Hello, Beautiful!

Let’s talk about meeting at one of my all-time favorite places, shall we?

The Barre!

I recently had the opportunity to support cancer research by donating $20 to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (“LLS”) to attend an April barre class at a local studio here in Charlotte. My colleague, Lexi, has been working hard raising money this summer to support the LLS through her “Woman of the Year Campaign” efforts, which you can read more about by clicking HERE.

When Lexi spoke about her fundraising efforts during a morning legal department meeting, I was immediately interested in participating in her first fundraising event, primarily for 2 reasons:

1. I lost my daddy to pancreatic cancer a few years back and that experience will forever take up a huge part of my heart.

2. I danced ballet from age 3 until my college graduation, and ballet will forever have a huge part of my heart, too.

Just a few of the workout tools you may need for an Xtend Barre class!

We used the pink weights, the black strap, and the ball for the April class I attended for charity. It was SUCH a good workout!

I was of course intimidated to sign-up for what would be my FIRST workout class – wait, back up . . . my FIRST WORKOUT, PERIOD – since having spine surgery in February 2017. My incision was still healing, but my surgeon had just released me to a “slow resumption of all regular activity” at the beginning of April.

Beyond that, at each of our follow-up appointments, my surgeon had also repeatedly emphasized the importance of me getting involved in a strength-building workout upon my release, and Pilates was at the top of his approved activities list.

The #1 focus of any Xtend Barre class is safety, which is why every class always starts out with stretching.

Thank you to these strong, badass members of Xtend Barre Charlotte for letting me photograph them during their workout! You were all so beautiful and inspiring to watch!

Given my history with ballet, I knew I would be able to modify the movements if they were too much for me post-op, so I took the plunge and signed up for my first Xtend Barre class. After all, it was for charity . . .

Shoulders, arms, and abs. I love that you’re able to modify by going to the barre and standing if needed. Each and every Xtend Barre move can be modified to fit your health needs and goals!

Slip-resistant socks and a great attitude (and I don’t mean the ballet move!) are the only things you’ll need to attend an Xtend Barre class!

Ya’ll . . . I had been doing some minor physical therapy (read: glorified stretching) for a few weeks, but candidly: that first Xtend Barre class was me plunging back into – and taking back control of – MY life.

It was me getting back out there in a physical way – for no one other than myself – for the first time since LAST Autumn when the first pain began.

Xtending to the sky in owner Shawna Baker’s Xtend Barre class!

Talk about some major ab work going on. These ladies seriously killed it!

Instead of lasting five minutes into the class and desperately thinking to myself, “Oh, God. Why am I here? Why did I do this to myself?” like I expected, something else incredible happened. I realized that my body actually had been healing over the past two months, and my life would eventually be the same again. Scratch that, it would be better than ever before.

As the upbeat pop/techno music poured out of the studio speakers, a new feeling of certainty washed into my mind: I would – and I COULD – take care of my body. I finally felt the motivation to strengthen my body like my life – and my back – depended on it.

I love that Xtend Barre moves work so many parts of the body at once. For this move, the class engaged their arms, shoulders, abs, backs, thighs, calves, and booties all at once! Talk about a full-body workout!

Xtend Barre moves are completed on both sides of the body, every time.

Look at those long, gorgeously flat backs! Xtend Instructors are there for you throughout class to make sure your form is safe, correct, and effective!

As I danced my way through the next 55 minutes with my law school girls by my side, I realized that my husband, my mom, and my girl tribe had been right all along: That scary moment in time really would fade into the rear-view mirror one day.

Stretching out those abs with Xtend Barre Charlotte Owner Shawn Baker leading the way in the front of the room!

Ya’ll, I can’t rave enough about how empowered that first Xtend Barre class made me feel, even as out of shape as I was! I loved feeling like I was right where I needed to be: whether my leg position was low or high off the ground, whether my movements were slow or sharp and quick; whether I needed to go half-time or kept full tempo.

The evening class gearing up to work those legs at the Barre!

There are so many ways to use the Xtend Barre props while engaging so many different muscles and areas of the body!

For this move, class members had the option of taking it to a releve for that extra burn, or remaining flat-footed. I love having the ability to modify yet still remain fully engaged in the workout!

For those of you with dance experience, I know: Ugh, barre . . . AmIRight?!

Second position releve plie movement – AKA the ultimate squat to engage your core, legs, and booty!

Class members were instructed to leave the tools they didn’t need to bring to the Barre on their mats in the center of the floor. That way, the Barre space wasn’t too full and the ladies only had exactly what they needed with them at the Barre.

As a former ballet dancer, quite frankly barre was my least-favorite part of ballet class throughout the years. Barre was the annoying warm-up, a dull requirement before the fun of dancing across the floor to countless combinations was allowed.

Time at the Barre ended with some more serious ab work on the mats at the floor using the black Xtend straps. I loved this new-to-me use of the Barre to work those abs even harder!

Raising the Barre on different and fun ab exercises with Xtend Barre Charlotte.

But that first Xtend Barre class I attended turned my old die-hard mindset completely upside down. Xtend Barre empowered me and made me feel strong and confident. For the first time this entire year, I felt believed that my body really could overcome some truly challenging tasks, whether that’s recovering from spine surgery or balancing in a relevé passé position for a few extra seconds.

Balancing like total bosses in a first position releve, arms in high 5th.

My love affair with ballet began when I danced with the Johnson City Ballet Company from ages 3 – 16, where I fell in love with the classics like “The Nutcracker,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake,” and “Coppelia.” I continued with ballet in college by taking several ballet classes and trying out for a few roles here and there. But listen, ya’ll . . . I’m a curvy girl, and I realized pretty young that I was never going to be a member of a major company. Oh, childhood dreams.

