Bored with your workout routine? A new barre.[d] studio comes to Franklin Street

There’s a new barre on Franklin Street – and no, that isn’t a typo.

Located across the street from Target, barre.[d] is a studio that offers a variety of exercise classes with a focus on barre. Sarah Wyland, the studio’s owner, said that barre is a blend of several different types of workouts with a foundation in ballet.

“It’s a low-impact strength training workout at its core,” she said. “It’s a combination of ballet, pilates, yoga and in our case — which kind of sets us apart — physical therapy. So it brings all of that together to create a low-impact workout that truly anyone can do.”

Wyland also said the ballet part of the studio’s approach helped to inspire its unique name.

“We always get questions about that,” Wyland said. “This is something that people kind of miss a little bit, if you look at the brackets around the ‘d,’ they’re actually ballet bars, which is what we use in the studio.”

In addition to its usual instruction, the studio also has options for pregnant women, new mothers and clients with physical disabilities.

Gillian Totaro, a sophomore at UNC and an employee of barre.[d], said the studio’s workouts benefit the whole body.

“It’s really a full-body workout,” she said. “It really helps lengthen your muscles and strengthen them.”

The studio opened in October and is the third barre.[d] location, with the first two in Virginia. Wyland said she is excited about the possibilities that exist by being so close to UNC.

“The college crowd is great, and I think that’ll be our core clientele,” she said.

Totaro said the studio may be attractive to students due to its close proximity to campus.

“It’s within walking distance,” she said. “It’s really nice, and a lot of the instructors are students. There’s also a good variety of class times.”

Even though barre.[d] is right next to UNC, Wyland said she hopes to bring in a variety of people from the surrounding area.

According to barre.[d]’s website, clients do not need any prior experience to take classes at the studio.

The studio is currently offering a deal to UNC students – $250 for unlimited classes during the spring semester. Others can take advantage of another package being offered – five classes for $60.

She said the studio has classes for beginners, but serious athletes can challenge themselves, as well.

“I am a competitive athlete, so I do like weightlifting and CrossFit, and I’m hoping to get some of that population in,” Wyland said. “It’s such a good cross training. The way you use your body in barre is very, very differently than the way you use it in CrossFit or in weightlifting.”

@JakeRichardDTH

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