Guest Spotlight - Karen Zell

​Its that time again – time to shine the spotlight on a guest who is just indicative to what labarre studios is all about.  This month’s guest spotlight is pointed directly at Karen Zell. 

If you have spent anytime at labarre studios you are sure to have seen Karen Zell.  Karen has been a staple at our barre classes since the “underground” days at Round Hill Dance.  It has been a joy to watch Karen connect with the labarre community and our barre-inspired workouts.  She has a competitiveness about her and Karen continually sets new goals while pushing herself past plateaus and redefining her limits.  I am excited to see how ambitious she continues to be and I urge everyone to get to know her (and I hope in doing so you will find her zealous attitude to be contagious!)
 
Now its time to get to know Karen, from A to Z(ell!)

​Place of Birth:          Santa Clara
Hometown:               Santa Clara!
Occupation:              Elementary School Librarian
 
Hobbies?
Reading, skiing and spending time with friends! 
 
Tell us about your family!
My husband’s name is Jeff and we just celebrated 25 years together! We have a son Xander (17) and a daughter Cameron (16). Astro, our dog, is also a big part of the family.

My favorite meal is…
Alaskan King Crab!
 
What I jam to is…
I like lots of different music. The Police, Santana and right now I like Portugal. The Man.
 
Where I like to visit…
Hawaii! Aloha!

Fitness is important to me because:
…It removes so many limitations, both physical and mental. It means being able to participate and engage in life. I was starting to get comfortable “sitting out” because I couldn’t keep up or was afraid of how I’d look, and I don’t feel that anymore.  
 
My fitness goals are…
Big!  The open-ended goal I have is to not let my weight or physical ability be a limiting factor ever again. ​
​

​When I joined labarre, some tangible goals for me were to:
·         Lose 10 pounds
·         Be comfortable wearing shorts in public
·         Find my deltoids!
·         “Float a Crow”
BUT…. Can you believe I’ve done all of that!? So now I’m trying to find new goals:
·         Always trying the hardest “level” of the exercise
·         Be comfortable in a bathing suit in public
·         Lose one clothing size
·         Do a “labarre Plank” (ask Anthea!)
 
One thing I learned about myself in the past 6 months is…
I'm stronger than I know!!