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Rachel's Story:

Tales of a Toe Touching Prodigy: Rachel’s Transformation Challenge Testimonial

To understand how much The Bar Method has done for me, I have to take you to my 3rd grade Presidential Physical Fitness Test. All of my classmates and I are being tested on our strength, endurance, and—gulp!—Flexibility.  I pass the first few tests with flying colors and then I am faced with the sit and reach test to assess my flexibility. In all eight years of my life at this point, I have never passed the flexibility portion of the test. I can run laps around my classmates—and I do, in fact—but I cannot reach past the little red line that proves I have an average level of flexibility in my hamstrings and back. The whole thing just makes me nervous. I cannot reach the red line in third grade, and so I decide then that this whole flexibility thing is a waste of time. I will just focus on what I’m good at instead—running.

Flash forward 16 years and I am training for a half-marathon. I ran cross-country throughout high school, and competed in several 5ks and 10ks post college. Now I am ready to up the ante and try my hand at 13.1 miles. I still cannot touch my toes during my post run stretches, but I don’t care. I feel good. I am logging up the weekly miles and I have my eye on finishing my first half. Just a few weeks before I’m set to run my race, I start getting shooting pains on the top of my left foot. When the pain doesn’t subside, I go to see a sports medicine doctor. She does not have good news to report. I have a stress fracture that will keep me from completing my first half marathon. The cause? She suspects it has something to do with my slight pronation that is likely caused by my limited flexibility. Noooooo!

Now, let’s come back to more recent times. The Bar Method opens up in Redmond, WA in July 2009 and I start going right away. The thigh works out are killer, pretzel is brutal, and the ab sets push me to my limit and often beyond.  These, however, are not the most challenging parts of class for me. The stretches! Oh the stretches are so hard, and I can’t even get my leg straight when we are at the barre. I have to head over the stall bars to get through leg stretches, and still I am counting down the seconds until I can stop trying to touch my toes.

When Bev, Maika, and Luke presented The Bar Method Challenge back in December, I immediately knew I wanted to do it. I mean, who doesn’t like a deal? When I had to put down goals, I did put the usual “drops a pant size” and “tone up arms” like most people probably did. But then something strange came over me and I also wrote down “be able to hold foot on the barre during stretches.” Whhhhat? I hate stretching.  Why on Earth would I ever write down such a wretched goal? Flexibility isn’t going to make me look better in a swimsuit or any better at push-ups… right? Well, anyway I put it down there along with my laundry list of other things I hoped to achieve through regular Bar Method attendance, and thought nothing of it.

I moved from the stall bars to the regular barre a few weeks into the challenge. By late January, I was able to not only touch my toes but was able to touch the GROUND while standing. I ran into class one night and just had to show Bev, Maika and Luke. I was getting stronger from the classes altogether and while I was already seeing the difference in the way I looked in my clothes, I could not believe I could touch my toes. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

It’s been several months since my toe touching first happened; I am still amazed by it. The Bar Method has helped me realize a goal I never even really knew I had and several I thought were long shots. Dropping a pants size? Check (two sizes in slacks!). Definition in my arms? Check. Feeling more confident in my swimsuit? Check (Okay, truth be told I still don’t feel like Heidi Klum when it comes to bikini time but I at least feel like a Rachel Klum, Heidi’s imaginary averaged sized sister).

My flexibility—or lack of flexibility—was limiting me in so many ways before. I never realized how it affected my ability to run, lift weights, and just get through the day. With my increased flexibility, my form during class has improved and my running outside of class has improved and been free of injury.
I owe the team at The Bar Method a huge thank you for helping me get stronger, more flexible, and—most importantly—more confident.  The Presidential Physical Fitness Test has nothing on The Bar Method Transformation Challenge.

P.S. Sometimes when I’m feeling extra confident I can even do the splits.

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