Hurts So Good: Why I Love The Dailey Method

You may remember me talking about The Dailey Method in Carlsbad in a post or two. You may have noticed the ad over the right here and thought "God, I want shoulders like that." Or you may have seen my multiple, check-ins on FourSquare to their Carlsbad studio. You may have wondered, "What is The Dailey Method?"

What it is, quite honestly, is one of the best workouts I've ever done. 

Last fall I was introduced the newest barre workout class to hit San Diego and was immediately hooked. I loved watching the transformation in my legs and arms. I loved watching myself grow stronger and stronger and rocking those 60 second planks. And it was a proud, proud moment when I mastered the amazingly challenging seated pretzel. More than looking good - I felt good. My back pain was gone and every part of my body was stronger and able to handle things better.

There are a few of us who started when the gym first opened, and we've become friendly over the months - bonding during seemingly impossible sets of seat and thigh work. Ask anyone of us and we all say the same thing "There is some different, something addictive, about this workout." We love it.

And I normally don't LOVE working out.

Alas, I've fallen off the wagon (or, if The Dailey Method is my addiction, am I ON the wagon?). The month of May kicked my figuratively booty. With work, the kids and Jason's knee surgery, my schedule took a backseat to taking care of everyone else. 

And I felt it. Literally. 

Image from The Dailey Method WebsiteMy body craved the crazy hour-long classes, and when I started up again, it knew exactly what to do. My muscles remembered each feeling, each motion, and this time I've paid more attention to exactly how every movement feels.

And yes, it hurts. But that is why I love it. Just at the point you don't think you can do another leg lift or hold your body in a high C-curve another second, the movement changes and you've done it. You've made it another minute and your body readjusts and pushes you through. 

Maybe I'm masochistic, but I love laying in bed the morning after a particularly hard class and clenching muscles to see if any hurt. Every time I cringe walking down the stairs after a lunge-heavy class I know my booty's a little higher and a little tighter. I know I will never have a body like Samantha or Shelie (the owners of the Carlsbad studio) but I also know that if I keep myself motivated I will walk a little taller, be a little leaner and overall feel better about myself. 

*disclosure: While I've been paying to attend classes at Carlsbad studio for months, I was offered free classes in exchange for blog love during the month of July. All opinions stated in this post are my own.