What To Expect Your First Time At Barre Class

I tried my first barre class recently. My impression: it’s a good workout, but also kind of… well, there’s not a nice way to put this. Boring.

Here are the pros, in my mind:

• The barre itself (sort of a waist-high railing around the room) is a nice prop for the exercises.

• Afterwards, my muscles definitely felt like they had been through a good workout.

• If you close your eyes, you can pretend you are a pretty ballerina.

And the cons:

• The movements tend to be small and exhausting: hold your leg up for three million years while pulsing it back and forth.

• If you open your eyes, you are surrounded by mirrors that make it very clear you are not a pretty ballerina.

The studio required that we wear socks; a lot of barre enthusiasts like to use sticky socks that have some nubs on the bottom that provide a little grip. One other perk that may be specific to my studio: They did not have locker rooms, but they did have a long counter with mirrors mounted above it.

The counter was stocked with beauty products like dry shampoo so you could freshen up after your workout. I had two simultaneous reactions: “That’s so thoughtful!” and “The other people who go here must be a lot more stylish then I am, because I’m just gonna go home dripping in sweat like usual.”

Barre classes are super popular, so just because I didn’t love it doesn’t mean you won’t. So I’m curious, for those who do barre: What do you love about it? And what would you tell someone who is about to try it for the first time?