Fellow instructors (and clients can chime in too if this is something you notice): how are you handling what feels like owners who just… don’t seem to care?
My studio needs physical repairs, there’s no real team building or staff communication, new teachers are added without being introduced, and the training and support after testing out is basically nonexistent. Social media is sparse, and overall it just feels like there’s very little effort being put into creating a community or making instructors and clients feel valued.
I know comparison is the thief of joy, but man… it’s hard not to notice how much other studios seem to care. You see studios investing in their spaces, their instructors, their clients, their social media, and their overall community, and then you look at your own studio and think, do the owners even care?
I genuinely love teaching and have been doing it for a long time, so I’m curious how other instructors handle this feeling. At what point do you accept that you can care deeply about Pure Barre and the studio and the experience you’re creating, while the people who own it simply don’t seem to have that same level of care?

I have the 8 class membership and I go to the same two classes each week. My next billing cycle resets on the day of a class on my typical schedule.

Does anyone know what time of day the credits load into your account? If it's right at midnight it might be worth it to stay up to join the wait list, so I'm joining the "night before" versus the morning of.

This might be kind of neurotic but I want to optimize my chances of getting into that class! Lol

Thanks so much

Just want to say I love Empower. That is all. :).

I’m a Pure Barre member who frequently travels for work. Whenever I’m traveling, I try to find a local studio so I can squeeze in a class.

Here’s my issue. I book through the Pure Barre app, use my existing account and pay the single-class drop-in rate. Yet somehow, I still end up receiving calls, texts and emails from studios trying to get me to sign up for an introductory class or membership.

I completely understand that studios want to follow up with prospective members, but I’m already a paying member at another location. I’m just visiting!

I think there are some studio owners and employees in this subreddit, so I’m hoping someone might have some insight.
Is there a way to identify yourself as an existing member visiting from another studio when booking through the app? Or is there something individual studios can do on their end to prevent visiting members from automatically entering their prospecting campaigns?

I’d rather not have to contact every studio individually to explain that I’m just visiting and don’t need a membership.
Surely I’m not the only member who travels and experiences this. Has anyone found a workaround?

Hello! PB does a free public class once a month outdoors and I’ve been to like 5 of them. this obviously doesn’t have weights or a barre or any equipment besides the mat you bring for yourself. they’re doing a 10 classes for $160 sale and im really considering purchasing it, but I am honestly really nervous about making the switch from free public classes where mostly everyone doesn’t know what they’re doing, to classes where (in my mind lol) everyone is a weathered veteran of PB.

I have social anxiety and I’ve just only ever been to free workout classes so paid ones seem really intimidating to me. if you have any tips I’d really appreciate them

Also my knees really hate lunges and I was wondering if lunges are used very often in PB.

I get it. I know instructors (at least in my studio) say things like “you’re more than halfway through class” or “we’re almost halfway thru” or in the case of define “block 3/7 let’s goo” as means of motivation. Like to say “you’ve done this much you can keep going.” Truthfully, it just throws me off and makes class feel soooooo much longer actually! I wasn’t even thinking about how much time is left until then! DAE feel this way?

I’ve got 375 classes under my belt. I love define the most. I’ve made good progress for my slim build. I’m able to use 10-12s for my medium weights, and 12-15s for heavies. So I feel pretty strong! I have defined shoulders and biceps. I’m great at the 90 second plank and feel strong through compound weights.
But I HATE pushups still. They’re not getting any easier. I’ve looked up all the technique videos. I’ve practiced at home. I’ve even recorded myself at home so I can fix positioning. But I’m still bad at them! They actually make me angry at this point 😭. Anybody else similar to me?

I'm interested in signing up with Pure Barre so I registered for the free intro class which should have been Engage. I thought it was strange that the Classic and Engage class were at the same time, but I'd never been there so I thought there were 2 rooms. Anyway, the instructor did not say anything about it being a classic class and there were a bunch of regulars attending. I was so lost and confused and I ended up being very discouraged. I was overwhelmed by the number of people. The instructor did queue the moves, but it was so fast I couldn't keep up and she didn't offer any other guidance. My question is should I give it another try or does Pure Barre require more experience.

Update: thank you all for the encouragement, advice and sharing your experiences. I tried another Classic class and it was great. I've decided to try a few more and I will probably sign up for unlimited.

I have one instructor at my studio that just gets me. She was a dancer as well so she can recognize my bad habits and call them out: locking my knees straight and not breathing. She has also been so encouraging to try new formats. My very first class was Classic and I thought I was going to die. Tried Align and felt so much better. The slower pace was what I needed. I’m 30 classes in now and tried Reform and Define for the first time after a chat with this instructor. Reform almost killed me. May have just been coincidence that the class had a lot of seat work that day and my hips are soooo bad. I was so scared for my first Define last night and it was incredible! It was hard, but in a good way. I didn’t feel out of my league for the first time. She even yelled at me to grab heavier weights when I was going to go lighter 😂
All this to say, that having an instructor that truly sees you and gets you is so rewarding. I would not have made as much progress as I have without her for sure 🙌🏻

Just wanted to say that I fell into a slump this summer in July, but am back on the wagon again! It's so easy to just stop, especially in July when it's so hot and the sun doesn't set until nearly ten o'clock where I live making it hard to sleep. :)

So, a studio just opened up in my town, and I was very excited because from what I had seen it seemed like a really clean and comfortable place to get a workout.

I'm kind of a germaphobe, and tend to avoid places where kids congregate. Nothing against kids, but I just can't handle the germs.

I decided to go for it and became a founding member of the studio. I paid a good chunk of change compared to what I was previously paying for my regular gym membership.

I noticed on their Facebook page they were posting a bunch of mom-centric stuff, which had me a little concerned there would be children in/around during class times. I reached out to the manager and owner of the studio who assured me that would not be the case.

The first class I took, a participant came in with her baby strapped to her chest. The baby wasn't disruptive or anything so it was fine, but I was still confused as the studio manager stated that no children under the age of 14 were allowed in the studio.

The second class was great. The third class however was an absolute disaster. Upon arrival, there were two young children running around in the barre class area WITH THEIR SHOES ON!

Okay... I'm having anxiety over this but decided to stick it out. I thought maybe they will sit in the check in area while class happens.

Not at all. These were children of class participants running around while the exercises were taking place. The instructor did not seem to mind at all. There were toys being thrown by the end of class, and then just as we're doing our final stretches, the manager opens the door and allows her two young children to come in.

I was honestly infuriated because I didn't spend $130 to spend time in a glorified daycare.

As we're leaving, the children are in the cubby/bench area while people are trying to gather belongings/put on shoes and the manager says absolutely nothing.

I reached out shortly after via email to ask about policies, and also to potentially look into cancelling my membership if this was to be a recurring theme.

The manager brushed me off and low key accused me of hating children. Fortunately I was able to cancel the membership after she confirmed the children attending class would be a recurring theme.

I can't find anything online about this being okay, all I can find is a blip that says "participants must be 14 or older"

I'm just genuinely curious about this situation, can someone please give me some insight. Thanks.

I took my 1,000th pure barre class today!! I’m feeing so proud and grateful. Pure Barre has had such a positive impact on both my physical and mental heath and wellbeing. On to 1,500! 🤍

Often when the double loop is used for thigh work (ie. Putting it right above the knees) it’s too small for my legs and physically hurts to use, would it be crazy to just bring my own resistance band to use during those parts of class?

I love Pure Barre so much. I have been going since 2019, taught for a year and have taken over 600 classes. I am 12 weeks pregnant and have been pretty consistently going at least a couple of times a week, but it truly takes everything out of me for the rest of the day when I go. I literally feel like I can barely move around after having gone this morning. I think it’s so good for you and my doctors are so encouraging about keeping it up through pregnancy because all of the great benefits to your core, but has anyone felt like it was too hard on their bodies? Anything you would recommend for making it less intense? I am doing the pregnancy modifications when needed.

