Smarties, meet Heather Carpenter. She and her husband, Rich, are busy raising three boys: Tyler, 17; Jackson, 10; and, Grayson, 6. In between a busy family and work schedule (she’s a paralegal), Heather qualified for the Boston Marathon this past year. She raced on Monday and finished the 2015 Boston Marathon with a personal record of 3:26:28. Heather says that one of the reasons she is such a strong runner is that she’s a devoted Pure Barre fan – she takes classes 4-5 times per week at Pure Barre Ballantyne. We chatted with her recently about what makes Pure Barre her go-to cross training workout, and here’s what she had to say.
Congratulations, Heather!! You make us SO proud!
Heather (L) and her friend Susan at the 2015 Boston Marathon
How long have you been doing Pure Barre? Since February 2014
What made you decide to come take the first class? I was healing from a running injury and needed a low-impact option that was easier on my bones to balance out my return to running. A friend asked me to come to a Pure Barre class with her. I thought the first class was so incredibly hard – it was like nothing I had ever done. It felt so hard and I was sore for 2 days but I was hooked. I immediately signed up for the one-month of unlimited classes and haven’t looked back since.
What are the benefits from Pure Barre that helped you get to Boston and beat your PR? No doubt my core is so much stronger because of Pure Barre. It is the foundation of running and is especially so on longer runs. Pure Barre truly is a 55-min core workout. It also keeps my legs strong and defined but the core work is what helped me get to Boston and then to re-qualify at the Boston Marathon so I can go back and do it again next year! Pure Barre just keeps my whole body so strong – it really is the best all body workout I have ever found and it never gets boring.
What Pure Barre moves do you do at home? Sometimes at home and most definitely when I am traveling and can’t get to a Pure Barre class, I incorporate the ab work that we do in class. You can do it anywhere and it always makes me feel like I got a decent workout in.
What’s your favorite part of Pure Barre? I love it all but really love the stretching and yoga poses that I know my body needs to counter all the running I do. I am convinced that Pure Barre is the reason I am such a strong runner now and have remained injury-free. It’s all about balance. I absolutely LOVE to run but I love Pure Barre, too. I think they are a good combination. My husband has been my biggest supporter and let’s me take the time to do both. He asked me one day if I HAD to pick only one, which would it be. My immediate answer was PURE BARRE!! It’s a workout that I know I can do forever, no matter how old I am and it will keep me in great shape.
Pure Barre Ballantyne
8430 Rea Rd #120
Charlotte, NC 28277
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(704) 502-5888
Pure Barre Charlotte
603 Providence Road
Charlotte, NC 28207
(980) 329-4640
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