The Bar Method for Men

When most people think about a barre class, they imagine a line of ballerina bodies at a ballet barre. The last thing they would likely imagine is a man in a barre class. But the benefits of barre classes for men are plentiful and here to talk about his experience with The Bar Method is Bar Method Instructor & National Coach Mason Glenn:

The Bar Method came into my life at a point that really surprised me. Most surprises in our lives create a certain shift. Whether that be positive or negative, the shift allows us to calibrate differently and those conversations that we have with ourselves or someone else, usually will almost always end on a positive note.

I hated working out. I was a bigger kid growing up and remember my father going to our neighborhood Gold’s Gym with that nostalgic scent of metallic rust. I remember thinking of how it was a waste of time and really didn’t see the benefit in how being active was beneficial other than for vanity.

After a few months of managing the front desk at my original Bar Method studio, I slowly started to take this class. I figured I needed to take the product of a brand I was advocating for. I’m not a dancer. I was not physically fit and was overweight. I’m the only guy in the room. The odds were against me. However, I took another chance, and here I am now as one of the more senior teachers in our company, have done photo shoots for the brand, filmed many of our Bar Online videos, and now am a National Coach. Sometimes we have to leap through intimidation to get appreciation to find validation.

After seeing that this class was now achievable, I started integrating better diet choices and started exercising more. I lost nearly 30 pounds in 3 months. I didn’t feel like a dunce anymore by modifying positions that don’t feel comfortable for me(n) or for my body type. Good news, if you haven’t heard already, everything is approved by our physical therapist and innovation team. The thing about Bar Method is that it really uses smaller movements to create longer and leaner muscles. For me, as a dude, I don’t want to be skinny (that isn’t a compliment as a guy), so I decided to integrate more weightlifting and experimenting with different diets to my fitness regimen.

I am now a gym rat, an intermittent faster, and also integrating Bar Method in my fitness routine ~2 times a week. For the first time in my life, I feel like a true athlete. Oh my gosh, I am just like my father now. How did this happen?! The thing that Bar Method has done for me is joint mobility, muscular flexibility, and building my mind-body awareness. I want to have some size on me, but I still want to be able to touch my toes. I know my bench press has gotten better on the fact of the increased cognition of alignment I have from the fundamentals of Bar Method. My core is stronger and I can stabilize my back better from a lat pull down machine. I know when my feet are in a bad position when I do a squat. As we age, gravity and time are our worst enemies. With Bar Method, I’ve actually grown an inch taller and have healed myself from certain injuries from previous jobs requiring me to do repetitive motions. I was still able to take class with an injured back from a high impact car accident. Our students, especially men, don’t realize the importance of stretching. I’ve seen many studies show stretching a mere 10 minutes a day can improve your mood, overall health, and being able to live longer. Moreover, I also treat this class as my leg and butt day – I can’t tell you the amount of compliments I have gotten on both of them over the years!

Bar Method hasn’t been about being surrounded by all of these intimidating, gorgeous, super flexible, and inspiring women, it was about me taking a chance on something that meant something more personal in the long-run. It allowed me to realize that my initial potential was only a fraction of what I was truly capable of. This class has taught me that I can push myself to a physical and mental limit I thought I could never achieve feasibly, and then some. This company is a place of warmth, encouragement, and also a place of continuous gratitude, in my opinion. I only hope you experience at least  a glimmer of those qualities in our classes as I hope to make my student’s proud. First and foremost, you should make yourself proud first.

About the Author

Mason R. Glenn is a professional Content Strategist having worked in the matchmaking and lifestyle space for many years. He is a Bar Method Instructor and National Coach and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

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