Bazemore takes barre class for midseason workout

ATLANTA - In his four NBA seasons, Hawks guard/forward Kent Bazemore has learned there's more to being in game shape than just being strong. This season that's even more important with an expanding role. On Sunday he showed a little bit of what he does to stay healthy and feeling good through an 82-game season.

"You hear 'barre class,' you see a lot of women dominating the class, you think as a male you can just come in here and knock it out, but it's tough," said Bazemore.

Bazemore took part in a barre class Sunday at Barre3 in Buckhead alongside girls basketball players from Holy Spirit Prepatory School in Atlanta. A barre class workout looks like high energy ballet where participants do most of their exercises alongside a ballet bar on the side of a room. They also use weights and medicine balls. This class was led by Bazemore's girlfriend Samantha who is an instructor at Barre3.

"It's a different train of thought," said Bazemore. "You're not working the same muscles all the time. You're taking a break off your big muscles like your quads and your hamstrings. Just coming in here, you've got the music going, it's a good vibe, it's a good sweat but you're not really doing all the pounding."

The Hawks had a game Saturday and another on Monday so Bazemore said it was a good use of his off day. He also added eating right and getting enough sleep are key parts of maintaining health over a long season.

The event was a lead up to NBA Fit Week, which runs January 21st-29th.