Pure Barre was born from a desire to specifically target a woman’s body in a way no other workout does.
“I was a professional dancer who was also an avid soccer player and taught every fitness class under the sun – pilates, spinning, kickboxing, aerobics, I even ran a marathon – but nothing was really changing my body,” said founder and CEO Carrie Rezabek. “I designed Pure Barre to change my body the way nothing else was.”
And now women in Atlanta have access to this unique combination of pilates, ballet and weight-training. The company opened its first Atlanta-area location on August 30, and the response has been immediate. Though many clients were introduced to the technique when the Buckhead location opened, other women had been anxiously awaiting the studio’s arrival
“The girl I exercise with had been to a Pure Barre in Nashville a few months ago and came home and said we needed one in Atlanta,” said Mary Fletcher Stewart, an Atlanta resident. “She even looked into opening a franchise here and we found it was already happening. We couldn’t wait to see where it would be.”
For 44-year-old Stewart, Pure Barre has proven to be the perfect component to add to her exercise routine. Though she’s also a runner and tennis player, the mother of three was looking to try something similar to yoga and says Pure Barre has been an ideal complement to her existing fitness schedule.
Stewart has kept other exercises as a part of her routine, but for many women the Pure Barre technique becomes their singular fitness plan, says co-owner Sarah Moats. It was specifically crafted to target a woman’s problem areas, combining intense (though contained) muscle movements with significant stretching throughout.
“It’s focused on toning the body, but it’s also cardio because your heart rate is up the whole class,” Moats said. “It takes ballet positions and then you stay down in those positions so it burns the muscle out.”
If the technique sounds confusing or even intimidating, co-owner Kady Decker encourages women not to write off Pure Barre without giving it an extended trial period.
“We say give it at least 10 classes, and then a light bulb will go off and you’ll get the form,” she said. “The movements are tiny and people tend to think big movements are better, so that’s counter-intuitive. But after a couple of weeks, it starts to click.”
Plus, Decker says, the classes are so intense that students forget there are other women in the room. Essentially, each 55-minute class becomes a completely individual experience.
For Kellam Mattie, discovering Pure Barre was accidental. She was shopping for children’s shoes in a Buckhead store and noticed the Pure Barre storefront. Somewhat familiar with the idea of ballet barre exercise, Mattie signed up for the $100 unlimited monthlong pass offered to new Pure Barre students and says she’s already seeing positive changes to her body.
“I was fit before, but I feel like I have a really flat stomach now and I’m seeing my waist again,” said the 38-year-old Brookwood Hills resident and mother. “One of the things that’s different is they work a body part and then you stretch it. One instructor explained that the intent is to get a long, lean muscle like a dancer, so if you work a muscle and then stretch it right there, it doesn’t have time to shorten up or get tight.”
Moats and Decker already have plans to expand Pure Barre’s presence in Atlanta. Construction on a Dunwoody location is currently under way, and Moats and Decker say they plan to have a total of four Pure Barre locations throughout the city by this time next year.
Pure Barre’s Buckhead studio is located at 3145 Peachtree Road N.E. First-time attendees are eligible for the $100 unlimited monthlong pass, and after that, pricing varies based on the number of classes students want to take. Classes are offered about six times daily on weekdays and twice a day on weekends. Visit purebarre.com for more information on class schedules and location.
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