This week, we interview our youngest and most recent marketing intern! Imogen flew in from Scotland and spent 7 weeks in Singapore to help us with marketing campaigns, events and challenges, and has incorporated herself as part of our Barre 2 Barre family! Read more about her story here.

1) How did you get involved with Barre 2 Barre? What is your role within the team?

If you told me a year ago that next year I would be interning at a Barre Studio in Singapore I would have been overjoyed the way I am now. Coming from Glasgow, Scotland I had grown up around a ballet studio as I used to dance for Scottish Ballet. Therefore when the opportunity sprung to me to choose from various internships I knew straight away that working in a barre studio was the way forward, personally. I would be taking on a Marketing role within the business, including managing social media, helping with events as well as working with the others to create the best marketing ideas and plans possible that could benefit Barre 2 Barre the most.

2) Is this your first experience with barre? How do you remember your first class?

As I mentioned I grew up doing ballet, however as I began furthering into my teenage years I decided to focus more seriously on my athletics. I could see quite quickly after losing my normal routine within ballet I was losing my form and I certainly became a lot less flexible (I would never stretch properly after running, oops!). Training in high jump would end up leaving me with a bad back in which I would have to do exercises every morning and night to try and mend it.

Overall, this made me slightly nervous to come back to a barre even though I still enjoy yoga and Pilates at home! My first ever class at Barre 2 Barre was BarreAmped Bounce which I will state now I LOVE. I am so glad I tried this first as it’s super fun and you also feel all the right areas burning as it incorporates everything from balance to cardio. I remember sweating without even realising it which always makes you feel good because you know you’ve had a good work out and you have clearly enjoyed it if you haven’t noticed the trails of sweat running down your back.

3) What physical or mental benefits have you experience in or outside of class since starting barre?

The first thing I think you notice straight away from doing barre each week is the change in your arms. Each class you will use weights at one point in which you do exercises which consist of tiny pulses for long periods of time (30 seconds/1 minute seems like forever!) which really make your arms burn! I love this because I think everyone wants to have toned arms and barre certainly gives it to you. Within barre you are always progressing with everything you are doing in class because whoever is taking the class will make sure your form and alignment is correct which helps target the specific areas that each exercise is specified to. This ultimately builds a much stronger version of yourself. Mentally, it makes you fall in love with exercise and open to try new things.

I have been lucky in terms of enjoying exercise however it also makes you focus on not only what you’re doing in class but out of class too such as what you eat and how you feel. When you always find room to exercise you get into a rhythm which you don’t want to break, this means you eat well because you know if you eat badly too often you’re going to break this cycle as you can’t perform at your best.

4) What else do you like to do for your fitness and well-being?

I like to go to the gym as much as I can, especially after my day at Uni, and I really don’t have any excuses as my gym is 2 minutes down the road! I love to run because when I get into a rhythm I don’t want to stop. I also enjoy Body Combat at home which is an amazing all-round workout which really works your entire body for 45 minutes, 3 times a week. I think as a woman its really important to go to some sort of self-defense class because not only does it make you feel stronger, but it also makes you feel like you can defend yourself if anything was to ever go wrong, especially at an age where you spend a lot of time out with your girlfriends in the city centre.

If I were ever to try and keep any sort of food diet or restrict myself to any food groups it would just never work. I LOVE FOOD. Anyway, what I try to do is keep myself to healthy meals, try not to snack as much and drink A LOT of water during the week as well as work out which means at the weekend I can eat and drink what I want (to a certain degree 😉 ) and I find that this works as it gives you something to look forwards to at the weekend even if you have no plans. You will always know that on Saturday you can eat that massive bag of popcorn or spicy crisps that are sitting in the cupboard.