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Form Friday is Oh so AB-ilicious!!!!

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Oh So AB-ilicious

b.you barre amped aerial yoga silque fitness fitness

Who does not like ab work?!? We base our figure and our fitness level off of how are abs look…which is wrong! At B.YOU™ we focus on keeping our CORE-set tight through out every exercise, which is working all of our abdominal muscles. We use them for stability, balance, and to protect the rest of our body!

We give YOU a polisher at the end of BarreAmped classes with our fun & abdominal exercise C-Curve aka The Curl. You are working all of your abdominals to the top of your chest, your obliques {side} and into your pelvic floor. Love it? Hate it? Yes, it is a love-hate relationship that makes us feel amazing afterwards! Success starts with set up, here YOU go:

Begin sitting up tall with a long neutral spine with your feet flat in front of you and hips distance apart. Take your pinky through pointer finger under your knee caps with your thumbs on top of your knees. Allow your shoulders to roll down away from ears with your elbows out. Chin is lifted off your chest and your chest is open, now is where you begin to roll down allowing your abs to curl your pelvic floor up, with belly button pressing down towards the mat and chest rolling over your abdominal muscles. This creates the C shape in your spine. Your goal is to strengthen your abs enough to allow you to go lower with the small of your back into the mat.

YOU will get there!

Never roll down too low where your abs don’t have a chance to engage and your feet float off the mat. This usually will create a lot of negative tension in your neck! We don’t want that. We want your obliques and every inch of your abs to be quivering! So press your feet into the floor through all 4 points of your feet and make sure your abs are buying not your neck! 

We hope you have enjoyed this Form Friday as well as enjoyed your Halloween!

Have a FAB-you-lous weekend

XOXO

 

 

Brrrrr Time to Ski!!!

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We are feeling the weather change this week and bundling up!!! Make sure you check out our cover ups and comfy scarves to help you keep warm and comfortable before & after workouts!

This Friday we bring you Water Ski to help your body stay warm! This BarreAmped burner will leave you feeling untouchably strong & your leg muscles ignited during this cold front!

B.YOU_Form Friday_b barre_waterski

This advanced thigh exercise is slightly difficult to properly find yourself in and we want to help you become successful because the results are phenomenal! As you know, form is key! Here is the proper set up to melt your body into perfect form:

1. Start by bringing your hips to the barre and place your hands about shoulder width apart with palms down. Grabbing around the barre place the tips of your toes only 1 inch from the baseboard and your heels together.

2. In one swift move engage your core & begin squeezing your heels together as you lift your heels to High V {toes only 2 in. apart from one another} and allow your knees to flare open. Your hips in tandem will be lifting towards the barre and your chest rounds over your abdominal wall creating the S shape in your body.

3. Now it’s time to check form once your body seems engaged. Start from the feet up! High releve’ with heels glued and big toes just slightly apart in a narrow V. Knees are open and hips are pressed towards the barre while your abs are engaged and your chest rounds over your abdominal wall.

4. Ensure you check your shoulders. We want them pressed away from the ears and maintained in their pockets! Chest is always open and chin always lifted. Just like always maintain the chin-pelvis alignment as well as the back of your head with the tailbone! This ensures a safe spine!

One thing to check in this exercise is that 1. Your heels don’t drop & 2. You are not squeezing your seat to lift the hips! Its all core 🙂

We hope you enjoyed this Form Friday and just remember to take your mind back to the warmer weather as you feel like you are Skiing on the water!!!

Form into Silque

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If you haven’t read our last post-Stretching to B. your Best YOU, check it out!     Because stretching is so important, we’ve devoted 2 weeks & B.Silque™ Stretched is this week!

b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

Check Rashna out in this inverted child’s pose! This stretch focuses on your lower back, your arms, shoulders and allows your entire body to relax! It not only relaxes your body, but this fantastic stretch allows your mind to unwind!

In order to melt into this relaxing stretch you must first properly get into an inversion! Follow these steps to success: Stand in front your silque {silk}, with your hands in a back hand hug place the silque at the small of your back. Leaning in to your silque, keeping your spinal alignment, allow your silque to be secure by your body weight and slide your hands a little higher than your hips. Core must be completely engaged to prevent injury! As you lean back, straddle both legs wide and allow your thighs to catch you from falling through the silque. The wider you allow your straddle, the more secure and successful you will be! Keep holding onto your silque and allow your heels and feet to come in front of your silque and in front of your body and slide them through the silque latching your toes around the fabric. Keeping your knees bent you will now feel locked into your silque and you can release your hands!  You should feel very comfortable and secure in your silque and with your inversion at this time. If you do not feel locked, your feet may be wrapped the wrong direction. You can always set back up and try again! Once you are ready allow your arms to spread and the ops of your hands to skim the top of the floor! Once you stop swinging, you can take your hands down to the mat and walk yourself forward into your inverted child’s pose!

