Update:  I no longer take barre classes religiously. Here’s why.

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Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to try out a new workout studio that opened in New York City called The Bar Method. The Bar Method has been around for years and is a descendent of the Lotte Berk Method, just as Core Fusion is.

From their website:

The Bar Methodâ„¢ workout creates a uniquely lean, firm, sculpted body by combining the muscle-shaping principles of isometrics, the body-elongating practice of dance conditioning, the science of physical therapy and the intense pace of interval training into a powerful exercise format that quickly and safely reshapes and elongates muscles.

Obviously I love Core Fusion, but I decided I would go to The Bar Method with an open mind. I am interested in the differences between Core Fusion and its competitors. I’ve tried some of their other competitors before (Physique 57 and The Body) but for a variety of reasons, far preferred Core Fusion. I do want to do an honest review for you, and because there is a pretty significant price difference between Core Fusion and The Bar Method, I want to help you get the most for your money — as neither of these are cheap.

That said, I thought about how to approach this review a lot since my Bar Method class on Wednesday, and I really think a comparison between The Bar Method – Mixed level and Core Fusion – Open level will provide the clearest review. In the interest of fairness, I am comparing ONE Bar Method class I took on Wednesday to the ONE Core Fusion class I took this morning. I am not comparing one Bar Method class to ALL Core Fusion classes, as I have only taken one Bar Method class and that would not be fair.

Warmup:

The Bar Method – Leg lifts.

Core Fusion – Leg and arm lifts, and leg and arm twists.

Thoughts: The Core Fusion warmup definitely warmed me up more. Getting my arms involved raised my heart rate more, and the twists helped loosen my back and waist.

Upper Body:

The Bar Method –We started with arm weights and we did just three sets. Each set lasted a long time. When we finished, I was left wanting more. Then we went to the floor and did 3o pushups, all in the same tempo. We did 20 or 30 standard tricep dips (reverse pushups). There was no plank.

Core Fusion –We started with a straight arm plank and held in position before alternated bringing one knee at a  time up to our chest, like a very slow plank run/mountain climber. We then did a side plank, back to center for a pushup, side plank, pushup series.We transitioned to a forearm plank and held in position before alternating dropping each knee to the floor. Then we held the forearm plank in stillness for 30 seconds. We did a set of pushups, with the last 5 seconds low pulsing pushups for extra work and burn. We did tricep dips, starting off with standard ones and then lifting up one leg for 10 counts, then the other leg. We went back to standard tricep dips, pulsing for 10 counts to finish it off. We picked up our weights for arms, where we did about 7 different sets until our arms felt exhausted each time. At the end of each set, when our arms were at their most tired, we did small pulses for extra burn.

Thighs

The Bar Method – We did three sets, with our right hand on the bar in all sets. The first set was parallel legs, heels up. The second was parallel legs with our feet and legs touching, heels up. The last was small V with our feet. I was able to complete each set without standing. There was some burn, but nothing I could not handle. It felt fairly easy — perhaps I should have pushed myself harder. I never once considered taking a break and standing. In all honesty, I was waiting for us to get to the “real work” and for it to get harder. After we finished, I looked at Missy and, not to be mean, but we shrugged at each other over how easy it seemed. Each set felt very quick.

Core Fusion –We did three sets. The first was round back chair, with both hands on the bar and a yoga block between our thighs. The second was small V with our feet. The third was parallel legs, heels up, facing the center of the room with our back on the bar. In each set the burn was so intense that I had to stand and take a quick break at least once. I try not to stand if I can help but, although I heard from two different CF teachers that no one is expected to do all three sets full out without standing — it is practically impossible. It is designed to be too hard so you work to your limit. Each set felt like it lasted forever. After each set I let out a big sigh from all the exertion. Then we did 20 pushups.

