Written by: Erin Boor
As a collegiate athlete on the UGA (go Dawgs!) track and field team, my life (well, what life?) revolved solely around running. I specialized in the 1-miler and 2-miler events. We had two-a-day practices at 5:30AM and around 4PM. We spent a little bit of time cross training in the weight room, but mostly we were running, running, running.
I ran 7-10 miles a day during cross country season and 3-8 miles a day during indoor and outdoor track season. Most weekends, I was out of town traveling to compete. Then, Monday would come. Wash, rinse, repeat. The week would start all over again. It was very intense.
When I moved to Charlotte a few years ago, I had just had my third child in 3 years. Yes, 3 in 3. My body (and my mind!) needed something other than just running.
When I took my first barre class at Carolina Barre & Core, I walked (or more like wobbled) out feeling very humbled. My legs had never shaken that much (like, ever) and not even during my gazillions of miles logged during my competitive running days. I knew immediately that CBC was what my body needed. I quickly became hooked and would often run to the studio take a class and then run home.
My core became stronger and my legs could hold up for a much longer period of time during my long runs. I ran the Charlotte Thunder Road Half Marathon 4 months after having my third child.
After 1 month of training at CBC, I ran a “near” personal best at 1 hour 37 minutes 17 seconds, a 7:26 a mile pace.
I attribute my performance to the cross training that I was getting at CBC. At CBC, I was using muscles that I had never used before and my overall strength and endurance had dramatically increased.
So, to my fellow athletes and runners – try a barre class! It will be very different that what you might expect. You will likely not sweat as much as a run, but your muscles will be pushed to the extreme and you will see key improvements in your core strength and muscle tone. I have logged well over 250 classes and I keep coming back for more because it works and there’s nothing I do on my own that compares to the results provided by this workout.
CBC is also a place where you can meet new people and if you are like me, it will become your community.
Running can often be a very lonesome sport. Incorporating CBC with running, in my opinion, is the perfect balance for both body and mind.
I hope to see all of you runners at the barre!
Carolina Barre & Core
2901 Selwyn Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28209
Phone: 980.207.1046 Email: info@carolinabarre.com
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Carolina Barre & Core, Raleigh, is OPEN and located in Lafayette Village, 8480 Honeycutt Rd, Suite 102!