We hope you are now relaxed and your mind unwinding! Enjoy this awesome stretch next time you are in our B.Silque™ Lifted I class!

xoxo

Happy Friday Beautees

B.YOU_b.silque_rush_lifted-scorpion_wm

Stretching to B. your Best YOU!

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b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

This form Friday we want to focus on stretching! Filling your workouts with strength training and cardio is what we focus on when we want to get fit or loose weight, but a huge mistake in creating overall health & fitness is ignoring the importance of stretching!

 At B.YOU™ we focus on stretching throughout class! We will take time after we work each muscle group and allow time to stretch the fatigues muscle. We also take the last 8-10 minutes of class to really focus on a full body full stretch! Here are key points and benefits of stretching:

 

  • Increased flexibility

              ——————————

Let’s face it, we are all aging and with aging comes shorter & tighter muscles- We need stretching as part of our many anti-aging regimens!

b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

 

  • Wider range of motion & increased balance

               ——————————————————————–

Stretching allows us more ROM {range of motion} in our joints and helps us balance! That is exciting, plus increased ROM keeps us active!

b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

 

  • Increases blood circulation and helps prevent muscle soreness & cramps

              —————————————————————————————————————-

After we Shake to Change our muscles, we need to stretch to allow blood and nutrients to get to our muscles. This reduces lactic acid build up and helps our muscles to heal! We love being sore the next day because it hurts so good, but we also have to function… this helps us chase the kiddos with ease!

 

  • Reduces possible injuries

              —————————————

We have all heard this before, but stretching and flexibility is a measure of overall fitness and it makes us healthier and a better athlete!

b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

 

  • Muscle Definition

              —————————

Why didn’t this bullet come first! That is our overall goal at B.YOU™ is to provide you with long, lean muscles with a feminine physique from shoulders to calves! Ladies, this is the secret… stretch what momma gave you! 

 

So next time you want to leave class early because you feel like the work is done… well you’ve missed your ticket to a stronger, healthier, and leaner you! Stick around and zen out before you leave class, the benefits are real and your mind as well as your body will thank you for it!

B.YOU_barre_steph-&-rush_stretch

 

Happy Friday Beautees

 xoxo

b.you barre amped aerial yoga franchise fitness louisville silque fitness

What are your highest pair of heels?!?!

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1st Position aka High V is a challenging exercise that will make you quiver as soon as you melt down only 5 inches!!! We are excited to bring this knowledge of perfect form to you as we use this thigh burner for the next 7 days!

As always we encourage you to stand arms distance from the barre, this helps change your dependency to your core for balance and precision instead of our security blanket {the ballet barre}! Once there, take your heels together and toes just 2 inches apart {thin piece of pie} then simply check your stance–ears over shoulders over hips over heels {ESHH}! This is when you put on your HIGHEST pair of HEELS 🙂 Coming into your highest releve’,  engage your abs  which will tighten your CORE-set and start to slide down your imaginary wall, keeping your ESHH. You will then slide down about 5 inches OR until your thighs engage.

It is important to start with muscle engagement, so before you begin your tiny movements you MUST be engaged and connected. Challenge yourself to dig deep and mentally connect to your body before you start a set. You will find the contraction and the muscle before you begin and the SHAKE starts almost automatically. The Mind Body connection is real and this connection brings real results! Try it in your next class and dig deep for it, each and every exercise!

A few other details you want to focus on in 1st position {high V} are your knees. Once you have lowered down 5-7 inches into thigh engagement, you want your knees to be flared open and your inner thighs engaged. You will check your toe width to ensure you are not straining your knees. Adjust your V width according to your body’s comfort and always listen to you body!

The steps are simple, but you just have to keep reminding yourself of the proper form through all your sets: ESHH, flared knees, core-set tied, chin up, chest open, heels high and squeezed together & last but not least, weight shifted in between your 1st & 2nd toes! We hope these tips and this Form Friday will help you succeed in this awesome classic barre exercise!

Happy Friday XOXO,

B.YOU™

Define your Thighs with Leg Lifts- Form Friday Favorite!

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leg-lift-form-friday

Oh how we love to whip out a little Leg Lift action at B.YOU™! This BarreAmped thigh focused exercise will leave you begging for a break. Since it is such a burner, form can be lost & negative pain with no gain can occur! Check our Form Friday Tips!