Glutes

The Bar Method – We stood facing the side with one arm on the bar in front of us, the other crossing over our bodies to rest on the bar. We lifted our outside leg and bent it in half, and did small lifts using our butt muscles. We changed from flexed foot to pointed, but kept the leg in the same position.

When an instructor came to adjust me, she didn’t say a word about what I needed to fix, she just pressed her body into me until I was in a new position. Once I fell out of it, I wasn’t sure what I needed to change to get back.

Core Fusion – We faced the bar and rested both hands on it. We put one leg behind us, bent it, and pressed our thigh back behind us. We raised our working legs and switched to a slower version of this. We raised our legs even more and pointed our feet and did even more. Then we rested our forearms on the bar, stretched our working legs straight behind us and did small lifts. We ended with pulsing lifts for 20 counts.

When the teacher came to adjust me, she told me not to kick my leg so much as squeeze my butt. She told me my leg should be even straighter. When I started to fall out of it, I remembered her words and was able to adjust myself to the right position.

Flat Back/Round Back

The Bar Method –We set up our mats against the wall for round back first. From there, we held up one leg for a long time. My leg was shaking violently. Then we held up the other leg. We repositioned our mat for flat back.  As we went through the leg motions (opening and closing, raising off the floor, etc) there was never any instruction on how to get the most out of this movement. Without any guidance, it felt like sitting againt a wall moving our legs. The only reason I felt any workout in my abs is because I knew the proper positioning from Core Fusion.

Core Fusion – We set up our mats against the wall for flat back first. We were instructed to press our blacks as flat against the wall as possible, with no space between our butts and the wall. We were told to grip the bar tightly with our hands, and pull in while holding the bar tightly. Then we started the leg movements (opening and closing, raising off the floor, etc) while being reminded throughout to be sucking in, flat against the wall, tight grip. The more engaged our abs and arms are while our legs do the movements, the more core work we are engaging in and the stronger our core and backs will become. We repositioned our mats for round back and raised both legs up in our hands, straight in front of us. We did a series of movements with our legs straight up like that, pressing into the bar (which I can’t do, I need to keep holding my legs) and moving our legs back closer to us. Then we held on to the bar and extended our legs out in front of us, where we did more ab work by alternating our legs and then by holding both legs out at a 45 degree angle. Then we held a 30 second forearm plank.

The Curl

The Bar Method – We got into the curl/c-curve position and kept our elbows on the floor, close by our sides. We did small crunches with our elbows on the floor. The instructor said if we wanted, we could raise our elbows off the floor but we had to keep them close by our sides in the same position. I was unable to do that, and with a glance around the room, only saw one person with her elbows off the mat. With my elbows on the floor, however, the ab work felt far too easy. I was waiting for us to put our hands on our thighs so we could really engage our abs to hold ourselves in the curl, but it seemed that was not the type of curl they do here. We switched to a different set of ab movements while lifting our legs which were a little harder, but overall nothing that made my abs burn very much.

Core Fusion – We got into the curl and put our arms on the outside of our thighs. We held position there and lifted our arms off if we wanted extra challenge — which I did want. We lifted and lowered our arms. We shifted our middle from side to side, checking back in the middle in between each side. The entire time our arms were off the floor. We did small crunches, with our arms in the air for added challenge. We lifted our legs off the floor straight out and curled to one side, holding there, before doing the other. We ended with our legs lifted in front of us and our arms off the floor too for a 30 second holding still set. My abs were on fire the entire time.

The End

 The Bar Method – We got on our backs and did hip raises, working the glutes. We did some full range and some as pulses. Then we laid down floor and stretched our legs straight up in the strap, did some sitting stretches and class was over. I did not break a sweat. I felt like I did not get a workout and it left me wanting to go take a Core Fusion class for the “real thing.”

