Who doesn’t love dancing, shaking and sweating to pumping music in a beautifully air-conditioned, light and dreamy boutique studio?!

And that right there was the reason I jumped at the chance to review BARRE:toned. After attending a Barrecore class, I knew what to expect, which made it a whole less awkward. I knew it would be intense, that I would be expected to wear tight gear such as leggings and wear socks, to relax, have fun and, more importantly, to go at your own pace.

Last weekend, on a relatively sunny, fresh, late morning I was finally able to review BARRE:toned. I hopped off the tube at Notting Hill Gate and 10 minutes later arrived at the boutique. I was greeted by a lovely lady who, as it was my first time at the studio, gave me a tour around. Bright daylight floods into the almost all white rooms. There’s a very friendly yet calming atmosphere, it feels like you’re hanging out at a friend’s house, the staff are wonderful and instantly put me at ease.

You can chill-out easily before your class, or after even after, with options to perch on the mini sofas with cushions, sip chilled bottles of water and read Woman’s Health mag. Downstairs are well catered and thoughtfully decorated changing rooms, showers and lockers, with cute quotes like “embrace the shake”. To ensure I wasn’t late and allowing enough time to change into my workout gear and quickly refresh, I arrived quite early. It gave me a chance to soak up everything before my class with Catherine at noon.

Entering the upstairs studio with daylight flooding in (the roof is half glass) was lovely – I detest artificial lighting! The studio itself was fairly small, not necessarily a bad thing, it provided an intimate setting, fitting around 15 or so women comfortably. Surrounded by mirrors and of course the barre, it brought back memories of when I did ballet regularly. This particular class involved use of the barre, the ball and straps. Heart rate was instantly up thanks to doing the plank, thighs were shaking to their limits and my body was put through its paces. I was thankful for the stretches which signalled the class was drawing to an end!

It was a brilliant class with an awesome instructor who motivated everyone and ensured every member was working out in the correct form, maintaining the right posture by helpfully, yet subtly adjusting to achieve maximum benefit. I think this is a really good indicator of separating a mediocre class from a great one. In my opinion, this is an obvious aspect of workouts and classes, yet it’s surprising just how many instructors neglect doing this or have a bad attitude. Especially for first timers who are unsure of whether they are doing a series of exercises correctly, this is massively important!

Now it’s not a case of if I’ll be back, but when! I highly recommend the class, instructor, the studio and the facilities. Oh, and Sunday morning my body felt the wonderful effects of the workout. I definitely want to make this a regular addition to my fitness regime. With consist attendance I bet after a few month you can easily expect to notice tangible improvements in flexibility and stamina and achieve an overall toned body.

Have you tried out classes or studios like this? What would you recommend?

NW

*This opportunity was gifted to me for promotional purposes but thoughts are mine!