(This is cross-posted at Elephant Journal)

After telling my friend I tried The Bar Method on Friday, she laughs. "Really? How'd that go? Pull up a stool and order a cold one?" (Oh, I have funny friends.) No, but I wanted to crack one open after perhaps the most rigorous workout I've ever done (save ROTC Boot Camp but we don't talk about that, do we?).

I was invited to come as press to cover the event - the founder of the method, Burr Leonard, was in town teaching a few classes. I agreed to do it because, as regular readers know, I've been on this mission to reach peak condition - and knew I was going to rock this thing. Only an hour? Pshaw, I'd devour it whole.

Imagine my surprise when I arrive. This is not yoga. There are weights involved. And the focus is on the exhale (rather than yoga's inhale). And Burr, herself, seems to know the name of every student in class. But she seems to be saying "Gwen..." a little too often and, to my mind, menacingly, for this to be a good thing.

Thirty minutes into class I'm suffering. My muscles have hit fatigue-level shakiness. When she approaches me (watch the video, my shame is there for all to see. See 2:10 for pain-induced laughter) it is to give fine-tuned posture correction. The backs of my legs are on fire. I can barely pay attention to what she's saying. I hear the word "lengthen." Then she says, "keep your eyes on the ponytail in front of you." And I laugh again. Because it's preposterous and I maybe was delirious. 

Interviewing Burr after class, insights abounded. One is the way in which she talks about teacher and student relationships. She said teachers are trained to be mindful of their students. This comes through during class. She said the point of the class is to create a non-impact environment for students to reach peak condition. While talking about posture, I told her I met Tim Gunn and that he said I had "fantastic posture." Burr agreed and said the reason she had stayed on top of me during class was that I'm at "99 per cent" and need to just "push a little further" to get that extra 1 per cent. To what? Peak condition?

The day after class my body had difficulty getting out of bed. As Burr had said, there's no impact on your joints. I wasn't feeling it in my wrists, ankles or knees (often you do feel an intense yoga class in your wrists - and many feel it in their knees). Instead, every muscle group was alive. Two days after class, getting out of bed and walking up stairs was harder. I finally decided to Google around and find out what I could about Burr and this program she has designed. Among other fascinating bits, I discovered she's in her sixties. I want to look like that in my sixties.

Scratch that, I want to look like that in my twenties!