twin cities fitness guide – Michelle Marie Health & Wellness Coaching

Exploring New Studios: Haute Barre

Posted on November 7, 2016November 7, 2016 by sunshineandsuperfoods in Health

Finally another barre studio to try!

I was invited by two new friends to a barre class at Haute Barre Studio in the West End. The three of us attended a Monday morning 5:45 am Barre Fusion class taught by Lindsey Bomgren (the amazing blogger of Nourish Move Love)!

Haute Barre is conveniently located in the new West End shopping complex with plenty of free parking and after class you are just steps away from shopping, coffee, and food – okay, maybe that’s a little dangerous..

The studio space is fully stocked with all types of barre equipment, has a small changing room and bathroom, cute lobby with accessories and barre tanks. The studio room itself has floor to ceiling mirrors on one side of the room and full length barre on both sides easily accommodating a full house.

This 60 minute class was not your typical barre class – it incorporated aspects of yoga, HITT, and a lot of core strength training making it a great all around workout. If you are use to a Pure Barre type barre class be prepared for something totally different, but in a really good way. The class used a set of light and heavy weights to work the arms but also to add challenge to lunges, squats and hip thrusts. There were lots of the typical barre moves (pulsing and tucking) but more concealed in other great full body workout moves. Lindsey is amazing – she is upbeat, fun, and fully immersed in the class with you, which makes the class fly by so fast and the burn not so bad. Usually, during a barre class it is unusual to break a true sweat but I was dripping after this class – always a good sign.

hbarre

I am very excited to not only have found a great new barre studio, but also a great instructor – I highly recommend checking out one of Lindsey’s classes at Haute Barre if you haven’t already! Haute Barre offers a wide variety of barre classes to choose from; there are classes that are more restorative, some with high cardio, and some with increased strength training – there is truly something for everyone!

Are you are interested in trying Haute Barre?

Well… you are in luck!! You are invited to come to a class with me for FREE!

All you have to do is email me and we can get you signed up!!

Email: mmcguinness33@gmail.com

You don’t want to miss out on an amazing class and perfect start or end to your day!

Exploring New Studios: Tiger Fit Athletics

Posted on October 19, 2016October 19, 2016 by sunshineandsuperfoods in Health

Happy Hump Day!

Let me start off by saying that I am having tons of fun testing out all the local studios here in MN! These sweaty adventures are keeping me (and Justin) very busy on the weekends and it is also a great way to meet new people, so it is a win-win.

About a week ago, Justin and I decided on our next stop, Tiger Fit Athletics in Plymouth. We signed up for a Saturday 8am class called Triple Threat. This class is extra long and combines spin, strength, and core. Heres the class description:

“best all in ONE quick-paced, high-energy class combining cardio, core and strength. The breakdown: 20 min cardio (ride + fly) + 20 min core + 30 min strength + 5 min stretching = 75 min of high-energy, calorie-blasting, sweat-dripping class…..ONE YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS. No two classes will be the same. All levels welcome. Limited spots. Are you ready to play?”

so we thought, go big or go home right?

We showed up early to sign in and get a quick tour before class began. The first 35 minutes of class was spin. However this is not your average spin class, Tiger Fit has WATT bikes which function opposite to how your typical spin bike does. These bikes force you to focus on pedaling with your backside muscles and not your thighs! It took a couple minutes to get in the groove but once I did, it was a killer workout. After spin ended, we headed into the studio room next door for 50 minutes of strength and core. The instructor pushed us to our limits with all sorts of crazy challenges. We used resistance bands, sandbags, heavy weights, and gliders to work all areas of the body. Class ended (90 minutes later) with a 5 minute stretch session and a little extra foam rolling in their studio.

So what did I think? I LOVED Tiger Fit! The studio is focused on true athletic training. The instructors are very knowledgeable and design all their classes accordingly. The class sizes are smaller and you get a lot of hands on help from the instructors. The studio offers a WIDE variety of classes – HITT, Arc Training, Treadmill Training, Spin, Core, Barre and Yoga!

I would join this studio in a second if it wasn’t for their membership prices, unfortunately a little too pricey for me. Luckily, they are a part of classpass so hopefully once I activate my membership here in MN I can get back to Tiger Fit!