Start by placing your back slightly against the barre! Without leaning backwards towards your mirror, simply ensure your feet are directly under your hips, your hips under your shoulders, and your shoulders under your ears!!! Take your hands wide, bracket to bracket, soften your knees & engage your core- next will be your preference… either heels down or in releve’, but knees are always soft on the standing leg! Then bend the knee on your working leg and left your leg straight out into full extension! 

Now it’s time to recheck form and keep form! So re-engage your abs to ensure your core is in full effect, which is how you are going to protect your back from pain, then ensure your shoulders are pressed away from your ears and your chest is open. Check your standing knee once more, it should be soft and your working leg straight! Back is still grazed to the barre, but you are upright with your shoulders over your hips!

It is easy to loose form, release core and tuck your hips under here, but you can stay strong and keep form all the way through!!! Your goal is to keep your leg as high as you can, but as your thigh & hip flexor fatigue, your leg will start to lower which is perfectly normal! Your challenge is to keep it high with perfect form!!!

Lets burn those thighs this week together!!! 

Happy Friday xoxo,

B.YOU™ {her modern fitness boutique}

#plankdoesabodygood #blueversusredplankbattle

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B.YOU barre amped aerial yoga silque franchise fitness

Who doesn’t LOVE a nice solid, body shakin’ plank?!?  Whether you are in B.Barre I, Fire, or even B.Silque™ Fit, planks will be one of your deepest challenges & you will find yourself in one in every class! Why!?!? Because they strengthen us to the CORE! Planks are such a full body workout and the produce fast results you will dance over 🙂

BUT

Form matters! Here is our Form Friday Tip this week, just in time for our Blue vs Red Plank Battle!

Poor form leaves us with aching wrists, backs, and necks! Proper form takes our minds away from stress and all you can do is focus on your whole body shaking! Lets talk about forearm plank set up and then we will move on to full plank.

Start by clasping your hands together and placing your elbows under your shoulders. Then step your feet back one by one and come to the balls of your feet. You will want your feet hips distance apart. Make sure you are not on your tip toes or collapsing down to the mat where your back falls below your shoulder blades. You will want to tighten, engage, and pull your abs together all the way from your lower pelvic floor muscles all the way into your chest! FULL CORE ACTIVATION! You will want to engage your core and then feel your whole body pressing away from the mat. From wrist to elbow your connected to the mat and then pushing up through that connection to engage the rest of your body!

To switch all this info over to full plank, the only difference is placing your hands under your shoulders with your arms extended fully. You will be connecting your full palm and all 10 fingers into the mat! Continue to maintain neutral spine alignment and never allowing your back to sag! If you feel pain in your back simply lower your knees to modify!

Your thighs, calves, shoulders, and chest will all be engaged while your abdominals chisel and your belly flattens! As always your are going to want to make sure your shoulders are in place and they are pressing away from your neck! Once you find yourself in proper form and position, your connection will deepen and your whole body will shake!!!

Plank_sept12

A proper plank is so rewarding and so worth the challenge! Let us challenge you in your perfect plank this week and lets these tips find their way in your memory bank forever!

Happy Friday & Let the Battles Begin!!!

b.you barre amped aerial yoga silque franchise fitness

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

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It is our 1st Birthday and we are excited to share all of the wonderful things that we have been through this year! Joyful memories have been made, strong friendships created, and lots of bodies have reshaped over just 12 short months!

The time has flown by and we want to say Thank You for sharing this wonderful year with us! Take a look at some of the things we copied into our memory books- From Coming Soon to a whole new look as B.YOU™! We have grown and you helped us get there!!!

Before the walls were secured we knew within them many would be Driven, Inspired, & Strengthened! We could not wait to change the sign from Coming Soon to Grand Opening!!!

Pictured above  are just a few of our clients that joined us for our Soft Opening that took place the week of Sept 4th!

These are some of our first professional photos done by the wonderful PinkOwl Photography! 

We had a blast our first Halloween as a studio with a great group of girls who participated! We know more of you will participate this year  {hint hint} 😉

After just a couple of months of being open we kicked off our first Bootcamp series for a 6 week challenge! During the 6 weeks, girls strengthened beyond belief and brought our studio to a whole new level! This is right about the time B.Barre Fire was added to the schedule as well! You girls still rock xoxo!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of B.YOU Beautees Work-n-it!

LOVE our clients! B.YOU™ is filled with all fitness levels, all shapes and sizes, and ALL who are beautees inside & out!!!!

 

When the doors of B Barre opened we started with just two instructors! Stephanie & Morgan 🙂

Introducing Stephanie Bristow, founder of former B Barre Fitness and  b.creator of B.YOU™

Morgan Bush, the first Inspire-er 

Then slowly new Inspire-ers were introduced, starting with Amanda & Megan who kicked off their first classes in January 2013!!!

