Tomorrow marks two very significant events in my life. The first, is my mother’s birthday. I cannot begin to put into words just how much my mom has taught me, supported me, and shaped who I am and am striving to become everyday. If you have met my mom, I am willing to bet that you may have been a bit stunned. She is good at just about everything and she is someone who can and does take on multiple superhuman tasks all at once, executing each one to an unprecedented level of exceptional. Long story short, she is pretty amazing. And I remember clearly calling to wish her a…
Building Grit and Mental Strength One Barre Class at a Time
Nature vs. nurture – one of the oldest and most longstanding of all psychological debates. Although this was a formerly hotly debated and central issue in the field, most researchers and people in general now accept that each of us are indeed powerfully influenced by not one or the other, but both biology and genetics as well as society and culture in almost every facet of our personality, preferences, tendencies, talents, and inclinations. A lot of evidence supports a variant of set point theory, which argues that we all have a genetically determined range for our weight, our aptitudes, our intelligence and even our happiness. But it is important to…
The What, the Why, and the How of That “Barre Shake”
I am definitely biased, buuuuuuut barre is just the best! Aside from the sense of camaraderie and community, the upbeat music, and the indescribable “barre high,” your body is challenged in a totally unique way. It’s low impact, but definitely not low intensity! No matter who you are or how fit you are, it is a shockingly challenging workout. Barre is full of tiny, isometric movements and contractions which generate a big burn and epic shake in your muscles regardless of how strong you are. Seriously – even professional athletes and Olympians (recently witnessed at Flex in the City firsthand – with our special guest Derval O’Rourke!) experience that tremble…
7 Minute Barre Arms Workout
As those who barre know, one of the first and most dramatic changes your body will undergo after only a few sessions is in the arms. Perhaps even more amazing than the sculpted barre arms themselves, is that you can achieve such impressive results with only very light (2-5 lb) weights or literally no weights at all. It’s all about the contraction deep into the muscles and it is INTENSE. Just ask my husband who can benchpress or deadlift 2 times as much as I weigh, but still struggles through a barre arms series every time. The small and sharp movements, the way we target the muscles from all angles, and the deep…
Avoid Going Through the Motions – At the Barre and Beyond
Throughout business school and my work in both management and consulting, a very popular and often invoked truism has been “what gets measured gets managed.” And while in those settings this has usually been in the context of devising specific ROI targets, service level agreements, or key metric performance trending, the same concept can be applied across a broader spectrum within our own lives. When we monitor and track our actions we usually do a much better job at managing them whether it’s our eating, sleeping, exercise, spending, etc. By tracking and measuring our activities, we raise our level of self-awareness which can increase our resolve and self-control and allow…
Contentment and Enjoying the Process
Yesterday as I was leaving Cork Coffee Roasters, I walked by Unbound, an adorable little gift shop, and saw a sagacious thought for the day. In the window display sat a letter board which reminded passersby to “never let the things you want make you forget the things that you have.” And although the general (and generally vague) concepts of contentment, gratitude and thankfulness are all around us, especially this month with the American Thanksgiving, I felt this was a particularly powerful prompt in light of what I had read recently in Juliet B. Schor’s The Overspent American. She cited a study which reported that “61 percent of respondents ‘always have…
How to Get the Most Out of Your Barre Class
When it comes to choosing an exercise routine, I personally think that first and foremost you should find something that you enjoy and that works for you which I have written about in greater detail here and here. Ultimately, if you don’t enjoy doing something, the chances you will keep it up over the long haul are significantly lower because research shows that habits stick better when they’re pleasurable. Although some of it is purely psychological, an activity seems easier and more convenient when it is fun or provides some level of satisfaction. Once you have found something that you like and suits you, you should try to find ways…
Consistency: One Coin (or Class!) at a Time
Despite the decidedly crisper air outside and the header on my calendar which clearly shows that fall is well underway at this point, I am still in shock that we are already through the first week of October. If you blink, your schedule will be packed with Christmas parties, decorations, and shopping for gifts in no time. We are now in the final quarter of 2017. UNBELIEVABLE. Time truly does fly, whether we are ready or not, which is why the best time to start something is usually NOW. It’s been a month, so it might be worthwhile to check in with yourself and those September Resolutions (and if you…
Pure Love for Pure Barre
Being back in the States this week has been awesome! Although a quick trip, I have (in true to Miranda form) tried to make the most of it with full days of family, friends, food, and fitness. I love my husband’s family and it has been great to spend time with them and some of my favorite Bostonians while here. Catching up over coffee, lunch or dinner has been so enlivening and uplifting! I have also had the chance to do a bit of shopping for things that are not available across the pond and, of course, have snuck in some barre and Pilates classes along the way! This trip…
Barre a la Hilton Hotel Room :: Travel Workout
Although I have bemoaned the potential drawbacks of traveling for work here and outlined some the reasons that even fun vacations can throw your healthy habits off kilter here, I do actually love travel and believe it is possible to keep up the most important and foundational aspects of your routine on-the-go. In cases like these, it is vital that we remind ourselves (and I am mostly talking to myself here) of Voltaire’s wise words – “do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Although you may not have the best workout of your life, simply moving your body in some way will make a world of…