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Tampa Wedding Fitness Friday – Barre Fitness

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As a previous Tampa Bay bride, I understand the desire to lose weight before your Tampa wedding. After leaving college and getting a desk job, I noticed the pounds start to creep on. While I had tried to lose weight over the years, nothing really worked until my wedding date was set. I took control of my eating, (which meant no carbs eights months before the wedding) and went to personal training sessions once a week. I cut my wedding dress size in half and lost about 35 lbs! That made things more difficult on my wedding alterations seamstress, but I was ecstatic with the way I looked in my wedding dress!

So here’s to my first Tampa Wedding Fitness Friday installment. I’ll introduce you to different fitness classes and facilities in the Tampa Bay area to help motivate you to make healthy decisions and become more active.

I’ve always envied ballerinas’ long and lean bodies. Being 5’2 and a half (those extra 6 inches are important), I know that’s not the in cards for me. And while I won’t be dancing in Swan Lake anytime soon, I visited South Tampa’s Barre Fitness to at least get a taste of what it’s like to train like a dancer.

Barre Fitness Logo

I don’t mind lifting weights, in fact I like it, but make me do lunges or squats and I’ll pout every time. But I know to burn fat, you have to increase your leg muscle mass and that’s exactly what these classes were designed for.

I’ve NEVER taken a dance class in my life and I have two left feet, but there is (thankfully) no rhythm required. Barre Fitness classes run an hour and are a mix of leg exercises, light weight lifting, and ab work. (Bootcamp and Fire classes also include cardio intervals — think jumping jacks and fast squat routines.) You’ll want to treat these classes with respect! I expected a easy mix of yoga and some squats, but this was an intense full body workout. I made a few mistakes before class by running that morning on Bayshore Blvd. and by not bringing enough water. I sweated so much you would have thought I left a spinning class!

I took the Bootcamp class (includes cardio) which is set to high energy music. For those brides who think you need to do a high-intensity aerobics class, think again! Within the first five minutes, my legs were burning! Just the tiniest of squat pulses can make your muscles work like never before!

We started with some light arm weight lifting, then spent a majority of the class doing leg and butt exercises with some cardio sessions. The class wound down with some planks and crunches and then went into deep stretching.

I was definitely sore the next day, and the next, and even the next, but I can’t wait to go back. I swear I could feel my legs get stronger after just one class.

Check out the below video and you can peek inside one of the classes.

One lucky Marry Me Tampa Bay bride will receive a free Barre Fitness class!

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Barre Fitness

3601 S. Manhattan Ave. Tampa, FL

813-334-4165

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About the Author

Anna Coats

Marry Me Tampa Bay editor Anna Coats created Marry Me Tampa Bay in 2012 to showcase the area’s best local weddings and vendors. She has been featured as a wedding expert on the national talk show Daytime, Fox13, ABC Action News, Great Day Tampa Bay, and Bay News 9 (now Spectrum).

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