Skip ahead a few years. I’m 8 months pregnant, I’m almost 60 pounds heavier (thank you, Graeter’s) and my back is killing me. Daily. I’m not talking the typical pregnancy back aches here — I had a 9 pound baby sitting on my sciatic nerve and couple of herniated disks from an old sports injury, and I was working myself into Diastasis with every milkshake (which I didn’t even know was a thing until after delivery.)
A few months later, I have a big beautiful boy in my arms and lying in my hospital room, I vow to put losing all this weight out of my mind for a while. Focus on taking care of myself and my baby, and recovering from a C-Section. After a few days at home, I realized just how much work I had to do. As it turns out, having your ab muscles cut in half makes it difficult to stand up from sitting on the couch, let alone anything else. If you’re keeping score here, that’s 2 herniated disks + roughly 53 milkshakes + 60 lbs + 1 C-Section + 9 lb baby. Breastfeeding helped me lose 10-15 lbs, so when all was said and done I was left with a newborn, about 20 lbs to lose, and a list of even more excuses: too tired, too sore, too overwhelmed, too… (fill in the blank). I put exercise and losing weight out of my mind again. Take care of yourself. Take care of the baby.
It wasn’t until that toe-numbing back pain came back one night that I realized “taking care of myself” meant more than getting as much sleep as I could and eating enough throughout the day. I knew I had to do something, but I had no idea where to start. I’d always enjoyed running, but the c-section made that impossible for a few more months. Then I remembered my cousin’s words: “Just try it. One time and you’ll be hooked.” And so I headed for the Pure Barre website. They were opening a new location about 3 miles from my house. My list of excuses was getting shorter and shorter.
I went to my first class with a friend (who just happened to be pregnant — there goes another excuse) 
hopeful but skeptical and unable to pull my shoulders off the floor when trying to do a sit up. An hour later, and both of us were promising to come back 3+ times a week.
By my 12th class I was down 7 lbs. By class #15 I could do a full sit-up (and proceeded to show my husband, my parents, my friends, my sister — anyone who would watch). Now, a little over 2 months later, I’m able to do a respectable push up and I am stronger than I’ve ever been. Stronger in my confidence, stronger in my motivation, and stronger in my core. I’ve had about 3 days with back pain since my first class back in November.
Aside from a great workout, Pure Barre offers a great sense of community and camaraderie among the women taking the classes as well as the teachers. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Pure Barre Cincinnati West location. The teachers are wonderful, encouraging and offer one on one attention throughout the class. They know your name when you walk through the door, they know your goals, and they work hard to make their clients feel welcome. They’re like having a personal trainer, but better. They’ve transformed my body, restored my confidence, and give me 55-minutes of much needed “mama-time” a few times a week.
Pure Barre Cincinnati is currently offering a New Client Special of $99 for your first month of unlimited classes – a great way to give Pure Barre a try!
About Emily:
Emily grew up just north of Cincinnati in Hamilton, OH and now lives in Western Hills with her husband Jim, their son James and their lunatic yellow lab, Rosey. Emily graduated from Xavier University (Go Muskies!), and is now a stay at home mom after working in marketing and promotions for local radio and TV stations.
Emily spends most of her free time visiting the manatees (James’ favorite) at the Cincinnati Zoo, shopping at local antique shops, or singing Beatles songs with James who typically just stares at her like she’s crazy. Emily hopes one day he’ll join in but for now she enjoys his giggles. She also enjoys photography and has quickly turned into a Pure Barre addict while trying to melt away the daily milkshakes she consumed while pregnant. So far it’s going well, but Skyline frequently gets in the way.
Emily loves to write and is looking forward to connecting with other Moms in Cincinnati while writing for Cincinnati Parent.
