The Bar Method raises the bar in toning

The Bar Method is not for the faint of heart. Or the faint of quads, for that matter. After walking into a room with two-, three-, and four-pound weights, this columnist expected the hour-long workout to be relaxing and maybe a little difficult, but not particularly grueling. Underestimation is a big mistake. Elisabeth Settima, owner of the Bar Method’s Loop location, will work you hard. She’s amazing.

An avid runner and cyclist, Settima became a fan of the Bar Method in San Francisco in 2000.

"I had just returned from a weeklong 400-mile bike ride (RABRAI - the annual Ride Across Iowa) and was looking to try something completely different," Settima says. "I asked a colleague at work and she said she had just tried something new called The Bar Method and loved it. I went in for my first class just a couple of days later and was hooked!"

After mastering the class, she came back to Chicago to open her own studio, which opened this past October. With a relatively small but very clean studio space, ballet bars, light weights, padded mats and yoga bands, she fills an hour with a very intense workout. By forcing students to focus on form and work their muscles until they literally shake—and then stretching each muscle group out—she helps women resculpt their bodies. It’s pretty impressive.

If you’re a shy exerciser, the Bar Method might not be for you. The point of the class is to master your form when engaging each muscle group, so your instructor will have to correct you a lot during your first class. If you don’t want to be sore the next day, the Bar Method might not be for you, either. The extreme focus on each major muscle group in your entire body will certainly make you feel it.

But if you’re a marathon runner, triathlon athlete, hardcore yogi or an otherwise Type A exerciser, this class is a great way to cross train. You’ll enjoy the challenge that goes along with learning a new, difficult activity, the hour goes by extremely quickly, and the emphasis on posture will aid you in whatever sport you participate in.

More good news: Settima and all Bar Method studios offer a free trial class for new students when you visit a special Chicago Bar Method website, as well as a 30-day unlimited class package for $100.

When you go, be sure to try the “stall bar.” Designed to relieve tightness in your lower back and decompressing disks before class, it will also give you a great flashback to playing on the monkey bars in grade school.