A few months ago, EOS Fitness decided to bring a couple of new group fitness formats onto the schedule. The training was offered to a small group of EOS instructors, and I was lucky enough to be chosen for both trainings: BANG and Freedom Barre.
I like to do these trainings for the challenge and to stay up-to-speed on the choices members have for group fitness. I wasn’t sure if I’d like them or if I’d get a class on the schedule, and I must admit I was nervous about the pre-choreographed aspect of these formats.
If you remember, I did a Zumba training last year, and though I really enjoyed it and was eager for the challenge, I ultimately let my license go because learning the choreography became too time-consuming, and there are already so many Zumba instructors out there. I’m really not needed in that space. Plus, I’m not a natural when it comes to dancing, and many of those instructors are. I just didn’t feel like it was a natural-enough fit for me, particularly given the competition.
I was concerned that BANG and Freedom Barre would be the same….but they were different in some wonderful ways. This is what they are and why I’m loving them.
BANG
This is a mixed-fitness cardio class featuring aerobics, dance, boxing (my fave!), and body-weight conditioning. It is pre-choreographed, and I was, at first, absolutely overwhelmed trying to learn an entire hour’s worth of choreography. It took a lot of hours of practice before I felt ready to go.
It’s definitely easier for me because it goes back to my fitness-instructor roots a little with old-school aerobics and punching. (My first-ever home workout was Tae Bo, and cardio kickboxing was the first group exercise class I ever taught.) There are dance tracks, and I definitely had to practice a lot on those, but BANG isn’t an entirely new language for me. It’s more like memorizing lines in my own language rather than memorizing lines in another language (like an entire dance workout would be for me).
I’ve started working on my second round of choreography so I can introduce a new song or two at a time to my class. I will say it seems less overwhelming this time. It’s like I learned how to learn the choreography, and it’s coming more quickly to me this time.
Freedom Barre
This is a ballet-inspired strength, balance, and flexibility workout. You don’t have to be a ballet dancer. Not even close. I know the six months of ballet classes I took in Panama are definitely helpful for me when it comes to teaching this class, but certainly as a participant in it, even that minimal experience isn’t necessary. We do a lot of floor work that doesn’t look anything like ballet at first glance. Your legs, arms, and core will all burn by the end of class.
I love the ballet aspect, of course: my inner ballerina gets to shine. Freedom Barre is a beautiful combination of strength and grace, and I really enjoy teaching it.
Freedom Group Exercise
BANG and Freedom Barre are both formats from Freedom Group Exercise. This is a fairly new fitness company, but the founder (Amanda Strand) is a hard-working, passionate, compassionate woman with big vision. The company is young enough that she’s still conducting most of the trainings herself (with assistants, of course). She’s also working on several new formats, including one involving the step and another involving yoga/mind-body.
She wants fitness opportunities to go where they’re needed, and for people to feel good about moving their bodies. One aspect of her vision is to make the company the first-ever non-profit fitness organization like it. That’s pretty incredible when you think about the money that companies like this can generate via trainings, continuing education, conventions, retreats, merchandise, and more when they grow big enough.
If you’re in Las Vegas and would like to try these classes, let me know! I’d love to invite you to be my guest.
Have you taken these classes? What do you think?