Image: From left to right, my friends Ashley, Julie (instructor), me and Andria after our Brawl workout.  I was happy to rock my Fire Cracker capris from Lorna Jane!

Hey friends – happy workout Wednesday!  I hope your week is going well.  I’m working away at my new studio, Dallas Grit Fitness.  We are in full swing decorating and getting ready to welcome our fierce, fabulous instructors for orientation in 2 weeks.  I’m excited and honored to have the most energetic dancers, trainers and yoga instructors join my team!

In honor of workout Wednesday, I wanted to share some insights from my recent visit to The Barre Code Dallas, Design District.  Turns out The Barre Code Dallas Master Trainer, Julie, was actually the Group X Manager of 24 Hour Fitness who auditioned me for my very first fitness instructor position!  When I walked into the class and saw that she was teaching, I totally freaked out.  Such a small world!

While The Barre Code offers several barre formats my friends and I decided to try out the “Brawl” class because it seemed the most intense.  “Brawl, which has been recognized by SELF magazine as one of the best workouts in the country, is an intense class that combines cardio kickboxing sequences with strengthening work for the thighs and glutes.”  As a Turbo Kick fanatic, of course this is right yup my alley!

Here’s a quick run down of my experience…

• The Class – Brawl is a 50 minutes, high intensity cardio kickboxing class.  We did the whole class in socks – no sneakers!  Fortunately the floors are a soft rubber that you can bounce on.  About half way through the class, we got down on the ground and did 10 minutes of core, thighs and booty toning exercises.  Then we ended class with one final cardio push and a cool down.
• The Instructor – So I may be biased because I know Julie and personally like her style, but she was awesome!  I always appreciate fitness instructors who actually do the workout with the class and practice what they teach.  Julie rocked it out!
• Music – We kicked, punched and jumped around to a mash-up of Top 40 music.  It was remixed into a continuous flow that synced well with the moves.  The sound system was great – I could feel the beat!
• Who was there – Barre Code is a women’s only gym.  Most of the ladies in our class were in their 20’s and 30’s and all dressed in super cute activewear.
• Loved – The high energy of the class.  We never stopped moving!
• Hated – I didn’t bring a towel and had to creatively wipe my sweat on my clothes.
• Final Verdict – After class I was drenched in sweat, my thighs were on fire and I had a smile on my face – the 3 signs of an effective workout!  I highly recommend.