Jen Dub here!
SO, just like most things on this list, I have been wanting to try this for quite some time. I have taken Pilates at the gym, just like I did with Yoga and then realized it is very different from the real deal. Just the environment alone I feel is worth it. I found this studio, A Body in Balance , online as I was searching for Pilates studios. This one was the best deal with the 1st class only $15. The other studios I called insisted that we take a private lesson to learn how to use the Reformer which was anywhere from $50 to $100. No thank you! If you passed the 9th grade and can speak English, then I swear using this machine is NOT that difficult!
So, we don't have pictures of US doing the Pilates which I am kinda bummed. I need to get my ballsy about asking if we can take pics....so this will never happen again!
Anyway, when we walked into the room, there was only 5 Reformer machines that all sat in front of a floor to ceiling mirror. We picked one, she advised us to lay down and put our head where it looked like it belonged with our shoulders below the "shoulder pads"....Right away we started doing squats on the machine with our feet on the bar....we did ALOT of these, with two legs....with one leg...with no legs....ok not with no legs, that would have been some Chris Angel stuff but seriously, we did it in a few positions which led my legs to get pissed! Our sweet-as-pie instructor, Danielle, talked a lot but what I got out of it the most was that Pilates is all about balance in the body. Because of use of the machine, you can't favor one leg to do all the work which leads you to really understand more about your body. If one leg is longer or stronger, you will find out in Pilates, which would explain why you might have problems in a particular spot. I am convinced that my left leg is longer so that I why I remember her saying this. haha
This is exactly what the reformer looks like. Don't let its innocence fool you.
So after what seems like an hour of squats, she takes out some fun bands and we do some arm exercises and leg stretches. Then back to laying down, she tells us to put our legs in the straps. This was the only time that I was like "uhhhh you want me to do whaaaa?" She guided us through how to put one in first, then the other....just like a pair of pants! We did some funky circles and exercises with the pulleys, tons of abs and then took our legs out of the straps, put our arms in them and did some arm exercises the same way we did the legs.
Legs in the straps! How fun does THAT look?
I loved the way I felt after this class! I felt taller and stronger! Even the next day, I was definitely more aware of my posture and just felt great! I was sore in places I really have never been sore before and I don't think I have ever said that. I have heard OTHER people say it but never really understood it or believed them. I was sore in my inner thighs, top of my upper thigh and a weird place in my mid to lower back. The upper thigh soreness felt like it was from a deep muscle, almost felt like I pulled something because it was that intense of a soreness. I was definitely surprised that I was sore. After all, I am in SUPER fitness mode right now with weight training, kickboxing, stair master, elliptical, and running like everyday!
Even more than Bikram Yoga, I would love to take more of this class. I really think it will help with my back by strengthening my core and keeping my body balanced. And lets be honest, I just really like the idea of being on this contraption they call the "Reformer". I wonder if I could make one of my own! haha ...too far? yeah. well when the next deal is on my new favorite website, Yipit, you better believe I will jump on that! I want inner thighs of steel!
xoxo,
Jen
**********************************************************************************
Hello! You know who this is!! Say my name! Say my name!! haha.. No? Ok, It's Liz. There, I said it!
Moving along.
So, as with the lovely Jen, I've always had a curiousity about Pilates. Well more so a curiousity about the "machine" they used, which I found out years ago was called the "reformer."
I first looked in to it a couple years ago, when I lived in CO. I had a membership at YMCA at the time and was really into trying new things, which is also where I tried yoga for the first time, but I might have left that out of the other blog. Anyway, the YMCA offered Pilates classes. Naturally, this was not part of your membership. They required you to take 3 private classes before being aloud into the regular class. 3 class was $119, no thank you! Each class was $19, which was duable. So from then on I thought Reformer Pilates was going to be super tough.
Thankfully, Jen found a class that wsa $15 for your first one. SCORE!! The place was super nice, real quiet, zen-ish. It's nice to know that the class sizes would be small, but then again if you're one of those people, like me, that goes straight to the back so not everyone is staring at you, this may cause some anxiety. Not going to lie, my heart started beating a little faster. The instructor, Danielle, was a super sweetheart. You could tell by looking at her that she is a dancer of some kind. She then informed everyone that she is a ballerina. So cute!
The leg exercises were tollerable. My legs were threatening to not hold me up after the class, but during the class it was definitely a good burn feeling. But once she said, "Ok, grab the straps and put your feet through them," I hesitated. Number 1) never thought a chick would be the first to say that to me, Number 2) you want me to do what?! To be honest, I didn't trust my legs to not give out and completely break off. But once you have your feet in the straps, it's really not that bad. If anything it shows yourself that you CAN do it!
We did some arm exercises after that with the straps. These didn't seem to burn as much as legs. Maybe it's because we did way more legs than arms.
The next day my abs, back and legs hurt in some places that haven't really ever hurt, well felt sore, before. So that's exciting! Goes to show there are definitely muscles we have but don't really use or work out. So I can definitely see how this type of work out, done on a regular, would give you an amazing body! If you look at pictures on google about the reformer machine, you definitely see how versitile it really is.
So in closing, I loved it! I would love to do it on a more regular basis. BUT, just as with yoga, it is so expensive! I don't understand. I heard before that it is expensive because of the cost of maintenance on the reformers. So I tried to find out how much it would cost to repair one. I couldn't really find a set price. I did find out it costs between $800-$2,000 to own one. Maintenance/Repairs run anywhere from $60-$100 an hour. So, I'm still not sure why it costs so much. Granted, if I owned a money tree the cost wouldn't be a big deal. I, too, am going to keep an eye open for any deals that come through on yipit.
Peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment