Jenny Cookies Barre Squad | Barre3 Mill Creek
It’s no surprise I love dessert. I’d happily eat it exclusively as my three meals a day. Unfortunately as much as I’ve fought it, my metabolism just isn’t the same as it was when I was 18. Sad, I know. It’s a harsh reality.
Because of this terrible addiction to sweets and all things unhealthy, I’ve had to find ways to cancel out the sugar intake. One way is running on the centennial trail. My husband and I pack up the kids bicycles, and we jog while they bike. We’ve been doing it for the past few years (the trail is maybe 5 minutes from my house) and provides fresh air and a little cardio in our day. Here’s the issue.. well actually, there’s two. First, we live in Seattle, which is basically the rainiest place on earth. No one wants to run in the rain. Second, running is not my favorite. I actually have a tank top to prove it. It says in all caps: I HATE RUNNING. It’s a big conversation starter on the trail. High fives, laughs, pointing…you get my point. You’ll never see me running a marathon.
About 6 months ago I convinced my friend Kelly to take a barre class with me. She found a groupon for 4 classes (which made me feel like we were really committed) and we showed up for class. We had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that barre3 was a combo of ballet barre, yoga, and Pilates. Let’s just say 10 minutes into the class I looked at her, and the clock, and her again, and whispered “we have FIFTY more minutes of this??” I’m positive there were flames coming off of my legs, tears in my eyes, and no way I could go “down one inch and up one inch” one more time. I couldn’t sit on the toilet without gripping the walls for a week.
Six months later, I’m completely addicted. I can’t get enough of barre class. It’s still challenging and my legs still feel like jello but I’ve embraced the shake and I love how I feel after each class. My life is a little crazy with parties, events, a store opening, children, sports, projects, blog posts, a farm… the list goes on and on. My mind often feels like a computer with five billion tabs open. When I pull into the parking lot at barre3, my to-do list is circling in my head. During the 60 minute class, everything disappears and I spend an hour recharging. I leave refreshed, stress free and stronger than when I walked in the door.
This past weekend I hosted a private barre class at Barre3 Mill Creek. The majority of my friends had never taken a barre class before, so I knew they’d probably hate me about 10 minutes into class. To soften the blow, I welcomed them with Barre Squad shirts from EDJE, lululemon pants and a fun barre 3 water bottle. Because let’s be honest, a new workout outfit and a fun water bottle is super motivating.
Lululemon is my absolute favorite. Like FAVORITE FAVORITE. I like to refer to lulu as my uniform. I wear it ALL. THE. TIME. It works for school drop off, Costco, house cleaning, trips to Target.. I admit, sometimes my lululemon never actually make it to a workout. There is nothing like lulu that even kind of compares. Trust me people. I’ve tried it all.
After everyone was suited up, we headed into the studio for one heck of a workout! These ladies had no idea what they were in for!
You have to admit, this looks fun right??
Thennn came the seated chair. I thought Allison (the instructor) was going to go easy on us since there were so many beginners, but she did not!! My legs were shaking and quaking. At one point I looked back and my girlfriend mouthed to me “I HATE YOU”.
Do you see that glistening? Yep, that’s sweat dripping off my face and chest.
My friend Heidi got after it! Her shirt almost looked tye dye from her hard work.
Go girl!
Because everyone survived the planks, squats and downright muscle fatigue, I treated them to a fun after class take home.. New kicks!!
If I could give any trend starter a high five, it would be whoever made athletic shoes cool again. Ten years ago I wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing athletic shoes with my jeans. Now, I think there are more athletic shoes than regular shoes in my closet!
Brooks’ Heritage line is incredible. I love the old school, classic look combined with the comfort for everyday wear. I never thought I’d say this about an athletic shoe, but I have multiple pairs I’ve worn so much that I’ve literally worn them out!
After the class, we served ZICO smoothies for refreshment and hydration! We were all drippy sweaty (I know, gross) and needed the electrolytes!
ZICO’s Chilled Fruit Blends are perfect for smoothies. They’re simple to make using ice, yogurt, fruit and one (or a mixture) of their chilled fruit blends.
Ours were delicious, made with the ZICO Chilled Orange Juice Blend, yogurt, ice, mango, pineapple, and strawberry chunks. The best part? They were gluten, fat and cholesterol free!
Along with yummy smoothies, guests munched on a Perfect Bar, which is made with high quality whole food protein — essential for muscle repair and recovery…exactly what we needed after our barre3 sweat session!
And don’t be fooled, you can’t come to a Jenny Cookies event and not have some sugar. I figured we saved up our gluten intake for a few after-workout doughnuts.
We worked hard to eat those calories.
I made a huge wall of doughnuts with a variety of delicious Top Pot Doughnuts. I may have had six, which I realize, cancels out any exercising I did yesterday. It’s called balance you guys.
At the bottom of the doughnut wall, I had all the fixings for yogurt parfaits. Fruits, greek yogurt, granola, all of it. No one ate a yogurt parfait. Not one person.
These are my people.
We also had coffee for take home. Who doesn’t love one for the road? Wink.
(if you knew me 10 years ago, I had an espresso business called One for the Road)
It was a really fun day. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed and smiled as much during a barre3 class. There’s nothing like exercising with 24 of your friends!
Thank you Allison and Barre3 Mill Creek for an awesome class. I’m still sore!
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Which doughnut would you pick??
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Photography by Kelly Clare Photography
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!! Looks like fun, but there is no way I could do that! ( maybe 20 years ago) ??
My kind of ladies, I LOVE that not one person had yogurt. I would have went right for that donut wall too! One of each please!
What a funny post. I cracked up more than once. Thanks for the laugh/motivation. I have been wanting to try a Barre3 class.
Once again you killed it!! Gosh how do you get on the list for all these amazing parties!! Your just so organized and I’m sure these all take lots of time and you nailed it!!!
Thanks for hosting such an amazing event! Can’t wait to return to Barre3!