Founded by Carrie Rezabek Dorr, Pure Barre came to the market in a fast and furious way becoming very popular very quickly.  Pure Barre franchised quickly and there are over 100 studios in the country now. The class starts with a pilates based abdominal section and repeats core work at the end.  It follows a traditional Lotte Berk series of exercises but does use a lot of props to add variety.

Pros:  This class, though following a consistent format, will change often to alleviate boredom.  There is solid abdominal work. Deals on sites such as Groupon can help make the class a more reasonable price.  The energy of the studio that I attended in West LA was welcoming.  I love Lotte Berk style workouts and find them to be effective and challenging.  

Cons:  There is not as much personal attention to students as in both The Bar Method and Physique 57 and instructors vary in their abilities.  The studio in West LA does not have any windows or showers and could be nicer for such a high price point. Class is a bit shorter at 55 minutes, which may be a bonus for some.  Stretches should be held longer for maximum benefit and props can feel more distracting than beneficial if execution is not on point. 

DVDs:  I have tried two of Pure Barre’s DVDs and like them a lot.  Carrie instructs and her tone and cues are wonderful.  I have taken her during a teachers’ training and she is spot on.  You will feel your muscles working.  

Personal Opinion:  After taking many classes, I do enjoy Pure Barre.  It has a very strong following, especially with women from 20 to 50.  However, I wonder about the ability of a company to maintain its quality when it spreads as rapidly as Pure Barre has.  However, I do feel that Carrie is an amazing businesswoman.  She does change up the routines and keeps giving her customer base more products. Like Bar Method, she has created a business opportunity for many other women which  is wonderful.

Unrelated to the quality of her product, her first DVDs show her quite a bit heavier and she did not look the part of a “Fitness Pro.”  As a woman in the fitness field for over thirty years, I am impressed with her self confidence.  She wasn't going to let anything define or stop her.  With over 100 studios and still growing, Pure Barre is here to stay.