Top 5 Reasons to Hold Your Pose
You have all seen me in class, usually the one who looks like they are convulsing during thighs. We all have experienced this seething, gut-wrenching, knife-stabbing, yet addictive burn during class. Amazingly enough, we all keep coming back. So, while we endure this body-changing burn, how can we be sure we are getting the most from each and every pose. Here is the secret to squeezing every last ounce of benefit from your poses. Are you ready? Here it is….
Hold your pose until the count of 1. Why should you hold to last count:
- You Shake Longer
When you hold till the last count of a pose, you are forcing the muscle to work its hardest and in return, you get a nice shake. You hear it every class, but it’s true; shaking means the exercise is truly changing the muscle. The last few counts are the most important in regards to fatiguing the muscle, and strengthening the muscle. The benefit of barre is to get long, lean, beautiful muscles. We need to fatigue the muscle first in order to mold them into these long, lean, beautiful muscles we are all craving.
- You reach your fitness goal faster
I’ve said this before; we all lead very busy lives. Our main priority unfortunately, is never ourselves. So, when we actually carve out this one and only hour for ourselves, we need to take advantage of it especially if you aren’t able to dedicate most days of the week to working out. Again, by holding a pose to its entirety, you fatigue and work muscle harder in the last three counts than you have the entire set. This will yield quicker results because you are getting the full benefit of the pose and the set.
- You perfect your form
There have been times while taking class where I can get distracted, I know, shocking right; either by talking to the person next to me, thinking about all the things I need to do when I get home, or maybe hearing my son crying in the Munchkin Care room. Regardless, we all get distracted. Holding your pose, the entire time, gives you the opportunity to perfect the position, and work the muscle correctly. We need to work in the correct position as well as holding a pose to its entireness to see the fitness results we are seeking.
- You burn more calories
Going back to the beginning of this blog, we have all felt that sheer and utter burn that you can only get from a barre class. This burn and shake elevates the heartrate. Hence, accelerating calorie burn during a strength training session. Once a position is released the heartrate decelerates, and this cycle continues through class. This is known as an interval. Interval training is the healthiest way to burn calories, and strengthen the heart.
- You just feel awesome!
I don’t know about you, but when I am able to keep my composure, and complete a really tough set of thighs with Elizabeth, or burn my way through an abdominal set with Orlee, or challenge my inner Yogi with Emma, and squeeze my seat so hard that others want to squeeze it with Kelly, I feel amazing! I feel proud, strong, and like I’ve gotten a little closer to my ever evolving goals for myself. Isn’t this another reason we are all so addictive to this place? It’s not only challenging physically, but mentally it give us strength, positivity, and peace that we hopefully take with us throughout the day or maybe week.
So, next time you are burning at the barre with Elizabeth, Orlee, Emma, Kelly, or myself. Make it a goal to hold every position through till the end. Concentrate, close your eyes and make it until the last count. Try it and let me know how it changes class for you.
As always, Sharing Barre Love,
Rachel
