Giorla Richard - Raise the Barre

A New You Resolution

Week One3 days, 20 minutes

Week Two3 days, 30 minutes

Week Three4 days, 30 minutes

Week Four4 days, 40 minutes

Week Five5 days, 40 minutes

Week Six5 days, 50 minutes

Week Seven6 days, 50 minutes

Week Eight6 days, 60 minutes

There are just too many people to name who have contributed to the success of Cardio Barre . I give all of my thanks to my family, friends, clients, business associates, and everyone who gave their love, support, and wisdom to make all of this possible and make me strong. I would also like to thank those who gave no support or had little faith in me, for making me stronger. This is just to say that throughout life there will always be obstacles, challenges, and adversityand anything is possibledreams do come true. Follow your dreams!

My heartfelt thanks and love to the people who helped put this book together. Thank you to my editor, Sarah Durand, my agent, Michael Broussard, and Laurel House, who helped translate my passion into words.

Take a bow, Tae Bo; stop your wheels, Spinning; step aside, Pilatesthere is a new fitness phenomenon in town. Cardio Barre is not just the fitness flavor-of-the-month, but rather a cutting-edge, body-burning, stretching and strengthening system that will change the way you view working out, while shaping you into your image of bodily perfection.

What you hold in your hands is the hottest, new in exercise. Cardio Barre has become the buzzword on the tips of trendsetters tongues. Having consumed yoga, Pilates, Spinning, and Tae Bo long ago, exercise enthusiasts are now in need of something new to sink their teeth into. Celebrity trainers have tried to satisfy your exercise appetites, but their tips often turn out to be little more than old material made to look new. In an attempt to fill the fitness void, a profusion of diet books have filled our bookshelves, asking us to eliminate entire food groups. Whatever happened to balance? If you want a better body, you have to raise the bar, paying equal attention to healthy diet and exercise habits. Cardio Barre is new and unique and most importanteffective. It will raise the bar in fitness, setting a new standard that all other fads will follow. This book is not about Band-Aid fixes or short cuts, it is about real, quickly achieved, long-lasting effects. I will provide the toolsthe body basics, exercise techniques, and nutritional consultationand illuminate the path to inspiration.

Give me 8 weeks and watch as your perfect body takes shape. The one thing in this world that you can control is yourself and your body. Take control right now. I will teach you how.

My name is Richard Giorla and I am the founder of Cardio Barre.

If you are reading this book, chances are that you are ready to make, or are at least thinking about, some sort of change in your life. You dont necessarily need to be struggling with weight issues to get something out of this. In fact, many of my students are lean. While I definitely work with women who are overweight, I also work with women and men who are trying to maintain their weight, tone up, or work on self-esteem. So whoever you are, whatever your issues may be, I am ready to take you on, if you are ready to make the commitment. The fact is that everyone struggles at one point in his or her life. I did. And everyone can also overcome the difficulties, leap over the hurdles, take steps to overcome defeat and actually be better because of it. Believe me, I know not only from the endless stories that I hear from my students, but also from personal experience. Yes, I too had to raise my own bar and crawl out of a potentially disastrous downward spiral that seemed to be swallowing up my energy, body, and enthusiasm to live the life I had always envisioned for myself.

Who Am I to Tell You?

I have always had a passion for dance, which can be difficult for a man. Not only is there typically little money in dance, but my father didnt exactly embrace it, nor did my manly men friends. Still, I persisted to pave my own path. I started out as a junior Olympic gymnast in Philadelphia. But my desire to dance on stage drove me to New York City to further my studies as a technical dancer. I dabbled in many forms of dance, from classical ballet and jazz to hip-hop and break dancing; I must admit, I even danced with the controversial group Chippendales. In order to strengthen my arms and maintain my masculine physique, I learned from the body builders how to incorporate weight training into my regular workout routine.

In search of the intangible something more, I took my talent to Los Angeles and was quickly embraced by the city notorious for fifteen minutes of fame. I had several stints as a professional dancer on stage, in films, on television shows, in commercials, and was hit by an unexpected yet always dreaded blow: I had been dancing with Michael Jackson, and other entertainment elite, and then performing in a show at Universal Studios, and eventually I pulled a groin muscle so severely that I was completely unable to dance for two years. This rigorous routine and my athleticism took a toll on my bodyand the injury instantly ended my professional dancing career, stripping me of not only my livelihood but also my emotional lifeline.

Living off of credit cards, debt began to pile on top of me. Out of work and with an inability to exercise, my body began to lose its definition. Thanks to low-self esteem, financial stress, and lack of motivation to move my body at all, emotional pounds became physical pounds. I watched in disbelief as inches latched on to my body, leaching me of any remaining crumbs of confidence. With $80,000 hanging over my head from creditors and an unfamiliar body that was suddenly mine, I hopelessly wondered why my fifteen minutes had so suddenly come to an end. Los Angeles is a very sad and lonely city when luck is no longer on your side.

After months of listlessly retreating into an unhealthy shell, I realized that sitting around and doing nothing would do nothing for me. In order for my life to change, I had to change. I began simply by reopening my eyes and ears, ready to embrace any opportunity that might help me create a better life for myself. Unfortunately, no gifts from God presented themselves; but instead of wallowing away as a disenchanted ex-dancer, I knew that in order to take the next step, and in turn, take my life back, I first needed to heal. I went into a physical therapy program and began to study Pilates. After a few sessions, I began to regain my physical and mental strength enough to look for work. I was able to utilize my fitness knowledge and experience and turn it into a business. In an attempt to create the most perfect and thorough form of fitness, I took bits and pieces from my vast dance, exercise, and life knowledge and combined them into one comprehensive dance-based fitness program.

Cardio Barre utilizes the best elements of ballet, weight training, Pilates, yoga, and core work. With a program that was guaranteed to work, I opened my first Cardio Barre studio in Los Angeles in 2001. Quickly, my intimate studio was flooded with studentscelebrities and stay-at-home moms alikewho swore that Cardio Barre was changing their lives. With a wait list for classes, I decided to expand rather than turn anyone away.