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Here is our blog post from last summer so you can learn a little about Bari!
As I have mentioned previously, even though ISP likes to focus on kindness and amazing philanthropic people we need to throw a little kindness back to ourselves every once in a while. The number one way I am kind to myself and what gives me a great sense of calm and happiness is fitness. I love trying anything new that involves indoor or outdoor activities, gets my endorphins going and provides an escape from my fast-paced and many times stressful work life. I am fortunate I have a husband that is smart enough to know if he doesn’t allow me that time each day I will inadvertently make anyone and everyone’s life around me totally miserable. Who knew I married such a genius? Knowing my favorite hobby is trying new fitness trends, Amanda had text me about this new place she found in Newport Beach called Bari. Given the name I assumed it was another take on the popular barre class trend. Pretty much I could not have been further off base. But I will say, it was a pleasant surprise and might be my new obsession. My first Bari class was on the 4th of July when I brought a few out of town family members who were here for a family reunion for a kick start to our morning. It’s my favorite holiday tradition – starting the morning of Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Memorial Day….any holiday really…..with a morning family workout or 5k run. If you haven’t had family 5k run on a holiday I highly recommend it. The entire family participated and loved it. Yes, I am deviating but I promise this was worth mentioning. We headed to the Fashion Island area in Newport Beach and were introduced to the Bari philosophy and their method. The word “Bari” is actually the name of an indigenous Venezuelan tribe. As you do their workouts at Bari you are supplied with a heart rate monitor and numbered as “Triber 1”, “Triber 2”, etc. As you workout you can view your heart rate to determine if you are hitting your target fat burning zone up on a flat screen. This was the selling point that closed the deal for me. I had the ability to look at the screen during any exercise in the class and understand by color brackets and numbers if I could push myself a little more. For someone as competitive as me this was like a nice, friendly competition with myself but nevertheless provided me the motivation to kick my own butt into gear. This is a class where you clearly cannot lie to yourself and must make your hour work. But when we are taking time out of our busy days to make it count, isn’t this what we want? Bari offers several different types of one hour classes. Some focused on cardio, some on weight training or some like their signature class, Barione, which is a hybrid of sensory cardio, trampoline cardio and muscle sculpting. The interesting thing about Bari is that their muscle sculpting has a different format to it – along with weights tribers also use stretch bands which hang from the ceiling and “skimmers” a small rectangular piece that is slick on one side to allow a gliding movement under your feet or hands to add more work to your standard lunge or push up, amongst other exercises, by engaging your core for balance. The Bari creators and instructors understand that the body must be shocked in order to achieve maximum results so they have made it their job to provide the most effective workout possible. They can provide you with your “bari prescription” of what types of classes you need and how many times a week in order to achieve weight loss, sculpting, or just re-entering your fitness regime and need to build up your endurance. I would absolutely recommend trying out this new format. Those that know me know that I work out 6-7 times a week and I promise you I couldn’t sit down for 4 days. Now, don’t let this deter you……what I am saying is IT WORKS. If it can shock MY body like nothing else has before it can do wonders. I took my second class yesterday and even their uber-fit, petite instructor who has been a dancer her entire life said once she started teaching this class she dropped 12 lbs. in 10 weeks. Now that is a testimonial worth sharing even if it was off the cusp. Ready for a challenge? Here are the details: 1 single class: $30 Monthly packages start at: $285 Heart monitor: $89.89 (this is optional. Monitors are provided to all participants but if you want one calibrated to your own body design this will give you 100% accurate workout results. Bari will even email you your charts after each class so over the weeks you can monitor your progress.) Of course I always like to mention the human side to any place I decide to endorse (and please remember I am never compensated for my reviews. I only review those that genuinely impress me). Bari also donates a large amount of their time to community issues and events as well as donates to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. I will end this blog post with my favorite comment the head trainer, Michelle, said, “Our goal is to make people happier and to make their lives better. We choose every day how to live our lives, it’s a choice. We love what we do because when someone chooses to come in and workout we can help transform their life in an hour”. And this is why I love them. Couldn’t have said it any better.For more information please visit: