Hellobee Boards

You should definitely get your knee checked out. I've had continuous knee problems, and an MRI showed a wearing down of cartilage in my right knee. pt and strengthening of the surrounding muscles can help.

Agree that shoes can also have an effect. For classes like that, you should probably be wearing cross training shoes, not running shoes. I like minimalist shoes but they are not for everyone.

That said, my exercise of choice is Crossfit. I love it.

@Mamaof2: yep, box jumps are a thing. Personally I'm really bad at jumping and I can only do the lower boxes right now. I also step up on higher boxes.

Running shoes may not be the best choice for HIIT classes. You may want to look into some cross trainers.

@Mrs. Cowgirl just had a blog post about barre and several other programs. You should check it out! http://www.hellobee.com/2015/07/15/i-workout/

You'll lose weight in your hips and thighs (and all over) if you tighten down your diet. Barre will strengthen muscle-the "tone" appears when fat disappears and the underlying muscle shows through. But the barre classes I took were never a big calorie burner. Not for an hour of work. It didn't do a ton for me except strengthen my abs, but I was in shape from crossfit/weights/HIIT. But if your nutrition is on point, you will definitely see results

I do Bar Method dvds at home. Seriously it is the only exercise I have ever stuck with for longer than a few months (been doing it for 5 years now) and it changed my body shape. I was a gymnast (very muscular, large legs especially) and now I am much more lean all over. I like Bar Method specifically but there are tons of similar ones to choose from (Barre3, Physique57, Ballet Body come to mind).

Edited to add: I also tweaked my diet at the same time as starting bar workouts and that helped a ton in losing weight and inches. I really cut down on processed/sugary foods and upped my fruit/veggie intake and had great results.

@blackbird: I am down 27.2lbs now. I have lost some in my hips and thighs but it seems to be the last place I lose it from.

My body does better with cardio and strength training. I don't have a gym membership anymore since DH travels it isn't worth it. but I have to start doing DVDs or something. I need to tone tone tone.

@Mamaof2: at first yes. I am doing Medifast (like a Nutri System plan) but now I running/walking 3-4 times a week. Then some hand weights at home.

@blackbird: thanks! frustrating cause I am now at wedding weight but my honeymoon bikinis still give me a slight muffin top. Damn PP hips. Good thing she is so damn cute and worth it. I have 6 more till my goal and then I will probably try for another 5. So I have a little cushion