(I also sadly realized once I hit 5’9″ in high school that, well, I wasn’t going to be a professional Thoroughbred racehorse jockey either. I know. Life is hard.)

Splits prep to stretch out those muscles at the end of a serious sweat sesh.

When life kept on movin’ right along and I moved to Charlotte for law school, I had no idea how to keep ballet a part of my life, besides telling my then-boyfriend (now hubby) that “surprising” me and my mom with Nutcracker tickets every December is a requirement to be with me.

Core strengthening, Xtending those arms and legs on the mat.

I wish I had known about Xtend Barre when I first moved to the Queen City. I definitely wish I had known about Xtend Barre when I was planning my wedding from November 2014 – October 2016 (a process I absolutely fell in love with and half of the namesake of this blog!).

My goal for this post is to raise awareness about this fantastic workout to you beauties. Here’s why EVERYONE needs to Meet Me at the Barre!

Xtend Barre Charlotte Owner, Shawna Baker, instructs her class on form. I loved her energy and how she made sure to spend individual time with each class attendee. She also jumped right in to demonstrate, explaining positions or proper form whenever needed! I highly recommend meeting Shawna at the Barre for what is hands-down the BEST workout in the Queen City.

Meet Me at the Barre!

Xtend Barre is a barre-based workout for EVERYONE: women, men, beginners, runners, swimmers, athletes, weekend warriors.

Basically, if you want or need to move your bod for STRENGTH, POWER, CONFIDENCE, and ENDURANCE, Xtend Barre is for you! The Pilates-based workouts crafted by Xtend Barre are both safe and effective.

Xtend Barre workouts use the elements of dance, ballet, and Pilates to create an adrenaline-fueled workout that strengthens, lengthens, tones, and chisels that one and only body.

Xtend Barre offers a variety of classes at the studio nearest you, developed to deliver the combined strength and cardio workout that we’ve all been looking for.

Xtend Barre even offers online workout memberships if there is no studio in your neck of the woods for super-affordable rates as low as $10/month. Xtend even offers the opportunity to own your own boutique fitness studio using their proven business model created by Xtend Barre founder Andrea Rogers.

Xtend Barre promises to be the BEST full-body workout designed for people of ALL levels of fitness. Xtend Barre clients range from athletes to individuals trying to achieve a personal best, to people in the process of building or re-building their confidence, losing weight, overcoming illness, or entering a new phase of life.

Regardless of the specific goal you’re trying to achieve, I can assure you that Xtend Barre FULLY SUPPORTS their clients at EACH AND EVERY STEP on their journey to transform their minds, their bodies, and their lives.

Child’s Pose to stretch out the back, arms, and core after a successful Xtend Barre class.

Serious Confession:
I’m working on being one of those girls who constantly remind other women that we all have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyoncé, but I’m just not that person yet. In fact, I consistently err more on the side of, “I work full-time and also hustle a blog so I’ve only got a few hours in the day for myself, oh & I’ve got absolutely NONE of Beyoncé’s glam squad or business team, sooo . . .”

Luckily for me, Xtend Barre helps me to make the absolute best out of that 55-minute class. Trust me, you’ll walk out of any of their classes – Xtend Barre, Xtend Suspend, Xtend Stick, Circuit 7, the list goes on – drenched in sweat with your heart rate accelerated, major calories burned, and your overall daily goal achieved.

Through combining elements of Pilates and dance, the Xtend Barre method creates a dynamic and safe workout. Where other barre programs focus only on the small movements, Xtend Barre’s diverse programs focus on movement of the entire body while delivering cardio, strength, endurance, and flexibility.

If you need a seriously energetic vibe to your workout class, Xtend is for you. If you’re a girl who needs to sweat – whether you’re gorgeously curvaceous or genetically long, lean, and flexible – Xtend is for you. If you want to leave your workout class feeling empowered, inspired, and like a TOTAL BOSS . . . Xtend Barre is 100% for you.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Xtend Barre CLT!

Xtend Barre Charlotte is celebrating something MAJOR this week:

Sunday, May 21st marked the Charlotte location’s THIRD BIRTHDAY! Happy 3rd Birthday, Xtend Barre Charlotte!

Look for this photo on my Instagram page to enter the GIVEAWAY!

In honor of the Queen City Xtend Barre’s third birthday celebration, I’ve teamed up with super-sweet-total-GIRL-BOSS-owner, Shawna Baker, to bring you an amazing GIVEAWAY!

WINNER receives an Xtend Barre Goodie Bag, containing:

Xtend Barre water bottle
Xtend Barre tank top
Xtend Barre fitted cap
Xtend Barre sweat (read: sparkle) towel

PS – If our winner happens to be from the Charlotte-area, Shawna and I will even throw in a FREE THREE-CLASS PASS! This means you get to come try out 3 Xtend Barre classes on us! Talk about a seriously EPIC GIVEAWAY valued at $80 . . . not including the three additional classes if our winner happens to be in the Charlotte area! Can you believe it?!

To ENTER the Giveaway:

Follow @xtendbarreclt on Instagram.
Like the @XtendBarreCharlotte page on Facebook.
Follow me, @elle_graham on Instagram.
Like the @WeddingsAndWanderlust page on Facebook.
Like the “Giveaway photo” on my Instagram page.
Comment on the “Giveaway photo” and tag 2 friends who would love to try Xtend Barre.
For bonus entries, re-post the “Giveaway photo” on my Instagram page.