Setting the barre high

Ali McArthur didn’t know a day without back pain.

It started when she was a freshman at New Braunfels High School. She’s not really sure why or how. It probably had something to do with her diving on the floor hundreds of times playing volleyball.

She didn’t let that stop her from hitting the deck a few thousand more times, of course. McArthur, née Hubicsak, helped the Lady Unicorns win three district titles as a defensive specialist and libero then walked on at Texas State in 2013.

“She had been a camper of mine for years, probably ever since she was 10 years old,” Bobcat head coach Karen Chisum said. “So we got to know Ali quite well. Good little defensive player … she walked on, but she made an impact.”

McArthur played 28 matches her freshman season, redshirted in 2014, then saw action in another 30 games in 2015. Her back never improved and by the end of her third year at Texas State, she opted to have a procedure done to alleviate a herniated disc.

She could run and lift weights during her rehab, though neither seemed to help her really recover. She was working out at a New Braunfels gym when she stumbled upon a barre class.

Barre is a type of exercise that targets the core muscles by fusing together elements of yoga, pilates and ballet. McArthur liked that it was something different from her typical routine and gave it a shot. Suddenly, her back pain began to fade.

“I was sore. I was seeing results extremely fast. But it wasn’t as intense,” McArthur said. “(It was) huge, you know, to wake up every day with pain, and all of a sudden, it’s gone. And I thought I had a strong core because I was lifting weights and doing all that stuff. But I didn’t realize how strong your core truly can be and how important it was to spinal health, your joints, everything.”

Chisum wasn’t sure McArthur would be back after the surgery. The senior missed all of training camp. She missed the team picture. She missed the first four games of the season.

But after the Bobcats started the year at 1-3, the head coach knew she needed McArthur back on the roster. McArthur obliged and played in a career-high 100 sets. Texas State went 20-9 the rest of the season.

“She may not have been the best skill player I’ve ever had,” Chisum said. “But because of her intangibles, her competitiveness and her leadership, she found a place on the court. So it was great to have her as long as we did.”

McArthur graduated in 2017 with a graduate’s degree in communication design and married Jacob McArthur, a fellow Bobcat who majored in construction management. The couple moved to Midland later that year.

After sticking with barre and doing more research into the activity, Ali became a member of Pure Barre, the largest barre franchise in North America, based out of Denver. She soon invited her husband to join her for a class. He quickly became hooked, too. He said he’s lost 40 pounds since the beginning of the year.

“You don’t even realize your heart rate’s rising,” Jacob said. “I’ve noticed recently, after doing it for a couple months, when I checked my workout on my Apple Watch, my average heart rate will be like in the 140s for the full 50 minutes. That’s pretty impressive for not doing anything, like no quick movements.”

Now, the McArthurs are committed to bringing Pure Barre to San Marcos. The couple opened the city’s first studio on Thursday at the Springtown Shopping Center at 200 Springtown Way Suite 128.

Ali said they’ll hold six to eight classes on weekdays and four classes on weekends. Classes can hold up to 20 people and will consist of tiny, full-body movements and lots of stretching to elongate the muscles. She also said because of the way the classes are structured, you’ll never have the same workout twice.

“There’s no predictability when you get in there, into the class,” Jacob said. “You can’t just really go ‘Next is this.’ You have to listen to the instructor. And it’s relaxing after a while because when you’ve been going in there, you’ve become accustomed to just hearing the direction.”

Chisum said she doesn’t know much about Pure Barre but still plans to attend a class, hopefully one taught by former Texas State middle blocker Madison Daigle (2015-18), who will be an instructor at the studio.

Ali is excited about returning to the area. She hopes that people will find the same comfort in barre that the exercise gave to her.

“We say Pure Barre is a community. It’s a family,” Ali said. “We’d like to create a community in the studio, a positive place where people can come and work out and not feel intimidated. They can make friends within the studio. That’s something (Jacob and I) both enjoyed about going to the Midland location, is we’d make friends, and people cared about you. Like if you weren’t in class, they’re texting you, ‘Hey, where are you?’ So (we’re excited about) creating a community and helping grow San Marcos. I mean, there’s so much growth going on and to be a part of it’s pretty special.”