January Fitness Challenge, Part One: Signing Up

Like clockwork, my motivation to keep fit evaporates about two months before the ball drops in Times Square on New Years Eve. It becomes impossible to wake up—in pitch-darkness, no less—for those 7am workout session I practically bound out of bed for in the summer, and even more impossible to resist the holiday treats that begin to circulate around the office starting in, say, early November. So it wasn’t a complete surprise when, two months—and 8 unwelcome pounds—later, I was approached by the co-owner and founder of New York’s Bari Studio, Alexandra Perez, about taking on a “Bari Challenge” post-2011. Having been a regular at the studio since it opened last spring, I knew it would be the perfect way to kick my butt back into shape. I immediately said yes.

I’m a fan of Bari Studio’s method because it offers a different approach to working out that keeps me interested. The Bari team describes it as a combination of “the cardio rush you get from running or spinning, the muscle alignment and core strength you get from Pilates, the coordination and muscle alignment you see from dance, and the flexibility and range of motion you achieve from Yoga.” The result? That enviable, hard-to-achieve, long-and-lean body type associated with certain yoga-obsessed starlets and prima ballerinas—or so I hope, anyway.

For the next six weeks I will attend at least 10 Bari classes per week. In addition to the grueling exercise schedule, I will cut out dairy, sugar, and processed foods. And once a week I’ll chat with Bari’s resident nutritionist, Shayna Hiller, to make sure I’m staying on track. In six weeks I hope to look, and feel, like a new person—lighter and rid of winter lethargy. Stay tuned…

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