Blokes, beer ... at the barre?
If a ballet-inspired men’s fitness class doesn’t sound like your kind of workout, maybe a beer at the end will sweeten the deal.
Started by Christchurch’s On Pointe Studio co-owners Lyndal Woodham and Katrina Buchanan, the Blokes, Barre and Beer class has grown from a one-off Father’s Day initiative to a monthly exercise class attended by a dozen blokes.
The hour-long class combines elements of yoga, pilates and exercises at the barre and uses small weights to work smaller muscle groups.
It had the same format and flow as the studio’s women’s classes but was a perhaps little easier, Buchanan said. The budding ballerinos still break a sweat.
‘‘My husband always says it’s not that hard but then he goes to work and tells everyone how sore he is,’’ Buchanan said.
‘‘They all act like it’s a real hardship to come along but they love it.’’
Most of the men, aged 30-plus, were introduced to the class by their wives or daughters who attend classes.
‘‘They enjoy coming to meet us and then they go home and say, ‘I can’t believe you do that three times a week’,’’ said Woodham, whose husband, John, also takes part.
‘‘At the end of the day, when they’re bonding over their beers, they say it’s harder than they thought.’’
Indeed, some of the lads are less poised than others.
As they complete a third round of plie´ s, with heels ‘‘super-glued’’ together, one gent takes a swig from his 1-kilogram weight with 40 minutes to go.
‘‘Barre star’’ Dean Ewen said the class helped him to stay limber and to rehabilitate some old injuries. His wife and daughter took a class and he was convinced to give it a go.
A regular since April, the 55-year-old said ‘‘you’ve got to try something different’’ occasionally – and the end-of-class beer was not a bad incentive.
‘‘At least you know you’ve earned it.’’