It's not the same, but you'll still have a hard time sitting down the next day.
Hey friends, happy Monday!
As you may know, I’ve recently started working at Barry's Bootcamp, that HIIT workout class I'm constantly begging my friends to take with me. I’ve probably been doing 4/5 classes a week lately & I’m feeling GOOD.
I hadn't been able to go often over the summer because 1) I had really, really bad tendinitis that kept flaring up and 2) When you're unemployed, not really the best time to be spending $$ on a fitness class.
I always think I'm in good shape until it's been a month or so since my last Barry's class and the instructor is like, "30 seconds! Give me your push! 8 to a 10!" and I'm jumped up on the side of the treadmill pretending something is wrong with my hip just so I can catch my breath. One sec!! It's just my...my hip is...lemme just...gonna bendddddd a litttttttttle to the left and make an "oof" expression while I turn my treadmill down to a walking pace. Walking it off! My bad hip, that is! I'm in phenomenal cardio vascular shape, it's just my hip!
It's a mental thing. You exaggerate how difficult it was last time or how difficult you think it's going to be, and you psych yourself out. We're very dramatic. "I'm not in that good of shape, I can't take the class, mehmehmehmeh," - the entire point of Barry's is to get you into shape!!! If you were in good enough shape to take the class and not feel #whooped at the end, you just set $32 on fire.
I feel like Barry's for me is kind of like that meme that comes up every fall, "If I'm paying $25 for a haunted house, I better die," ya know? Is that an unhealthy perspective? Unclear.
Since I have historically been unsuccessful in my tireless attempts to force my friends to take a class with me, I'm hoping that I can convince them and/or you that you're totally capable of doing it. Even if you don't go with me, I'd 1000% recommend giving one class a try. It has changed my attitude towards working out (I *genuinely* look forward to it most days) and my approach to my workouts themselves. I used to spend hours a day in the gym & now, I give a solid 45 mins/1hr and I'm done.
SO here's what I've got for you - 5 of my favorite moves in your typical Barry's class (class is different every day of the week and varies by trainer! So it's always something new) that I use in my own workouts, and used to get back into "Barry's shape" when I hadn't gone for a few months. To clarify, "Barry's shape" is different for everyone - it's more just feeling mentally prepped going into it!
5 Barry's Bootcamp Moves to do at the Gym
1) Hills
Not so much a move, but definitely my favorite tred workout. This is just one adaptation & what I do when I'm doing my own HIIT at the gym.
Start out at your jogging pace (5 - 7) with the incline on 2 & jog there for a minute. Put the incline up to a 3 and move to a fast jog ( 6 - 8 ) and stay there for a minute. Move the incline up to a 4 and hit your run pace (7 - 9) and stay there for a minute. Recover (this can be hopping on the edge of the tred, walking, or jogging! I need to start jogging it out more often - love me some walkin').
To run down the hill, start at a 4 incline fast jog (6-8) for 30, run (7 - 9) for 30 on a 3 incline, push (7.5 - 9.5) for 30 on 2, and finish off with a flat road (incline 0) sprint (whatever you can hit! I usually do a 9 - 11) for 30 seconds. Gets you SWEATIN'.
2) Cherry Pickers (Abs)
Lay on your back with your legs up and toes pointed towards the ceiling. Put your legs eversoslightly into a v shape. While keeping your legs up/still, alternate bringing your right hand to your left foot, coming back down, and bringing your left hand to your right foot as quickly as you can do a controlled motion. Do this for 45 seconds!
3) Clams (lol i don't even know what they call these at Barry's but I call them clams and it sounds gross now??? are they called clams???)
Pull a mini resistance band up to right above your knees. Laying on your side (propped up on your elbow) bring your knees to a bend (kinda like how you'd sleep on your side, just in a less-exaggerated fetal position). While lifting your hip off the ground and keeping your knees bent, open your top leg (it looks like a clam!!!) and hold for a moment before bringing your knees back together and hip to the floor in a controlled motion. I do each side for a minute.
4) Goblet Squats
Hold a heavy free weight the way you'd hold a goblet of wine if you were in game of thrones and, like, really weak, and needed to use two hands to hold your wine.
Basically, hold the weight vertically, balance the top of your weight in the palm of your hands (palms facing up) and hold the weight there while you squat. Make sure you're leaning into your heels the entire time & not letting the free weight pull your body forward. Do these for a minute!
5) Burpees
Almost every Barry's class I've ever taken ends with as many burpees as you can get out of yourself. It's a great way to get your heart rate up right before the end of class, and also a great way to gauge how close you are to passing out. One time I only managed 3 burpees in like, 45 seconds & on the last one I stayed in the push up for probably 10 of those seconds, begging my feet to move. Rather than doing a certain number of them, push yourself to see how many you can do in a specific amount of time.
Add these into your own workout, get comfy-ish with them, come to a class with me, we're gonna be hot, love that for us, we'll get a snack after, it's all very exciting. Quick disclaimer: you seriously don't need to train just to go to a class. Just come to the class. Just put on sneakers and drag yourself to a studio and try not to watch the hot moms running faster than you, and do the workout. I’m not in that good of shape and there have only been a handful of times when I've felt like my soul had left me while on the tred.
:-)