Why We Love Pure Barre

There's a reason why all of these "barre" classes are the newest trending workout classes and all fingers point to Pure Barre.  The membership is more than we would like to pay, but the workout and the result is something you really can't put a price on.  We're not here to tell you to go buy a membership, but we're here to give you an honest review about Pure Barre and why the workout is unlike any other.

So, here's how Pure Barre works! You know those body parts that all women "struggle" with- thighs, butt, arms, hips, and abs??  Well, in just 55 minutes you get a full-body workout without the huffing and puffing of intense cardio.  You will work muscles you never knew existed and your body will hurt the first couple of times more than it has ever hurt, but you will see immediate results right away!

Here are some other reasons why we love Pure Barre:

• Majority of the class is women
• You can reserve your spot online
• Full-body workout
• Completely tones out your muscles
• Great music
• You see immediate results after 3-5 classes
• Not a runner? Don't worry! You work your entire body without crazy cardio!
• They have classes throughout the day as early as 5AM and as late as 7PM!
• All the instructors are really nice and they're all there to help you get that perfect pose and workout

Have you tried Pure Barre?!

EDM Workout Playlist

Nothing boosts your workout quite like the right music, so we've put together a playlist of songs guaranteed to pump you up... especially for the EDM lovers out there.  Co-Founder Ali is a devoted Kaskade fan, so naturally we had to include a little from him, and lots of other favorites too!  For those of you who went to Electric Daisy Carnival this past weekend (or wanted to go), these beats will take you right back to EDC.  Go hit the pavement, the gym, have a dance party, and get that heart rate going!

Press play below for our EDM Workout playlist... and be sure to check out our TSS Summer 2014 playlist on Spotify too!

What songs motivate you for a workout?  We would love to hear below!

12 Workout Pandora Stations

The only two things you need for a great workout is a good workout playlist and cute workout gear! As you saw a couple of weeks ago, we're currently obsessed with Athleta athletic wear (see post here). Sakura here is sporting the Athleta Revelation Capri and the Athleta Retreat Tank, which are both so unbelievably comfortable and cute!  We especially love the Retreat Tank because the top has a built-in bra and the bottom half is made with a different material that is flowy and allows air flow during your workout!

We recently discovered that Pandora came out with amazing workout playlists that will change your workout FOREVER. They're all upbeat, fun, and will help motivate you at the gym!  They even have a "Yoga Workout" playlist!

80’s Cardio

Alternative Endurance Training

Classic Rock Power Workout

Country Fitness

Dance Cardio

Electronic Cardio

Hard Rock Strength Training

Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout 

Pop Fitness

Rap Strength Training

Yoga

Yoga Workout

What's your favorite Pandora playlist to workout to?? 

We Love Athleta

On Ali: Pants, Hoodie.  On Karen: Pants, Top.  All clothing c/o Athleta.

We don't know about you, but having cute new workout gear always motivates us to stay active.  We get super excited to hit the gym, pavement, or yoga studio when we have a fabulous outfit to rock while working up a sweat!  That being said, we were happy when we came across Athleta's stores in our area (yes, there's one by both our Scottsdale office & our Seattle office!) and we tried on their great workout gear!  

On the top of our list?  Athleta's pant selection.  Not only are their pants comfy, but they have lots of style too.  Check out Ali's paisley print pants... we are obsessed!  We fell in love with their pants in fun patterns; they were also very flattering when we tried them on.  Fun, flattering, and functional!  Athleta's product is designed in-house for female athletes, by female athletes-- and it shows.

To complete the outfit, we also love Athleta's variety of tops and hoodies.  Ali's grey Batwing hoodie even has thumb holes... too cute!  Karen's vibrant purple space dye top pulls the whole outfit together with a pop of color, and fits her to perfection.  We love the space dye look for athletic gear!

To check out an Athleta store near you, click here.  Not only do they have stores in Seattle & Scottsdale, but they have locations all across the country... including Newport Beach, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica for our California girls!  Athleta is actually opening 60 stores by the end of 2013, across the US!  Of course, you can can shop 24/7 online too.  Thank you to our friends at Athleta for helping us put together this post-- we love our new workout gear!  Namaste.

7 Best At-Home Workouts

1. Power Jack
2. Foam Roller Push-Ups
3. Side Plank Crunches
4. The Reverse Lunge
5. Plank Kickbacks
6. Power Jack
7. Foam Rolling

Oh the gym, how we wish we could visit you more often! With our super busy schedules, we always feel guilty not making it to the gym. A lot of the time we find ourselves working from home, so it dawned on us that maybe a better solution to ditching the gym is bringing the gym to us with some quick and easy at-home workouts. TSS Reader and one of our great friends from Arizona State University, Estela, is a Fitness Specialist so we asked her to share with us some simple at-home workouts that will help keep us in shape.The best part of all, is that to complete these workouts, you only need four things: comfortable workout shoes, a foam roller, an exercise mat, and your body!

Estela numbered each workout in reference to the order it should be performed. For workouts #1 and #6, she recommends using those two workouts as a warm-up and to finish as a cool-down when you complete exercises #2-#5. For every exercise she suggests doing 10 - 25 reps of each without rest, repeating 3-5 times depending on your fitness level (please consult your doctor or trainer). 

Ok, so we lied, you actually need five things to complete a workout....CUTE WORKOUT CLOTHES! Estela is wearing her favorite workout apparel brand: Lululemon, however, for a more affordable price, she recommends trying Ellie. 

Try out all the workouts and let us know which one is your favorite!

For more fitness tips, email Estela at estela@power1k.com.