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MARIA BARR

Ocean Springs, MS

What motivated you to become a HOTWORX Virtual Instructor?

  • At 38 years young, I’ve been a group fitness instructor for 16 years and started teaching virtually in 2018. I had never experienced fitness in a hot element other than outside, so curiosity alone had me at hello. Being able to connect with people globally, pour my heart and soul into more than a few people in a standard group fitness class, and inspire moms like me pushed me to go for it.

How was your very first HOTWORX session? Describe the experience.

  • This is a good one! My very first HOTWORX session was with my husband, Justin. We started with Hot Pilates. I am a Pilates instructor trainer and let me tell you, we were on the struggle bus together. Adding the heat and infrared energy to an isometric Pilates session was a humbling experience for this seasoned instructor. I fell in love immediately and the way my body recovered was incredible. Everything felt so good.  My husband on the other hand said he’d try the Hot Yoga session next. Little did he know I’d be teaching that session later.

What’s your favorite Isometric posture? Why?

  • My favorite isometric posture is the 2.5-minute Wall Sit in Hot Iso! Crazy, right? It’s a chance to literally sit with yourself, work on your posture, connect with your mind and feel the glutes & legs fire up! As soon as you lift a leg while in Wall Sit or lift a heel, you feel so many more muscles turn on. My goal is to do a 5-minute Wall Sit before the next VI Competition.

Which Isometric posture is the most difficult for you? Why?

  • Warrior Plank. Hands down. Lifting one leg and arm off the ground at the SAME TIME is a lot more difficult than I imagined. Especially when it’s a solid minute on EACH SIDE. It takes every ounce of your focus, core connection, and body to nail it. It’s given me a place to grow from and work towards. That posture makes me feel like a legit Warrior when I nail it.

What has been the most rewarding part of being a HOTWORX Virtual Instructor?

  • My favorite part about being a VI for HOTWORX so far is the connection with the people, members, corporate, and team behind the scenes. I have loved getting to know so many more people. It’s the reason why I signed up to begin with. I wanted to connect with so many more and spread love, positivity, and energy far. And the extra cash has been nice too!

Can you share a Fun Fact with us?

  • Not only was I a finalist for the Saintsations (New Orleans Saints Cheerleaders) once, but I was also a finalist 5 times! They kept telling me NO but HOTWORX gave me the YES I was always meant for. I can also whip up funny parodies about just about anything. HA!