Beach Barre Body offers boutique fitness for all ages
Sue Sheain and Aimee Fulchino call themselves bona fide barre addicts.
“I became a barre fanatic after I saw incredible changes in my body in a very short time,” Fulchino said.
Barre is an exercise program combining yoga, Pilates and ballet movements for a low-impact, full-body workout that burns calories and elongates muscles through small isometric movements and stretches. The program incorporates a ballet barre for balance, and equipment such as resistance bands, exercise balls and free weights to work muscles to fatigue, and then to recovery, through stretching.
“You don’t tear down muscle with barre,” Sheain explained. “You build strength, not bulk.”
An injured London ballerina created barre in the 1960s as a rehabilitative exercise and advanced physical therapy program. One of her students brought the exercise concept to New York City in 1971. When that studio closed in 2005, its instructors launched several major chains of the fitness program, which expanded rapidly throughout the country.
Fulchino’s results prompted her to open Baltimore’s first studio in 2011, and to partner with Sheain in 2016 to open Beach Barre Body in Bethany Beach. Now, the two have launched a Rehoboth Beach Barre Body in Lighthouse Plaza, with various instructors offering morning and evening classes for fitness-seekers of all ages and experience.
Workouts begin with a short warmup to get the heartrate into fat-burning mode. Next, a series of upper-body exercises using light weights and small isometric movements targets the biceps, triceps, chest and back. Then, thigh, glutes and lower-back muscles are strengthened and flexed, ending with recovery stretches. A cross between group fitness and personal training, classes can be modified individually so they’re appropriate for all fitness levels.
“It’s an approachable fitness choice, and you don’t have to be a dancer. The barre is just a tool in the workout. I’m the least coordinated person in the world, so if I can do it, anyone can,” Sheain said. “People feel better after a barre workout. They’re more flexible and stronger, and they can’t believe the results they get in just eight to 12 classes.”
Although she’s been doing barre for eight years, Fulchino says she still wakes up challenged and even slightly sore after a 60-minute workout.
“It doesn’t get easier; you just get deeper into it. There’s no plateau, and no class is ever the same,” Sheain said. “You feel successful, and that’s what I like about it.”
Sheain says doctors refer cancer patients to barre to regain strength, and many seniors take classes to build core strength that helps prevent falls. Last year’s Sussex Academy girls’ lacrosse team did pre- and post-season conditioning at Beach Barre Body in Bethany, and owners hope to connect with Cape Region teams as well.
“One of our clients lost 88 pounds with barre and is now training to be an instructor,” Sheain said. “You can burn between 300 to 800 calories each class and not feel exhausted afterward. You leave glowing, not drenched.”
Beach Barre Body is located at 19323 Lighthouse Plaza Blvd., Rehoboth, next to Giant. Different membership and class packages are available, and Beach Barre Body is now offering a first free class at Rehoboth with the code: TRYUS. Go to www.beachbarrebody.com or call 302-539-5515 for details.
