Above Barre Groupon

I'm gymless for about two weeks in December, so I bought a steal of a Groupon to Above Barre.

I'd been eying it for awhile—and was waiting for am extra percentage off. Between the extra percentage off and knowing I'd need some fitness classes over the holidays (when everything including my usually gyms and studios are closed) I decided it was worth the money.

I knew I liked barre classes. They're low impact (which is great for all the over-use injuries I get from running.) And the deal averaged out to about $5 a class. Awesome.

A few days before Christmas I went to redeem my Groupon.

There was a pretty hard sell to get me to a one-month contract. Which honestly, didn't make sense to me. I just stared at the girl. I bought 10 classes to use over the holidays. Why would a one-month plan be any better? I don't need an Omni membership. I don't plan on taking unlimited barre in January.

I explained to the girl that I was looking for a once-a-week option, that I had other classes I regularly took. She told me about their $59 once a week plan. So I'd change my $50 10-class Groupon for a 4-class Groupon? I continued staring at the girl—and said I was sure they'd have New Year's deals when I was done with my Groupon.

After that unpleasantness, the class was good. The instructor had a kind, fun energy. It was much better than the class I took back in January of last year. There were less ballet terms. There was more equipment and variety in the exercises. The clientele had also changed (in part to the college students going home for break) and it was more moms, grandmas, and grad school aged women. There were less co-eds. And there are also more class times, including more evening times when I can make it. (So good changes from my last visit.)

I had told the teacher it was my first class there—and she was pretty impressed with my form. (Thanks Pure Barre).

I went back a few more times. (I haven't used all 10 visits yet. Because the weather's been nice enough to run outside on a few days and I've picked up some free classes here and there.) And I've enjoyed the classes. There's less work on pointe, less barre holds (which I don't really like).

The class works your core. There's an abs series they do, that involves scissors and bicycles. There's arm work. They have weights and they use bands for exercises at the barre (Almost like Pure Barre's velcro band classes). I've done curls, back flies, pullups and more with the bands. There's the usual leg work—on pointe, lots of calf, hip flexor work. And the class ends with stretching and some yoga poses.

Above Barre also offers more variety in classes.

They have a Core Express class, which focuses more on abs and is 45 minutes. I really liked this class and hope to go again.

There's also a HIIT class, which is barre with more cardio and harder options. Really liked this class too.

And some of the instructors teach harder classes than others. I feel like I need to take another one of Hillary's classes. I remember really liking the toughness of her class.

 I've liked all of the teachers and all of the classes. I haven't had a bad experience.

The classes were smaller—in part because it was holiday break.

The difference between this and Pure Barre?
1. Not as much Lululemon at Above Barre. Girls were wearing Under Armour, Fila and regular—not luxe activewear.
2. There's a larger variety in equipment. More bands etc at Above Barre.
3. The classes all vary as do Pure Barre. A class with one of AB's veteran instructors is going to be similar to a class with a veteran Pure Barre teacher. There's a set formula of warmup, barre work, arms, abs, cool down etc for classes at each studio—with slightly different variations depending on the instructor and day.
4. Pure Barre keeps their studio slightly warmer.
5. Pure Barre's classes are more crowded (and have a younger, Greeker clientele.) PB has a larger studio and can accommodate 29-34 people.
—In January, most of Pure Barre's classes are waitlisted. I've never had that problem at Above Barre. This might only be a problem for January and Platform classes.
6. The Pure Barre instructors look like they hopped out of magazine. AB has normal looking instructors—beauties, moms, fitness enthusiasts.

Both are barre workouts. I'm not sure who has the edge, really. I like classes at both places. Classes at Above Barre have improved a lot since my last visit. Pure Barre is an established chain. And Above Barre is a barre method studio—they're popping up everywhere.

If you want a membership to a big gym (Omni) or childcare, Above Barre probably has the advantage.

Pure Barre was the first barre studio in Athens—and now there are also classes at UGA (on my list to try) and I did try a mini barre class at Above Body studio. I should do a full class and give you a review.

But taking any fitness class is a step in the right direction.

Happy tucking!

(Update: I liked their HIIT barre class so much I purchased a 5 pack of classes. It burns the same amount of calories as Pure Barre Platform, without Platforms choreography that I suck at, and without two week wait lists.)