Xtend: A cool new dance workout that kicked my butt!

Did you ever dream of being a ballerina when you were growing up? I did! I was enrolled in ballet classes when I was three or four years old, but the dream was short-lived. My parents were told one day to never bring me back: I had spent a large part of class chasing the poor teacher around the room and threatening to “suck her blood.” Yikes! Thankfully, I’ve stopped issuing such vampirish threats, but I secretly still want to be a ballerina--or to at least have a ballerina’s effortless grace. And who doesn’t want a body like that? That’s why I was so thrilled recently when I tried out a new Pilates/ballet barre workout called Xtend at Renaissance Pilates, a really cool studio across the Hudson in Hoboken, NJ. I kid you not when I tell you this dance workout kicked my butt.

See our tips: The 10 Questions You Need to Ask Before Joining a Gym

For body sculpting, Xtend uses a ballet barre, playground balls, hand held weights and yoga straps--all pretty harmless-looking equipment in my opinion--but I was wrong! Yes, I got my ballet fix, (plies and all), but by the end of the workout, I was begging for mercy. (Check out this video to get a better idea of what it looks like.) My legs were shaking uncontrollably as I held onto the barre while squeezing one of those harmless-looking playground balls between my legs. And it’s not like I haven’t been exercising hard--the Body by Glamour workouts and my trainer ensure intense exercise every time, but I’m not gonna lie--my insides were burning after this class.

Right now, Xtend is only offered in parts of Florida, New Jersey, and New Orleans, but studios and gyms across the nation are becoming licensees, so you may see it at a gym near you soon.

What do you think? Would you try a class like this, or is dance not your thing? And did you dream of being a ballerina when you were growing up? Have you tried any cool new classes at your gym lately? Or a workout DVD you recommend? Let me know!

Plus:
Could a video game help you shape up?
What time of day do you prefer to workout?
Four dorky but fun ways to get some exercise from Sarah over at Vitamin G.
And four legitimate excuses for not going to the gym tonight.

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