There’s Nothing Boring About the Basics

After all my certifications, six years of studio ownership, and the thousands of classes taught in many different studios and around the world, I can honestly say that a classic BarreAmped® Foundations is my absolute favorite class to take … and to teach. 

From the client perspective, the purposeful and precise movement has oddly brought my brain a few moments of peace during class. For those 45-60 minutes my brain only has the capacity to focus on the task at hand. I don’t have a chance to think the stress from before or what comes later on after class. 

Because BarreAmped doesn’t encourage “choreography,” the movement patterns are easy for my brain and body to accomplish, even for this relatively uncoordinated person. 

As a young mom, my former college athlete body was craving feel-good movement that didn’t break it down. Between you and me, I may have shed a tear or two after my first BarreAmped® class. It was literally exactly what I needed in that season of life. 

Now as a mom with kids in their teens, my body doesn’t feel so overstimulated and can therefore handle a bit more challenge. And still, Foundations is my jive. I have always loved that with a BarreAmped® Foundations class women from all seasons of life can find common ground in the movement. Foundations should never get boring!

As an instructor, I love to take the most advanced clients through the most basic Foundations class. Little pulses. Slow full range of motion. Movement patterns carried throughout class. Longer holds. Using the mirror to fine tune alignment. These are my favorite ways to bring on the shake for the long time client. 

Without fail, when I take my advanced clients through a Level 1 Foundations class there is always chatter after class about how tough it was, but also how it felt so good in their bodies. 

We are always finding new ways to progressively overload the muscles to bring on change without complicating the movement. 

8 years of being an instructor has taught me lots of lessons, a major one being … keep it simple! 

In the days of social media and dopamine overload, it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you have to add a ton of variety to keep clients coming back for more. Instead of complicating things for clients with too much variety, what I love to do instead is continue learning about the body. 

The more I learn, the more I get to teach clients about how their body functions and how it cheats, what to seek out in the movement and what to avoid. And again, after a class where I introduced new information on how their body works, clients are consistently raving about how effective the class felt. 

In this way we keep things new and fresh for the client, which keeps them coming back for more. And it keeps things fun and exciting for me as an instructor, who has taught thousands of Foundations classes. Foundations should never get boring!

If I could give any advice to clients — encourage your instructors and let them know when their helpful tidbits make the class more effective. They need to know what’s helpful to you! 

Instructors, keep looking for those tidbits that make the class more effective for your clients!

BarreAmped® has 3 more Level 1 trainings on the schedule for 2024. If the scheduled trainings don’t work for you, there is also a self-paced option. 

As a bonus, take a classic BarreAmped® Foundations class … on us! This is one of the many videos available to our trainees on our private online resource site known as the BarreAmped® Network.