The Bar Method Is Now Open in Wellesley

all photos by Blonde Tulip Photography

The Bar Method opened its third Massachusetts location in Wellesley this summer (the other two are in the Back Bay and Hingham) bringing the barre technique franchise total to 79 in the U.S. and Canada.

The Bar Method, like other barre classes, is based on the Lotte Berk Method, the grandmother of all modern barre classes. It’s a mix of yoga, isometrics, interval training, and ballet-inspired moves to create a total-body workout. In fact, the creator of The Bar Method, Burr Leonard, took her first Lotte Berk Method class in NYC in 1981. Then, she spent a year training under Berk herself in order to create what we know today as the The Bar Method.

Co-owners Sarah Bauman and Jen Winger met while training to be instructors in 2011. Bauman is an attorney and mother of three, and Winger is a former magazine editor. The two designed the 3,000 square foot studio to evoke “the serenity of a summer on the Cape.”

Winger says that the two chose Wellesley for the new studio because the residents there are both educated and health-conscious, which, she says, is the perfect match for The Bar Method. “[It’s a] workout based on intelligently-designed exercises to engage both mind and body,” she says. “Wellesley is also a tight-knit community that embraces small businesses, as it has ours.”

One really unique aspect of The Bar Method is that it has physical therapists on-staff who are instrumental in creating the exercises. “The Bar Method has physical therapists on-staff who continually vet current exercises and create new ones that are high-intensity but low-impact,” Bauman says. “Every studio is required to have a rubber underlay beneath the carpet to ensure joint safety. This focus on taking pressure off the joints and transferring it to the muscle not only makes the exercises safer, but more effective.”

Classes are one-hour-long, and there’s about 27 classes per week on the current schedule. The studio includes two exercise studios, a spa-inspired locker room, and retail area. More photos below.

$26 single class, packages available; 66 Central Street, Suite 16, Wellesley, 781-772-2110, wellesley.barmethod.com