At a Glance:

Website: http://westhollywood.barmethod.com
Address: 8416 W. 3rd St.
West Hollywood, CA 90048
Length: 60 minutes
Price: 1 class/$25, 10 classes/$225, month unlimited/$250
Sweat scale: medium
Energy level: low

My girlfriend in DC swears by The Bar Method and I’m always wondering what all of the barre studios do differently so I had to check it out. Hitting up this class also gave me an excuse to spend some time in on my favorite LA street.

Pre Sweat

Third Street has all the food, shopping, and juice a girl could ever want. But with these great things comes terrible parking. I took an afternoon class here just because the nearby neighborhood has 2 hour street parking from 8 am to 6 pm. At 6:00, the parking in this area pretty much disappears and you’re left shelling out $$ for valet or driving around franticly looking for a meter.

After locating the studio, I walked up the stairs and was greeted by a friendly receptionist who gave me a sheet to fill out and sign. The instructor, who was also at the desk, introduced herself and asked if I had any injuries she should know about. I was also given the ins and outs of the studio: towels and socks to my left, water behind me, and bathrooms, showers, and lockers down the hall. I put my socks on and headed inside.

  

Sweat

I immediately noticed how plush the carpeted floor was. Many barre studios have hardwood floors making it even more necessary to spring for the $12 sticky socks. I grabbed a pair of 2 lbs. weights and found a spot. The room isn’t huge and the class was decently crowded so I felt closer to the others than usual. I must note, this was my first barre class with a boy in it!

We started with arm exercises, using our dumbbells and bodyweight to do biceps curls, shoulder presses, arm raises, triceps dips, and pushups. Then we moved onto leg and thigh work, known to be torturous. During that portion of the class, we were on our tippy toes doing squats for what seemed like forever. My legs were shaking like an earthquake and I was praying for the stretching to come soon. Something that made it harder was that the countdown started at 30!!! In Cardio Barre we count down from 8, and Pure Barre, 10. So 30 made the countdown seem more dreadful than relieving.

Lastly, we did seat work, which consisted of tucks on the wall and the usual bar-presses while holding up an outstretched leg. The class always finishes with an ab section where we pulse in a crunch position for an absurd amount of time. For the first couple minutes, I honestly couldn’t feel anything. That was until the instructor corrected my form. I felt those abs for 2 days.

Post Sweat

If you’ve already snagged a parking spot for class, you might as well wander around afterwards. Thirsty? Turn right and walk to the next block for Juice Served Here or Clover Juice for something tasty, fresh, and healthy. Hungry? Grab a bite (and look for celebs) at Joan’s on Third. The sandwiches and salads are delicious and they have a mouth-watering deli counter if you want to grab and go. Walk a half-mile to the left to find the Beverly Connection with discount stores Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Target, and Beverly Center, with upscale retailers like Bloomingdale’s, Fendi, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co.

Tricks of the Trade

• If you are motivated by loud music, this is not your class.
• There are showers if you need to get ready for work or a dinner date.
• The instructor called out people by name in her mic to correct their form. Although sometimes embarrassing, it definitely helped ensure my moves were on point.