by Sara Meurer

STA junior Maddy Sommerland’s mom is the owner of Brookside Pilates and Barre, which is a workout studio that offers Pilates and Xtend Barre classes. Xtend Barre is a ballet barre workout that is an amplified mix of ballet and Pilates. Ms. Nancy Sommerland has owned the studio for about five months, and instructs about 10 Xtend Barre classes a week, in addition to seeing individual clients. According to Nancy, Xtend Barre is different from other forms of exercise because it focuses on the core.

“[Xtend Barre is] different in that the class was specifically designed to offer cross-training while still focusing on the Pilates philosophy of stabilization, concentration, control, flow, breath and precision,” Nancy said.

The class usually consists of a warm-up, upper body workout, stretch, barre exercises, core strengthening, lower body toning and ends with additional stretching. According to Nancy, it is a “fast-paced class with dance style music.”

Maddy has taken the class a few times.

“It’s a really good workout, and it’s fun,” Maddy said. “I would recommend it to STA girls if you’re just looking for a fun workout. The music is fun and it’s not too expensive.”

STA junior Rachel Saunders has also taken the Xtend Barre class, instructed by Nancy. Saunders has only taken the class once, but wishes to take the class in the future.

“The studio isn’t really close to my house so that makes it kind of hard to go,” Saunders said. “But if I had the chance I would love to take it again. It’s a great way to stay in shape.”

According to Nancy, the class is a total body workout.

“The class is a total body workout designed to lengthen and sculpt the muscles from top to bottom,” Nancy said. “The format is always the same but the class is always different so as to keep the classes fresh and unique.”

Saunders believes that the class is a great workout.

“I thought the class was great,” Saunders said. “It worked out almost every muscle in your body and it was a lot of fun.”

Nancy feels blessed to be able to help her clients.

“I feel blessed that I get to do what I love,” Nancy said. “My goal is to provide innovative, effective and motivating fitness instruction in order to inspire our clients to reach their ideal physical shape and well-being.”