Michael Phelps Proves He's A Mere Mortal By Attending Barre Class

How does a superhuman Olympic athlete recover from the games? If you’re Michael Phelps, you head to barre class, apparently. (Most of us go to barre class to recover from a heavy brunch, but y’know, different strokes.)

Phelps, who won an impressive six medals in Rio this summer , joined his fiancé Nicole Johnson for a session at Barre3 in Scottsdale, Arizona over the weekend. Of course, the event was documented on Instagram (because did you even take a trendy workout class if you don’t post about it on social media?)

”Had fun watching [Phelps] get through [Barre3],” Johnson wrote in the caption.

Despite the implication that Phelps may have struggled with the class, the swimmer’s effort is certainly commendable. Barre workouts are a great way to sneak in some strength training. Classes usually focus on slow, repetitive movements and target key muscle groups like your core and arms . And it likely will pay off: Research shows that strength workouts can promote good bone health and improve your balance .

The Olympic athlete joins the ranks of Kelly Ripa  and Zooey Deschanel  who also appreciate a little barre as part of their exercise regimen. It’s a good way to keep physical activity fresh (which can help keep a person motivated and on-track with working out ).

Props to Phelps for giving the practice a go. But, of course, we also appreciate his dominance in the water, too.