i’ve always kind of been a fitness junkie. a slave to the gym, i’d wake up pre-rooster crows to get my cardio on or group fitness class on or to roam around the free weights acting like i knew what i was doing. and while it was certainly fun sharing the machines with mr. tank-top-which-way-is-the-beach-please-stop-grunting, i hit a breaking point. and in that moment, i knew it was time. to quit the gym.

wait, remember when chandler tried to quit the gym? luckily my experience didn’t involve a foreign woman dressed in a high-cut unitard.

anyway, once i hung up my la fitness lanyard and said goodbye to tri-city wellness, i decided to try out this barre workout everyone was raving about. and by “everyone” i mean, groupon was running a special and i decided to take advantage of it. so i ate a big slice of humble pie and tested out the hour-long ballet/pilates fusion workout. and then i wrote about it here.

and i tucked regularly at the solana beach pure barre studio for about two and a half years until its recent closing in september. so now i’m over at studio barre nearly six days a week. and despite the fact that march will mark the third year that i’ve dedicated myself, my bod, and my funds to said isometric movements-based workout, i’m still as smitten with it as i was on day one. well, maybe month one.

so today i’m thankful for studio barre. for a workout that continues to challenge me and push me to achieve greater flexibility and core strength. i’m thankful for a body that can withstand the pressures i place upon it and the awkward positions i put it in -the demanding schedule of daily plies, and releves, and that blasted fetal position. i’m thankful for a new home with new instructors and new playlists that keep me entertained and distracted from the burning in my thighs. and i’m thankful for any and all barre buddies i may make along the way.

image via pinterest.