On the beautiful, warm, spring tease that was Sunday, I joined the folks at Sweetgreen at a tasting event to debut their March salad and soup specials. This event was wonderful on many levels, and here is why.
Reason one:
Thick slices of chewy, crusty brown bread schmeared with ripe avocado and topped with chia seeds. Need I say more?
Reason two:
The mushroom-cumin puree soup special. While I’m not one for spice, this was surprisingly good. I’ve never in my life ordered soup at Sweetgreen, so this was a first…and I’m glad I got kicked out of my routine to try something new.
Reason three:
The March salad. Feast your eyes on mixed greens, sweet potatoes, blue cheese, caramelized onions, candied pecans, and bacon (which I may or may not have gently scraped to the side). While this wasn’t a salad that screamed “spring is in the air!” to me, it was delicious, so seasons be damned. But the real reason I was excited to try it? Because I always go into the store with the intention of ordering something new, only to choke when I reach the front of the line and end up asking for same thing over and over again (aka: I’d like a Santorini grain bowl please). The yummy March salad was just the jolt I needed to break the Santorini cycle.
Reason four:
I loved spending the evening sharing ideas, swapping stories, and sipping wine with lots of health and fitness related folks, including Anne, Heather, and Christy. I can’t believe we didn’t get a gratuitous group shot of the bloggers…but to be honest we were having too much fun stuffing our faces and catching up to strike a pose this time around. Lesson learned. But truly, a thanks goes out to Sweetgreen for hosting such a fun group of people! Made mixing and mingling easy for this introvert : )
And…drumroll please…reason five:
What, like you didn’t see this coming? The cup ‘o Sweetflow was the perfect ending to an awesome meal. I topped mine with almonds, stewed apples, strawberries, and chocolate chips. Needless to say, I went home and promptly retired into a food coma. Success!
Crash Course: This is a 45-minute dance party masquerading as a spin class. I kid you not, the music was so loud and the energy so intense I almost forgot about the sweat pouring off of my face or the burn in my legs. If you’re used to ye olde spin class with muzak and a few boring intervals, this is the wake up call you’ve been praying for. It’s a challenge for any fitness level and, most importantly, a guaranteed good time. Click here to check out the schedule.
Want to know what the Biker Barre studio looks like? Click here for a photo tour and to read about my crash experience at the barre class. I liked it so much I decided to come back and try their signature spin workout with owner Katie Fouts.
I’m not sure where to start with this post other than to say that I had an awesome time crashing Biker Barre’s 9:15 class on Saturday morning. I was sore from the previous night’s overzealous attempts at creating my own bootcamp session, and wasn’t sure I had the mental fortitude or quad strength to make it through 45 minutes of indoor spinning.
But I walked into the studio on that grey, cold morning with great expectations. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Biker Barre’s spin classes, and was really hoping that my experience would live up to the hype. To say that it surpassed my expectations would be an understatement. Here are a few reasons why:
The energy in the room was off the charts from start to finish. Everyone there was ready to sweat, work hard, and have fun.
Katie’s verbal cues were spot on. She knew her playlist backwards and forwards, and walked us seamlessly through multiple body positions and various intervals. She worked the class like a preacher on Sunday morning, pacing back and forth, sweating like crazy with her hands in the air, as if she was trying to evoke the spirit of spinning to join us for the party.
The music selection. When Mumford and Sons transitioned into Kesha which faded into En Vogue, I knew I was in the right place. The entire 45 minutes was full of dance-inducing hits that made me wish I had a karaoke machine attached to my bike. (I can assure you, those around me were thankful this was not the case.)
If you arrived in a bad mood, there’s no way you’ll leave in one. I finished the class in a pool of my own sweat with an enormous smile on my face.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself:
Also, I was delighted to see that the cold lavender mint towels I liked so much from my barre crash made a reappearance at the end of spin class. These are awesome for wiping away the sweat and totally count as rinsing off before brunch. At least it does in my book, because that’s exactly what I did.
I enjoyed a complimentary Biker Barre mimosa while changing into some dry clothes and then headed off to Matchbox to meet my friend Jenny for brunch. She had originally intended to join me for the spin workout, but Biker Barre classes have become so popular you need to reserve your spot a few days in advance. So she did a running workout and we met in sweaty solidarity for some banana-bread french toast and a veggie omlette. We were so busy catching up and scarfing down our food that I didn’t remember to take a photo until the end. Oops!
