Bringing the Barre Community Together: An Interview with Brittany Bendall
Creating a community around Barre? I am there! Take a look at my interview with Brittany Bendall, the founder of Brittany Bendall Fitness. Brittany shares her wellness journey and how she is bringing people together through her online programming.
NMF: Has fitness always been a major part of your life or was there a catalyst/point in your life when you made it more of a focus and priority?
Brittany Bendall (BB): For me, fitness was a natural progression from years of dance. In high school, I joined a gym for the first time and was excited to try classes like kickboxing and step because they had a “dance” feel to them. I quickly fell in love with fitness classes and began teaching in high school and college. As a dancer, I had always used my body and movement to express myself and this was an extension of that expression. After college when I finished my career in dance, fitness became more of a priority for me and it has been an integral part of my life ever since.
NMF: What are a few of your go-to healthy snacks/drinks that help keep you on the straight and narrow?
BB: I’m super busy so having a few things on hand I can easily grab makes my life so much easier and it takes the guesswork out of maintaining a healthy diet. I always have fresh fruit available like apples, bananas, and berries. I also have yogurts available for a quick hit of protein. I’m a big fan of smoothies and juices. I make my own from scratch but I also stock up on some pre-made for days when I’m too busy to even break out the blender.
NMF: How do you train your mind and stay motivated?
BB: There are two things that help me stay focused mentally on my goals and a healthy lifestyle. The first is planning. Good planning can pretty much kick any excuse to the curb. I have a handwritten planner and I write out my workouts and my meals for the week. It helps to see them visually. The second thing I do regularly is meditate. It sounds harder than it actually is. I use a variety of apps and online meditation guides to help me focus but I also meditate on my own just simply by trying to quiet my mind or focus on relaxing my body. Even just 5 or 10 minutes can help me reconnect and focus.
NMF: How do you change your body?
BB: I have a secret magic formula- exercise and a good diet! It isn’t easy and sometimes a pill or a drink that promises a quick fix can be so tempting but to truly change your body, you need to put in the hard work. Like anything worth having, a strong and healthy body requires work and maintenance. The good news is that adopting a healthy lifestyle and exercise can actually become incredibly enjoyable. The key is to find the exact right formula that works for you.
NMF: What are your fitness favorites?
BB: Because of my background in dance I’ve naturally gravitated towards barre, pilates, and dance cardio. These are my workout staples. I also like to throw in a few random things like dancing on my mini-trampoline or TRX just to change things up every once in a while.
Is there anything else you want to include regarding your program.
BB: My goal is to bring studio-quality classes to participants around the world in the comfort of their own homes. I have created two downloadable programs for barre enthusiasts. Bump at the Barre® is a prenatal barre program designed to bring moms-to-be from trimester one through trimester 4. It is a safe and effective pregnancy workout. HIIT the Barre® fuses high-intensity interval training with barre toning for people looking to take their barre workouts to the next level. This class includes high impact cardio intervals not usually seen in barre classes. It is a 30-day program that only requires 30 minutes a day! I also regularly post full-length barre, pilates, and dance videos to my online studio: brittanybendallfitness.vhx.tv.
For more information on mindset and movement follow me on IG @NadiaMurdock