Get in Shape with a barre3 Workout

Improve your overall health with some regular exercise at a New Jersey barre3 studio.

Have you experienced barre3 yet?

It’s the signature three-step exercise program that delivers a balanced, total-body workout. The best part is that, once you learn how to do all the moves effectively and safely, you can do it anytime, anywhere. It’s sort of a combo of yoga and pilates, and the movements are low-impact and designed to burn fat and build muscle.

I was invited to the Morristown studio and it was really fun. The basic workout included isometric holds to increase strength and endurance; controlled one-inch movements (sounds simple, but it’s a nice little workout that improves core strength and revs up your metabolism); and also large, dynamic moves to increase the heart rate and energize the body.

The barre3 instructors say it doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 75, if you’re a turbo athlete or you haven’t worked out in years, if you have back pain or a knee injury, if you’re pregnant or just had a baby. You’ll just have to check out barre3 for yourself if you want to lose weight, build strength and transform yourself into a better beach body before you head to the Jersey Shore.

While tooling around on the barre3.com site, I stumbled upon what appears to be a SUPER SIMPLE recipe for a light and healthful warm-weather soup recipe. I intend to whip up a batch this weekend and I will share it with you…as a little bonus for reading my blogpost.

Here’s how to make barre3 Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup…

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

4 small scallions, minced

2 1/2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

2 lemongrass stalks, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks

2-3 tsp. red curry paste (start with two and add more for extra spice)

4 cups vegetable stock

3 Tbsp. fish sauce (or low-sodium, gluten free tamari)

1 Tbsp. coconut sugar (or pure maple syrup)

1 (14.5-oz) can full-fat coconut milk

3/4 pound shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined*

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

To make this a vegan soup, swap out shrimp for organic tofu.

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, ginger, lemongrass, and red curry paste. Lightly sauté, stirring often. Slowly pour in the vegetable stock, stirring often. Add the fish sauce and coconut sugar. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms. Simmer until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is no longer translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and turn the heat to low. Ladle out the lemongrass.

Divide soup among bowls and top each bowl with radishes, jalapeño, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Read more Style & Shopping, Susan on Style articles.

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