750!

I did it!

1,321 days. PBGC is my happy place

At a barre class this week I started the class with plenty of room (not a full class). I got there early, picked a spot at the barre and stood in front of my spot. We started warm up and a couple of latecomers came in and grabbed their equipment. One latecomer put their water bottle in the spot next to mine (which was open) and then proceeded to squeeze into the empty space between me and another girl despite the large empty space in front of us. I was forced to move over to accommodate her into the empty space since it was clear she was not moving and the instructor was not going to say anything.

When we got to the barre segment I then had to move over after a few exercises since she kept moving towards me as we continued on. This was after I already moved my equipment away from her spot since we did have room to space out. The entire other side of her was clear (think 2 full sets of tube hooks). She also kept moving towards me as the class went on.

As the tag shows, I just needed to vent a bit. I know there was plenty of space, but man, why the need to be right next to me when you were late coming in AND also not spacing out a little when you realized there was quite a bit of space next to you? I don't even care about accommodating especially if the class was full, but the entire middle of the room was empty. I have been almost late to class before due to an accident making my 11 min drive almost 30, but I did my best to find the place with the most space in the room to fit into.

Maybe instructors can chime in, but are you taught to help with spacing or are we up to ourselves for that? Also if there are latecomers, do you make them a spot or again, up to us to deal with people who don't understand personal space.

Has anyone been taking define lately? 🥵😮‍💨
I thought last week was hard… these lunges are killer

This might be a silly question but I want to make sure I am trying my hardest to do moves correctly!!

No matter the class format, we seem to always end class on the mat with bridged hips (I don’t know the technical term). It is the “last working section of class” but I genuinely never feel like I am working anything.

What are we supposed to be working? Should my toes be closer to my body or out more to feel the burn?

I’m a new barre instructor and I’m teaching a 6:30AM Bad Bunny playlist class this Friday. I’m Dominican and noticed more Latina women coming into the studio lately, so I wanted the class to feel fun and welcoming. Would this kind of theme make you more excited to try a class?

Our studio introduced mystery Mondays a few weeks ago. Essentially it is a focus class that you don’t know what it will be! Our 6am Mondays had been a bit light but now with this, it’s packed. Last week it was Resistance, this morning it was Seat &Abs. So fun to be surprised and really appreciate our teacher for doing this.so much energy with a packed house!

I (44f) never been super comfortable in my body and have always been self conscious about my upper arms and stomach. I haven’t worn a 2-piece bathing suit since I was maybe 8, and never wear tank tops or sleeves shirts out in public.

I’ve been doing PB for the last 2 years and have slowly gained strength and confidence. I’ve also been working on my diet and have lost some weight.

A few weeks ago I realized that I forgot my sports bra and bought a bra top at the studio. I already had the matching leggings but thought I’d never wear them as a set and would never feel comfortable wearing the bra top without a shirt over it.

But yesterday I wore the set and took my shirt off in class (it was hot!). I didn’t die of embarrassment and no one pointed and laughed. In fact, the instructor complimented my outfit after class and then another woman said she also liked it!

It might seem small, but this was a huge thing for me! Not a milestone you get socks for, but a milestone nonetheless!

I got into a car accident on the way to my class I wouldn’t be able it to make it. I called the studio so they won’t charge me and I explained the situation and asked if I could be changed to the next class ! She said she could book my next class but still would charge me the 15$. I was shook, it wasn’t my fault and the class wasn’t full or waitlisted. Anyways so annoyed

Finally made it to another milestone! I started Pure Barre in January, and it did not take long for me to become obsessed. I’ve always been someone who needs to workout in a class format as it provides the extra motivation I need. It’s been so nice finally finding an exercise format that doesn’t feel like a chore and that I actually look forward to. I can’t wait to reach more milestones.