dance - Elements Barre Fit

Andrea Fornarola – Elements Barre Fit Founder

Elements Staff Published On: Jul 13, 2022

Andrea Fornarola Hunsberger is the Founder and Director of Elements Barre Fit and is a celebrity fitness instructor from Manhattan. As a dancer and performer, she discovered her talent and passion for teaching and creating movement patterns at an early age. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a BFA in Dance and performed across the US and New York prior to launching her fitness career.

Andrea found her start in the fitness industry after taking a friend’s practice class and immediately fell in love with the Lotte Berk Method and barre classes. She began her fitness career in 2006 as a founding instructor for Physique 57. She went on to continue to teach fitness and began to pivot her focus to teaching fitness classes full-time.

Andrea has studied multiple fitness modalities and gained many fitness certifications, including ACE, AFAA, Schwinn, and Real Ryder International. Through this education, she focused on learning how different companies trained their instructors and the methods they used to create their workforce.

In 2010, Andrea Fornarola authored the fitness manual that she still uses today and which serves as the backbone of all of Element’s curriculum. She has since created a series of innovative fitness and wellness classes and is reinventing the fitness industry with her unique high-performance, and specialized Barre and Dance fitness training methods, which she offers exclusively at Elements.

Andrea has been instructing sold out classes for Elements since she launched Elements East Hampton in 2014. In 2016 she launched Elements’ corporate wellness program, where she strives to help clients create a work/life integration that extends beyond the office. In February 2020, Andrea signed the lease for a New York studio, which is set to open Fall 2022 on the Upper East Side. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrea shifted Elements’ focus to all online content, growing the Elements On Demand platform to what it is today.

With the focus to create an all-encompassing wellness community both in person, and online, Andrea continues to lead the Elements team in meeting our clients in every element of their daily lives.

Biggest Workout Trends of Summer 2021

Elements Staff Published On: Jul 12, 2021

After a year of at home workouts, getting out of the house feels better than ever. With endless options of ways to sweat, we’re here to help guide you on this summer’s biggest workout trends!

Yoga and Meditation

After a tough year, mental health is as important as ever. Focus on you this summer by taking time to be in touch with your body and mind through yoga and meditation. Practice this in an outdoor spot that makes you feel most at peace.

Dance

This summer is the perfect time to turn up the music and get your body moving. Dancing is a source of positivity, and an effective workout that is sure to bring you joy. Start your dance journey in a barre and dance fusion class at Elements!

HIIT

Want to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family that you may not have been able to spend time with this past year? High intensity interval workouts are the perfect opportunity to get outside and get after it. Whether you’re in a park, on the beach, or in your driveway, there’s always a space to get in your HIIT workout.

Hybrid workouts

A combination of workouts that target the full body is just what everyone needs to get moving this summer. These classes will keep you motivated and excited to sweat. Try a barre and dance fusion class at Elements for an exciting hybrid experience!

3 Tips for a Healthier You

Elements Staff Published On: Dec 07, 2020

Founder Andrea’s Tips for a Healthier You

Eating healthy, feeling strong, and fueling from the inside out is the quickest way to becoming the happiest and healthiest version of yourself!

Check out Founder and CEO Andrea’s 3 tips for integrating healthy habits, exercises, and foods into your everyday!

Tip 1

Weights, Cardio, Protein, Power:

How increasing these 4 powerhouses can optimize your training.

1. Weights: adding wrist or ankle weights to cardio activity increases the workload, meaning you’ll burn calories in a shorter amount of time.

2. Cardio: cardio activity in conjunction with sculpting & toning exercises increases the metabolic rate, which helps the body burn calories more efficiently.

3. Protein- increasing the intake of protein helps muscle function and builds strength. Protein powers the body to build and 3strengthen. You can find protein in powders, lean meat, tofu, and beans.

4. Power- increasing the intensity of your work out STEADILY over time helps the body to gain greater overall health, rather than, for example, adding 50 lbs to your deadlift overnight, which can lead to injury and burnout.

Tip 2:

Ditch the stationary equipment:

Hit the mat & hit the floor.

I see a ton of clients with horrible hip and low back injuries from increased use of indoor stationary equipment.

The body does not move perfectly parallel, however indoor cycle bikes, elliptical machines, and such have a property called sheer force, which holds the equipment in place, forcing the body to only work in one plane of motion. This causes pain and, over time, injury. It’s best to include cardio routines that use weight bearing, free moving exercises, allowing the body to move across all planes of motion with ease. Things like HIIT classes, dance classes, and barre classes are great options.

If you do have an injury, consider rehabbing by focusing on mat pilates exercises to regain strength while allowing the injury to heal. It’s always best to consult a physician if you experience persistent pain or ongoing problems.

Tip 3:

Matcha & Bars:

Yummy energy boosters.

I particularly like to add Matcha and healthy protein bars to my clients’ diets as it helps them curve cravings and boost the metabolism. Matcha is a natural source of energy and caffeine. Regular use in the diet can actually speed up the metabolism by helping the body burn calories faster and more efficiently. It can replace coffee altogether, and mixed with coconut milk is a great non-dairy latte option.

In addition, RxBars are my new favorite grab and go snack, as they are power packed with lots of protein and help the body sustain energy for long periods of time. RxBars are a great supplement as you run from meeting to meeting and have no time for a full meal. This helps the body avoid high and low spikes in blood sugar, which can make you feel both jittery and sluggish.