Core Fusion – We got on our backs and hip raises, working the glutes. We did some full range, some as pulses, some on our toes. We did some as circles, circling our hips all the way around and then circling back the other way. Then we laid down on the floor for savasana — my favorite part of class. I feel so at peace and content, and I feel like I just did something amazing by pushing myself and finishing Core Fusion. We finished by stretching our legs straight up, out to the side, and across our bodies to the other side in the strap, did some sitting stretches and class was over. I was sweaty and so was my mat. The best part? I felt AMAZING. I still do!

More Thoughts

I really tried not to be biased, and I do understand that The Bar Method just opened and they might be making it easier than it might be for any first time students. However, I was there to test the waters and see how it compared to the competitors. I believe every company should operate as if there is a blogger there to write about them.

That said, Core Fusion has a Basic level class designed especially for beginners. Core Fusion also has Open level, which is acceptable for both beginners and more experienced students. The Bar Method only has one level class for all students. Because of this, I think they should give their students a tough class because it is easy to make modifications to make class easier, but if the class itself isn’t tough there’s just not much you can do.

I left The Bar Method feeling like I did not get a workout at all. I was actually wondering what we even did to take up an entire hour of class, since it felt like we didn’t do much. The sets felt short, there was not much variety. I expected turning out legs out during glutes to work the outside of our butts too but we kept the same position the entire time. And thighs . . . thighs was just so doable that I felt like I needed to be pushed more if I wanted real results.

I left Core Fusion feeling like I got an amazing workout and in my continuous wonder at how it never gets any easier! I’ve been doing it regularly for months and it is just as challenging and painful for me now as it was when I first started — and I really believe THAT is how you know an exercise class is truly great.

And yes, some Core Fusion teachers are better than others. Some consistently give me a tough workout and others are known to be a little easier. But even with the “easier” teachers — the class is never easy. At The Bar Method, they currently have three instructors. The Bar Method instructor I had was one of the owners. That is part of the reason I expected something more intense. If you took the owner’s (Fred DeVito!) Core Fusion class, I guarantee it will be the most intense class you will ever take.That is because of Fred’s 25 years of knowledge and experience, along with his clear passion for the program. He wants his students to push themselves to the limit and when he repositions you and explains the correct way to do something, you feel a MAJOR difference in how difficult the exercise is. You also leave that class dripping in more sweat than you’d expect in a non-cardio type class and you are sore all over for a week. I was not at all sore from The Bar Method class that I took. Honestly, it felt like kind of a joke.

Money Money Money MONEY

Here is my main issue. While individual classes cost the same at both places ($35), the monthly deal is where you can get the most value for your money and what I want to focus on.

The Bar Method –$444/unlimited month for the one location in SoHo.

If you take class 5 times a week, you are essentially paying $22 for a class.

They only offer one class — Mixed Level.

Core Fusion –

ALL 4 Manhattan locations (Upper East, Midtown, SoHo, Gansevoort) : $265/unlimited month with 1 year contract, $285/month-to-month. Includes 25% discount on all spa therapies, 10% discount on all store (clothing, jewelery & spa products) and five free class passes a month for a friend.

SoHo only – $150/unlimited month with 1 year contract, $170/month-to-month

Downtown (SoHo & Gansevoort) only – $205/unlimited month with 1 year contract, $225/month-to-month

If you take class 5 times a week, at the absolute MOST EXPENSIVE level ($285) you are essentially paying $14 for a class. If you only go to SoHo (the only location The Bar Method has) and take class 5 times a week, at the cheapest deal you are paying $7.50 for a (much better) class!

They offer a number classes such as Core Fusion, Core Fusion Cardio, Core Fusion Yoga, Core Fusion Sport, Yoga, Yin Yoga, Music Yoga Flow. Three of the locations are also a spa which means you have access to the steam room.

What!?

As you can see, you pay less for a membership to exhale Core Fusion and get a lot more for your money.

I realize I sound like a walking advertisement for Core Fusion, but the facts are right there. And you don’t have to listen to me, please try it out yourself! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so keep me updated.

For another review of The Bar Method, please visit Missy Maintains now!

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