." It isn't exactly a slow-paced class, as one might expect; instead, it's done with some upbeat music in the background. (When Kesha's "Tik Tok" came on, I wanted to drop my weights and dance!)

The class I attended was at the new barre3 studio at The Spa High Street. It's a fully equipped barre3 studio with a cork floor, lockers, and a shower with hot water (a must for me!). It's recommended to come in yoga-ish attire, meaning somewhat fitted clothes, so that your form can be seen and corrected as needed.

As seen in the photo, the workout makes use of a ballet barre, a strap, a ball, and a mat. There are also free weights (two-pound dumbells) involved in some moves. If my quads hadn't hurt from a leg-strengthening exercise that I did the days before the barre3 class, I might have been able to hold the poses longer and do the proper amount of reps (especially for the squats). But as it was, with all the existing aches and pains plus the excess holiday weight, it was a bit of a challenge! But a challenge is good. It's but right to give your body a push every now and then. It became obvious to me, though, how much strength I've lost since I stopped going to the gym and doing core exercises--I couldn't even hold the plank (bridge) for a minute and had to do the modified pose. Sigh.

In a barre3 class, it feels a lot like your body is being sculpted (sans invasive machines sucking and tucking!). After that one hour, I felt like my core was firmer and that my body was all stretched out. Our instructor, Marie, revealed that their teacher grew three centimeters after doing barre3! Now there's something Vitamin B can't do for someone my age!

Want to try barre3? Classes are held three times a day at The Spa at Bonifacio High Street and Alabang. Classes at Rockwell and Eastwood to follow. Single class rate is P700. Monthly and annual rates available.