I get asked this question all of the time... My answer is, “barre, obviously..." No, but in all seriousness, I do feel that the type of barre classes I teach do come pretty close to hitting the three key components of fitness that I believe are necessary to being fit and healthy. The goal is also to keep people healthy in order to complete every day activities: Cardiovascular health, resistance training and flexibility. How you combine these three components may vary depending on your health and fitness goals, the time you have, and the intensity at which you workout. So after being asked this question “what is the best workout,” I decided to do more research to support my answer that barre comes pretty close. We all are always looking to find the "perfect workout” that helps us reach our goals as fast as possible. It is important in this quest that we think about how we can be exercising as “smartly” and effectively as possible, as well as staying in that balance between over-exercising and what is good for our bodies. For example, for runners, a recent finding published in an article in the Journal of Physiology showed that just three 30 minute sessions of SIT (spring interval training) were as effective as five hours worth of steady-state exercise. That is a huge time saver! However, the study also shows that doing too much SIT and too intensely, becoming over demanding on your body, can actually slow your progress. So finding the balance is key, and determining that balance can take some time - which requires the ability to pay attention to your body. My gauge for myself, is post workout. I want to feel challenged, but still energized and not depleted, and eventually want to see results (sooner rather than later). If you have a workout that you love, but seems to wipe you out, look for ways to cut down the intensity and duration, or reduce the number of times per week you do it.