Siri Nordhejm She came to China from Denmark in 2011 and is now known in the community as a fitness entrepreneur, a great trainer, and a busy mother of three. Having worked in the fitness industry for the past 12 years, she is personally committed to being healthy, staying active and inspiring positive change in others.
Ann MacLellanA former national-level figure skater, he also came to China in 2011. Hailing from Scotland, he studied sports management and has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 25 years. He is an experienced group exercise instructor and is passionate about his fellow trainers, but is also involved in the sales, marketing and operations side of the industry in the UK.
Ann MacLellan (L) and Siri Nordhejm (R)
They founded together MYbarre Fitnessand recently expanded its operations from online livestreaming to two brick-and-mortar studios in Shanghai. And they’re heading to Shenzhen next weekend to host a few events.
We sat down with them to learn more about their growing empire.
What is MYbar?
It is a group exercise class in the studio; A full-body workout combined with functional fitness training inspired by ballet and Pilates movements.
The MYbarre program is for all levels and everyone is welcome! Our classes are designed using compound movements (where we work multiple muscle groups at the same time) and isometric movements (hold positions) to help really target problem areas (glutes, thighs, abs, and arms).
The combination of these exercise styles and a range of movements work to help you lift weights, tone and burn calories; The result is a beautiful, long, slim and light body. Our students will feel strong yet graceful in this cardio and bodybuilding workout.
By taking MYbarre three to five times a week, you can expect to see a lifted hip, a strong core, and lean, sculpted arms and legs. The key to success in fitness training is to be consistent and have variety in your training.
How does MYbarre Fitness come about?
MYbarre was created by Siri and I in Shanghai in 2016 out of a friendship and passion for barre fitness.
We are the pioneers of barre fitness in China; Siri brought its first barre program to Shanghai in its previous fitness venture here 12 years ago. But we knew we could make it better.
So, with our combined 30 years of group exercise teaching experience and knowledge in all areas of exercise, we have created our own format, choreography, instructor training program… and now our independent studios.
As busy moms, entrepreneurs, and fitness enthusiasts, we had a desire to create not just a fitness program, but an inclusive community for instructors and students that empowers, supports, and inspires people to transform their minds and bodies.
Tell us about the new studios…
It was a real adventure. As you know, 2022 was a roller coaster of a year but we decided it was now or never!
After building such a strong online community during the COVID lockdowns, we’re so happy to make the transition to opening physical studios; Now we’ve seen these super fans migrate to the studios.
What types of classes do you offer?
The name of our main course is MYbarre CLASSIC. This is a well-balanced workout with great music, with a section on sculpting the upper body using light dumbbells; lower body placed on a ballet barre inspired by graceful, powerful movements; and finally core work focusing on posture and tone on the mat.
We also have MYbarre CARDIO, a high-energy HIIT-inspired group class where you can expect to improve your cardio and overall fitness. We took ballet barre conditioning moves to the center of the room (without barre) and combined them with some fitness moves and jumps.
This class has all the elegance and beautiful lines of ballet; It focuses on high repetition of small movements to isolate the muscles and feel the MYbarre signature burn.
MYbarre CORE offers a different twist to our classic MYbarre workout. The first half of the class will work with the ballet barre, which will get your heart rate up and challenge balance and strength, followed by a longer floor section on the mat where we target the core muscles that stabilize your entire body.
As always, inspired by ballet movements with flowing lines and challenging positions, we now offer more pilates movements with MYbarre accessories.
We also have MYbarre ONLINE classes (created after lockdowns) which we run in our MYbarre shooting LAB. It is hosted on the Tencent Meeting Platform and is a LIVE workout with a MYbarre instructor that you can watch from home. These lessons can also be booked through the mini program.
You’re also good at social media; Which platforms are you on?
We have MYbarre official account on WeChat, where we provide our students and guests with updated information about class news, events and training courses.
We also have Xiaohongshu, where we upload short workouts you can do at home every week. We hit 40,000 followers last month and we’re so excited about it and can’t wait to continue creating new content for these dedicated barre fans!
MYbarre is also on bilibili where you can find longer workouts if you want to take your at-home fitness to the next level.
Do you have any exciting plans for the future?
We look forward to offering more classes this year and meeting more students in our studios; Growing with the community is important to us!
We will be uploading more workouts to our social media platforms, hosting some personal fitness events and parties, and building our MYbarre Instructor community.
We’re always looking for great instructors to join our team and offer a great, in-depth instructor training program and journey – 2023 is going to be a great year and we’re excited to head to Shenzhen next weekend, get our pulse on, and move on. !
MYbarre in Shenzhen
Join the four-hour MYbarre Fundamentals Workshop for aspiring MYbarre Trainers on Friday, November 3 at Fusion Fitness.
Then join MYbarre in the open-air MEGA Class with other fitness enthusiasts in the sun at PAFC Mall Terrace on Saturday, November 4th.
[All images courtesy of MYbarre Fitness]
