Pure Barre

While I’m usually one to spring for more intense workouts, I initially scoffed at barre because it looked so… Girly. Ten classes in, it’s still girly but not missing any bit of intensity from my usual workouts. While initially the classes may seem like they aren’t working, it takes a few times of getting the form down before you start noticing how much you shake and struggle in the most harmless looking poses.
The studio is small and cozy, with a front desk staff to check you in and a small shoe rack where you drop off shoes and change into socks. Sticky socks are suggested but not required. They do require wearing pants that go past the knees, the reasoning here being that it keeps the muscles warm.
Personally, I don’t find the crowd here to be the most inviting, but instructors and front desk staff have been pretty great. A few who stand out are Beth, Julie, Amanda, and Whitney. J/​A/​W are great about walking around and being attentive to the students and correcting you when needed. This is super helpful to a newbie like me.
The only thing lacking is there aren’t any showers, so if taking a morning class before work, don’t rely on the studio.

Loved the uptown location, Lindsay was an excellent teacher! Such a great workout, and nice clean studio! The google map pin drop is wrong and the studio is actually located on Blackburn, off McKinney!

So glad to have a Pure Barre in Uptown very conveniently located. Smaller size than most studios but very intimate.

I was never one for group classes and I’ve always tried to avoid being in a room filled with tons of estrogen. It took a friend of mine that expressed interest in Pure Barre to even get me to buy their New Member $ 100 for one month package as another activity for us to do instead of the usual going out for happy hour and getting fat.
I guess Barre is popular because as I signed up for classes online, almost every time slot had a wait list! The only classes that were basically open were the 7:45pm weekday slots. I’ve found that you’ll easily get into a class if you’re spot 3 or 4 in a wait list though.
Remember to bring socks, specifically ones with a sticky bottom and your tights have to be below the knee. The instructor usually lays out what equipment you will need for that class. It’s pretty much the same full body workout each time for an hour with a few tweaks.
I laughed to myself as the instructor turned up the music and narrated what we should be doing. I’m a gym rat and this was just way too girly for me. I instantly thought of Richard Simmons while doing the warm up of knee raises. Then, I was basically beat the crap out of the entire class: planks, squats with isometric tucks… you want me to do what with my legs?!
Really, I couldn’t do half of the moves. I had to rest a few times and the instructor went up to me the most to correct my form. I felt so weak after but the burn was so good. I didn’t even break a sweat but my body was just like as if I had left the gym on leg day.
However, $ 175 a month is the regular pricing, $ 150/​m if you sign for a year. My gym membership costs ~$ 35. Think about that.