Xtending to a better me

For close to 18 years of my life almost everyday at some point of the day I was twirling, stretching, leaping, bending and moving to a beat. Thankfully my mum put me into dancing at the ripe old age of 14 months old (advanced I know) and I went on to take part in tap, ballet, jazz, acrobats, and believe it or not an acrobatic contortionist (keep it clean people) professionally for many years.

I completed all of my examinations and performed around Australia doing something that I lived and breathed until a time came where I chased a career in television presenting and moved to the opposite side of the Country to pursue another dream of mine. If I wasn’t going to be a professional dancer I wanted to be in front of a camera doing something else. I landed in V8 Supercars…

For as long as I can remember I have been super passionate about health and fitness . I was the kid in both the athletics and swimming team at school. I basically missed every school holiday, birthday party and weekend because I would have dancing rehearsals or performances. I literally never stood still. You remember the saying ‘ant in your pants’ I am pretty sure that was made up because of me. Then the day came when I met my beloved and he introduced me to triathlon, which I also became addicted to. I love trying anything new and anything that combines my first love of dancing. Then I found Xtend Barre.

As they say it’s pilates and dance AMPLIFIED. Basically a combination of both, to the latest tunes, so you get your cardio workout, but also enhancing your flexibility, improve balance and smash that core! Trust me, Xtend Barre is not for the faint hearted. You sweat baby! Every class is slightly different and there are different types of classes as well, Xtend Barre stick, fitball and mat and guess what there is even a class for brand new mummas out there ‘babies on board’! So your body never quite gets used to the workouts. You are always Xtending your limits and feeling the burn baby in that challenge zone!

I have been doing Xtend Barre for about 12 months but most recently at a studio on the Gold Coast Xtend Barre Broadwater. I have never felt such a warm welcome to a workout family and never really quite enjoyed group fitness like I am here. Because of my work with V8 Supercars I travel so much so I think for me it is really important to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle as much as possible. I have noticed since ‘Xtending myself’ I am much leaner and actually noticing changes in my little chicken arms that I didn’t have before, I actually have some definition. Yay. It’s also just a great class about empowering women and tailoring the class to your needs. Our instructor Tiff is conscious to remind us that it is ‘Our class’ giving us options to modify at any time. I’m naturally competitive and always push myself in class but not everyone is and it is important that there are different options for other women (and MEN) guys are there too, to be able to do if they are at different experience levels.

Classes are usually 45-minutes long and incorporate a warm up, the use of hand weights, the ballet barre, floor work on the pilates mat, pilates straps, fitball, elastics and work every muscle in the body.

If you are looking at mixing up your workout routine or simply want to try something new jump onto www.xtendbarre.com and look for a class near you.

Otherwise jump on Instagram, most studios have an account. Andrea Rogers is the founder she is definitely worth a follow!

#XtendBarre #Exercise #BarreClasses #Health #Fitness