Let’s meet Amanda <3

Meet Megan who graced us with her hard-core classes while she was still living in Louisvile, but has now made her way to Lexington due to her husband’s professional career <3

 

Soon after we had 3 more Beautees that went to training! One of which is now half of B.YOU™, b.creator Rashna Carmicle! Let’s meet her first 🙂

Along with Rashna we then had Carly & Joy join the B.YOU™ Inspire-ers! Carly has been a members since our opening and Joy has been a B.Barre Fire addict since day numero uno!!!

Introducing Carly

And Joy aka Sparkle 🙂

Now we are blessed with 2 more Inspire-ers! Carrie Rice, who is still in training while she focuses a lot of her time on the Boston Marathon & Kristie Hanke who has just began Inspiring all of you this month!

Continuing on with our fun year! Let’s look at our first Barre-Tine class where the Gents came to class with their Beautees on Valentine’s Day 2013!

We all remember the fun B.Outside Bootcamp!!!

 

NOW— It’s time to get down to the re-branding!!!! So much fun changing over from B Barre to B YOU™ and helping women feel secure in finding their confidence in this FabYOUlous community of strong woman!!!

 

Since our rebranding in May we have grown so much! Various styles of classes have been added including B.Barre Tabata and B.YOU™’s own method B.Silque™ Fitness!!!

We love all of our Beautees and sincerely thank you all so much for your support, your patience as we have learned along the way, and your friendship! Cheers to the next Year and many more!!! Join us on September 10th for giveaways & treats as we take a day to reflect on how hard all of our B.YOU beauties and Inspire-ers have worked!

We love you xoxo

 

Friday Form Fanatic– Foldover on the Barre!

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Foldover on the barre can be uncomfortable as we all know! It takes strength and proper body positioning to ease through a full set of seat work during this exercise! This post will help guide you to a standing- leg ache free class!

The set up is the most important part– start leg distance away from your barre. Then place both feet under each hip, so your feet are parallel and hip distance apart! Then you simply soften both knees, and hinge over your legs while bending at the waist! “What helped my form improve was placing my hands at my groin and hinging over my hands”- Stephanie Bristow! It is important your start with a neutral spine and engaging your core, preventing a tuck or an arch- this keeps your spine fully protected and prevents back injuries! As you hinge, you will place your hands wide onto the barre. Starting the work in your right glute, soften your left knee and extend your right leg behind you and lifting your straight leg until your glute engages. 

You will then shift your right hip down, place all body weight into your right palm of your hand and by the inner sole of your left foot! As you are shifting weight to your right palm, your left hand will actually be holding your weight and prevents extra body weight and tension in your left hip and standing leg! 

Core strength plays a major key in preventing injury and allowing proper shift of body weight so that you can ease your way through this seat lifting and shaping exercise! Another key is that your thighs {smaller muscle} have already been fatigued because we always work our thighs in BarreAmped before our seat {larger muscle}. So you always should feel free to reset during foldover on the barre and allow your standing leg {fatigued thigh} to have a quick break so you can keep your focus on your working glute muscles! 

That’s our short & sweet Form Focus for this Friday! We hope your standing leg will ache a little less as your continue your Barre classes at B.YOU™! Have a fabulous weekend!!!

XOXO,

 

Bubble Duty features- Foldover on the floor!

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Fire up your Buns with Foldover on the Floor! 

        Foldover on the Floor is a fabulous exercise for tightening and toning your entire backside, but if it isn’t done right you risk hurting your back! Take these tips to keep your back safe and your seat shaking! 

        When we start out on our elbows and knees check to make sure your knees are under your hips and your elbows are under your shoulders. Make sure you keep pressing your chest away from the floor by connecting your entire forearm down into the mat, not just your elbow to keep the pressure out of your shoulders! 

       Engage your core-set by pulling your abs up and in- this will help keep your lower from arching.  Your leg can be a little higher than your hip since our bodies are on a diagonal but ONLY if you can keep your back from arching as you lift the leg up! Arching the lower back can be uncomfortable but it also takes the work out of your seat- so keep the core-set tight, tight, tight! 

         As you get tired in this exercise you may start to feel the leg that’s on the ground more than the side of your seat you are supposed to be working-! If this happens make sure you shift your body weight onto your working side’s forearm to take of this pressure off that other hip- this will keep you happy and burning! 

Megan is showing us one of the many variations of Foldover over on the Floor using the ball behind the knee to increase the burn in her hamstring (muscle on the back of the thigh) while she works her seat! 

Take these tips to the mat with you next time you are in class to tighten and tone that tush! And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask your Inspire-er for more tips!