And because a visit to Capitol Hill isn’t complete without a stroll through Eastern Market, I happily obliged. It’s one of my favorite spots in DC and on Saturday it was particularly cheery with lots of holiday decorations on display. There were at least four different Christmas tree vendors, a few street musicians playing holiday music, and glasses of mulled apple cider to top it off. Bring on the holidays!
Crash Course: Biker Barre is a boutique studio specializing in–you guessed it–spinning and barre classes. The Open Barre class is 60-minutes of ballet-inspired exercises with a heavy focus on attacking hard-to-reach areas in the glutes, abs, arms, and thighs. Props include bender balls, free weights, and mats. Music plays a large role in the class and helps set a fun environment and upbeat tempo. The workout is hard but extremely low impact. Don’t expect to sweat up a storm. While barre is difficult, and you will certainly feel it the next day (or two), this isn’t a high-intensity cardio workout. The good news? It’s effective and a great low-sweat option for workday lunch breaks or before happy hours. Click here for a full schedule of classes.
how much? first class free with code CLASSONUS, drop in rate is $22
instructor? Kelly H.
The Bike Barre lounge: free wi-fi, storage cubes, dry cleaning pick up, and after-class mimosas.
Biker Barre has a cult following, and after one class it’s easy to see why. The high-energy studio offers fun classes, a cozy and chic setting, and a “welcome to the family” community feel. The location can’t be beat either: just one block from the fun of Barracks Row and a short walk from the Eastern Market metro.
From their website:
Biker Barre is a first of its kind studio on the Hill. Offering intense, music-driven classes on bikes and at the barre, we’re bring our own breed of intense, effective workouts to our favorite neighborhood in DC.
Owner Jane Brodsky opened Biker Barre in May after closing Red Bow Studio and partnering with Katie Fouts, a cycling enthusiast who added the “biker” to Brodsky’s experience at the barre. The combo has been a hit and the studio has quickly become a go-to spot for ladies and gents from around the district.
Facility
Drop your gear off in cubbies stationed by the front desk or upstairs outside of the barre studio. Changing space is provided in the lobby or in one of the two bathrooms. There’s ample space in the lobby-turned-lounge to hang out before or after class, and free wifi makes it an ideal spot to send those last-minute emails.
For barre class, head upstairs to the second floor. There you’ll find a second set of storage cubes and a full bath complete with all the necessities. If you want to shower after class, leave your do-dads and bottles at home. Towels, shampoo/conditioner, hair dryers, straightening irons, bobby pins, etc. are all provided.
The most beautiful feature of the barre studio is a large window occupying the entire front wall of the room. Students have a great view of classic Capitol Hill row houses, trees, and blue sky as they tuck, lift, and plie their way through class. It’s a small and intimate studio, but the abundant natural light really does wonders to give the space an airy and open feel.
Class
The 60-minutes started with a music-driven warm up of aerobic-based exercises, including marching in place, high steps, and push-ups. Because barre is low-impact, there was no jumping and all of the moves were gentle and effective.
One of my favorite parts of the class was the seamless transition between stages. Before you knew warmup was over, you had free weights in hand and your arms were burning from a series of curls and presses.
Another highlight was the music selection. In this particular class, the instructor kept the volume control in hand and worked the volume around her instructions. The music was the perfect mix of soft when you needed to hear her and blasting loud to distract you from your shaking legs and burning buns. After attacking the arms, we moved to the barre for the main event.
I’ve been to barre classes that seemed built for ballerinas only. The moves were so complex and the target muscles so obscure, it was disheartening. But consider this the goldilocks of classes. We did all of the signature dips, tucks, plies, and leg lifts without any extras.It burned without bumming you out. After the barre, we finished class with seated abs using the bender ball. If you’ve never used one, I can sum it up in one word: ouch.
After class, we were given refrigerated towels soaked in some sort of cucumber-eucalyptise solution. These could be used to wipe off faces, bodies, and mats. It was a cool and refreshing finish…if only it could extend to the burn in my abs and legs.
refrigerated towel after class. ahhh.
Instructor
Kelly H. taught this particular class. She was awesome, and her likeness to Natalie Portman a la Black Swan is uncanny. She’s a former dancer who brings precision, poise, and a contagiously upbeat attitude. That’s saying something when you teach at 8 a.m. on a Saturday. Kelly’s music selection also gets an A in my book, with moves set to the likes of Cat Power and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They delivered a strong beat without being obnoxious. All in all, it was a great class and I’ll look forward to coming back to the barre with Kelly in the future.
With such a great experience, crashing Biker Barre spin class is high on my “to-do” list!
