As music pulses in the background, a row of women elegantly contort their bodies in a variety of poses and positions – stretch and move, stretch and move – along a wooden ballet bar that assists them in transforming their bodies, head to toe, into long strands of muscle.

Such is the nature of Meredith Lee’s Barre class at In Shape Fitness in Selma, which put bodies to the test every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:45 a.m.

“It’s a 45 minute workout and it works the whole body,” Lee said. “You’re always going to get a full body workout. People automatically think dance, because we use a ballet bar, but the only dance part is that it’s done to a specific tempo and the music drives the workout.”

Lee first got into the Barre style workout while living in Jacksonville, Florida and eventually began leading her own class.

“It was the first workout I did that I enjoyed and looked forward to,” Lee said.

Married David Lee, whose family owns Lee Motor Sports in Selma, Meredith eventually wound up in the Queen City when her husband decided to get more involved with his family’s business.

At the time, David Johnson was only in the early stages of taking control of what would become In Shape Fitness. Anxious to resume her workout regimen, Lee began working out with Johnson, but never found the same joy she had found in her Barre classes back home.

She kept a bug in Johnson’s ear about the program and, when he finalized plans to launch his gym in April of 2017, he asked her if she would be interested in leading a Barre class.

“I said ‘Absolutely, 100 percent,’” Lee said. “We need this.”

“She is really passionate about it,” Johnson said “It’s a fantastic workout program.”

Back in Jacksonville, Lee had worked for a corporate gym and, as such, was given a Barre program to follow in her classes – at In Shape Fitness, no such program existed, so Lee began developing her own. She began researching workout regimens and piecing together the parts of the workout that made it “fun and enjoyable” for her and the first classes launched in June of 2017.

“As a trainer, there’s a lot of planning that goes into it,” Lee said. “It’s been fund ad it’s grown a lot.”

”They love the class,” Johnson said of the women who take part in the rhythmic full body workout. “There’s a core group that really enjoys it, but a lot of people don’t know a whole lot about it.”

In the beginning, Lee led the class on her own. But, eventually, her other job began interfering with the rigorous training schedule she was trying to maintain – by day, Lee is a second grade teacher at Valley Grande Elementary. Many days, Lee arrives at the gym and leads a class from 5:45 a.m. until 6:30 a.m., then changes and treks over to the school where she works until well after the kids have gone home.

“It makes for a long day sometimes,” Lee said with a laugh.

In a unique way, however, being a teacher has guided much of Lee’s work as a trainer – like teaching, training requires the leader to adjust her clients and stay vigilant over their motions to ensure they’re doing the exercises properly and extracting the most benefit from the sessions.

“You can’t just teach on the surface,” Lee said. “They’re definitely kind of parallel.”

Insert Naomi Oslund, who works with Lee and leads classes when Lee can’t be there. Originally just a member of Lee’s Barre class, Oslund was hand-picked by Lee and Johnson to lead the class because of her prowess with the positions and motions.

Because of Lee’s hectic schedule, the afternoon classes – which used to take place at 5 p.m. on the same days as the morning classes – have been cancelled for now.

“We’re hoping to add that afternoon class back in,” Johnson said. “A lot of women are turned off by lifting weights because they’re scared they’re going to get big and bulky. The Barre class is definitely geared toward them.”

According to Lee, the workout itself is “Pilates based” and is paired with stretches that focus on specific muscle groups – a “low-impact” workout that utilizes small, isometric motions, perfect for runners because it’s easy on the shins and feet.

“Anyone can be good at it because it doesn’t take a lot of coordination,” Lee said. “You kind of have to work at it though.”

The moves are choreographed and the workout often utilizes a ballet bar and small exercise equipment, such as mini balls or small hand weights, to slim and sculpt the entire body. Lee noted that the specific motions and positions change with each class, but always result in a full body workout aimed at creating long, strong muscles.

“Everybody loves the class,” Johnson said. “Obviously, we would like to build the class more.”

For her part, Lee couldn’t agree more.