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Ellen Barrett on Fitness DVD Shoots and Post-Baby Espresso

Ellen Barrett (via Ellen Barrett)

Ellen Barrett, fitness instructor, studio owner, and star of the Fusion Fitness DVD series and numerous other videos, just released a new DVD: Barefoot Cardio. 

For fitness videos, height really matters. I'm 5'6", that's pretty much as tall as you can be and not look like a goon on these video shoots. Really tall people don't balance out. And petite people look so much more tall than they look in real life. The first video I ever did was for Crunch. I was in Hollywood, and I was training a lot of celebrities, and I was teaching at Crunch and they wanted their videos to be really authentic, with actual teachers. It was hell and torture. The director was just so mean to me and the people who were in the background exercising. It was such a beast. It was also exhilarating, but I remember finishing and thinking I never wanted to do that again.

You shoot in blocks, and there's no teleprompter. Whenever celebrities do fitness DVDs they can't believe you have to spend five minutes, ten minutes just ad-libbing. But it's easier than it used to be. Nowadays they can just edit right there on the set, so you know if you got a good take. The music licensing has gotten so much easier too. Ten years ago you couldn't get good music, it just cost too much.

I've always loved aerobics. As a teenager, I remember looking down at it at the tennis club — they turned one of the courts into an aerobics studio — and it was this sea of people moving and dancing and having so much fun. I was like a moth to a flame. I started teaching aerobics in college. People poo poo it, but having that background — it's a real celebration. It's a big party. You don't have to take it too seriously. Back then Mind/Body fitness was like "fitness is serious," which is intimidating. Bringing that sense of fun to Mind/Body fitness is when you get a real home run.

I have an 11 month old, and he makes your time so precious. I always had endless amounts of time to get a workout, and now I've got an hour exactly door to door. You have to be ambitious about exercise in a busy life. You have to want it. My husband and I used to go skiing, and we'd be at these amazing ski resorts, and we'd see these parents with their five kids, lugging all their stuff, and I remember thinking "Wow, they're ambitious." And now I understand why they're so desperate to get out there. Before that I was like "Dude, just stay home."

Sleep is the other big change. I used to work out at 6:30 at night and the next day at 9:00 in the morning, I can't do that anymore. I need a 24 hour recovery. We just don't drink alcohol at all anymore, either. I don't even have a glass of wine ever. So much of that is because I'm already so tired. We drink coffee, and we have a nighttime espresso. It doesn't affect your sleep at all when you get to this level of fatigue. We have the social espresso instead of social drinking.

Childbirth, that event takes it out of you. Your alignment gets thrown off. It just takes a while to get your energy back. We spend so much time thinking about losing pregnancy weight. Even the doctor, they just weigh you and tell you you're all done. But it's getting your energy back that really matters. You can't have fun and enjoy your life. You feel like you have mono. And you have to have energy with a baby. You're moving all the time. You're on the floor. You never ever sit on a chair again. You're never reclining. You're crashed in bed, or you're playing goalie. You need to be fit and flexible. I'm glad I can sit cross legged on the floor and be comfortable. Your comfort zone gets so small with a lack of fitness.

Lately I've been telling all my classes about Raw One. It's the best mulitvitamin I've ever had. I discovered it five months ago. It has single handledly helped me get my energy back. The prenatal vitamins are crap. I didn't feel good on any of them. They have too many chemicals. Raw One is real food condensed condensed condensed, with real enzymes. With multivitamins, you have to ask, are the nutrients getting absorbed?In synthetic form 99% aren't getting absorbed.

As I approach 40... Well, 40 can be so amazing if you're fit and so depressing if you're not fit. You're in charge of how that event happens in your own life. I hike with my dog every morning. That's 6 am before the babies up. I do that every mornng without fail. I take classes. I take Bikram Yoga once or twice a week. I can't do it every day. I think it's rough on your skin. When I'm in New York I always take classes too. I just took a class at Laughing Lotus and went to Physique 57. It's so fun. I teach three classes a week, which is perfect. I love LOVE group exercise. It's never been a chore for me. I'm there with bells on. My big takeaway with everything is find something you like to do. It shouldn't be a chore. It's not work. It shouldn't be another added thing. It's not like doing the dishes. For everybody there's something that's totally enjoyable. It might not be my DVDs, and I'm fine with that. It might be as simple as taking your dog for a long walk. We've gotten so serious. You don't need a pedometer, you don't need fancy shoes. You just need to get out there.