The University of Alabama Recreation Center has made a new addition to their fall class schedule, adding two Barre Fitness classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:20 p.m.
Barre Fitness, an increasingly popular workout among young women, is a progressive workout based on ballet barre exercises, starting with smaller movements and progressing to larger and more involved movements throughout the class period.
Jenna Reynolds, a sophomore majoring in Spanish and philosophy said she enjoys how the class is a full-body workout.
“The Barre Fitness class was a really fun twist on traditional elements of the barre combined with upbeat music,” Reynolds said. “It was definitely a serious workout.”
Whitney Spota, coordinator of group exercise at the Recreation Center said the barre fitness trend was an element the Recreation Center had yet to explore in the schedule until this year.
“In the fitness world, you have to constantly keep up with the trends, and my job is to see that we do that,” Spota said.
Although there are currently only two classes being offered, the Rec Center is considering the possibility of adding more to the schedule for spring semester.
“We want to see how well it does before we add more [classes],” Spota said. “We always do a little test to see how participants respond, and so far we have had a great response.”
Mallory Haney, a graduate student studying counselor education and instructor of both Barre Fitness classes, said the Recreation Center has been busy since school started back, and barre class attendance is picking up as well.
“People are starting to hear about the class and they are wanting to try it out,” Haney said.
She also said the day when the Recreation Center’s general attendance was lowest since the start of the fall semester was the day that the Barre Fitness class had its highest attendance since the class has started, and she is also beginning to recognize the faces of those attending the class on a regular basis.
The requests for a barre based class came flowing in after Tuscaloosa got its own Pure Barre studio on McFarland Boulevard in August. Pure Barre studio offers similar type classes with a variety of membership packages and other services available.
For some students, like Reynolds, they are willing to try a class at Pure Barre but are more inclined to attend to classes at the Recreation Center for variety, convenience and cost.
“I prefer to try the Rec classes because there is such a variety of choice,” Reynolds said.
Pure Barre’s presence aside, many think attendance to the Recreation Center’s classes will continue to rise.
“You can’t beat a free class,” Spota said. “I think a lot of our participants will stick to our classes, but you can’t blame them for being curious and wanting to try something else. You have to find a class that works for you.”
