If you’re looking to chisel your body into ballerina-shape, April’s the month to do it. Flex Studio has this great offer where you can get 15 or 20 classes of Xtend Barre to use in a month, which roughly equates to HK$175 or HK$150 per class respectively (drop-in is usually HK$255). Unlike some other studios, they actually let you share the classes with friends, so it’s relatively easy to use up (I hope! Friends, please help me out).

I tried my first barre class when I was using Guavapass a few months ago, and it was the Xtend Barre Stick class with Anna — an ex-professional ballerina (eeps). Surprisingly, it happened to be one of the most fun group fitness classes I’d had in a while, with its fast pace, micro-movements and pumping music. I’m not sure why but it felt a bit like an 80s aerobic class for the new millenium, minus the neon scrunchies and leg warmers. The stick was also pretty cool to work with and provided a different kind of resistance.

My second barre class was last Saturday with Trixie — Xtend Barre Cardio Blast. Focusing on arms, she kept our hearts pumping by pushing us through continuous pulsing movements like bicep curls (with our hands stretching out a rubber resistance band), mini lunges and sumo squats, just to name a few. Apparently, next week will be all about core, which is perfect for my banged up back.

Since I could definitely use a bit of chiseling down, I’m challenging myself to at least 10 classes of barre this month, if not more. Let’s see if I get any closer to those Angela Bassett arms!