Yesterday I went to a Barre 3 class at a new studio on Capitol Hill. The studio itself is rather modern looking. A neon orange sign in the letter B greets you at the door. The walls are painted tangerine and white and large paper lanterns hang from the high ceilings.  They have a small waiting area with couches and a coffee table (I would have preferred a place to stretch) and a small child care alcove that was not in use while I was there. The exercise studios themselves (there are two) are small and triangular with a pillar in the middle of the room.  More space is allotted for the waiting area, childcare alcove and bathrooms then for the exercise studios themselves.  Mirrors and ballet barres line the perimeter of the exercise rooms and there is a ballet barre “station” on the pillar for the instructor.

When I checked in I was asked to sign a waiver. The instructor never asked me if I had any injuries or what I normally do for fitness if anything at all.

I saw two people I knew at Barre 3. One was a client of ours and the other was a fellow Pilates studio owner. Go figure.  I noticed my client’s name on the sign in sheet when I signed in so I knew to expect her. She didn’t notice me at first.  When she did she only looked slightly sheepish.

“This is only my second class.” She said, “I’m just checking it out.”

“Me too, what do you think?”

“I like it. It’s different. But to tell you the truth…” she whispered and glanced around to make sure no one was listening, “I have to consciously remind myself to use my core. I don’t think some of the exercises would work if I didn’t”

“Well, it’s a good thing you do Pilates!” I said. I couldn’t help myself.

The class program was obviously derived from The Bar Method with a few subtle changes.  We warmed up via a Chair pose that segued into deep knee bends with alternating leg lifts, then moved on to hand weights for arm work. We did some push-ups at the barre, followed by stretching at the barre by way of a yoga strap hooked around the bar. This made sense to me as a tool to help someone who couldn’t reach the barre with his or her hands due to a lack of hamstring flexibility. Next we did a version of  “thigh” from Bar Method (this is the most challenging and signature move of Bar) except we didn’t stay in the exercise as long so it wasn’t too hard.  At the end we used a small ball and did some Pilates based ab exercises.

The instructor said my name once. I didn’t hear her call anyone else’s though. She made a few general corrections or reminders as in “Don’t forget to pull your belly to your spine.” But she didn’t go around the room and give individual corrections. In fact she spent a good deal of the class with her back to the class, at her barre station, demonstrating the exercises. I call this style of teaching “leading a class” rather than “teaching a class”.

It’s funny to me that all of these “fusion” fitness classes that claim to incorporate Pilates just throw a couple of Pilates ab exercises in at the end. We work more than just our abs in Pilates! Yes, your “core” includes your abdominals. It also includes your lats, serratus, lower traps, triceps, multifidus, glutes, hamstrings and pelvic floor. After a good Pilates session your whole body should feel worked. There’s more to Pilates than the ab series.

The fellow Pilates studio owner I saw at Barre 3 was in my class. We didn’t talk at the studio but I ran into her at the neighborhood health food store after.

“So what did you think?” she asked me.

“It was ok.” I shrugged.

“It’s boring.” She said flatly.

Well then. I didn’t say it. Next stop: Kinesis.

I have been practicing Pilates for 14 years now. Honestly, I still love it. I always feel challenged and can find something that needs working on.  My body feels great after a good session; my spine is elongated, I’m standing firmly on my legs, my muscles are stretched and I feel strong and agile.

Lately though, since I have been teaching so much, I haven’t gotten my Pilates workouts in the way I would like. Last year I started doing Bar Method. I felt that taking myself to a class, where I wasn’t the teacher and was in a different space, helped me to be more disciplined about my own workouts. I kind of fell in love with Bar, and went religiously three to four times a week for the first year.  The thing I liked so much about it was that it was really hard! Your muscles quiver and shake and you feel like you are just going to collapse on the spot. Also it is based on some of the Pilates principles. They throw some yoga moves in for stretching sequences and because most of the exercises utilize a ballet barre and you stand in different ballet positions and use pliés and relevés they call it a fusion of Pilates, ballet and yoga.  It is actually based on en exercise system created by Lotte Berk, a German dancer who fled the Nazi’s in the 1930’s.

As much as I have loved my Bar Method classes there are a few things that are lacking in the system for me. First in order to protect the lumbar spine and to make sure students are using their abs they very much emphasize using a tucked position of the pelvis, or a posterior tilt. As we in the contemporary Pilates world know, it is not good for your spine to spend long periods of time in this position. It compresses the spine rather than lengthens it and when you add a grip of the rectus abdominus on top of that it compresses it even more. Our lumbar curve is there for a reason. Also, most of the movements are done in a static position of the spine. There’s not a lot of bending or twisting. My spine yearns for bending and twisting. After these classes I do feel worked out and stronger, but I also feel compressed and shortened. That must be why they also emphasize that you hang from stall bars before and after class.

I feel I have to go back to Pilates to undo the compression that happens to me from Bar Method class. Working with the two together has been great though.

The “bar/barre” thing has really taken off the last few years. There is now Cardio Barre, Barre 3, Pure Barre etc.  All of these systems claim to be a fusion of Pilates, ballet and yoga.  And there are now Barre 3 and Pure Barre studios located in Seattle as well as Bar Method. Of course the studio owner in me is very curious about what these other systems are like.  And I’m about to find out!

My first class at Barre 3 is next Thursday. I will report back!

Since I have been thinking about all of this, I have decided why limit myself to just bar classes.  So over the next month I am going to seek out any and all fusion type exercise studios and classes I can get my little tush to! I’m also going to go to as many other Pilates studios as I can and get a lay of the land.

I have every confidence that my studio is top notch, but I’m curious what all this other hype is about. Mostly, I think it’s about people wanting to get in and get out as soon as possible and they don’t want to have to spend too much. Most of these studios are really selling the group workout experience. Which I definitely think has its place. We offer group workouts as well, but we also emphasize the importance of investing in a few private sessions before you try out a group class. It is important that the foundation is put in place before moving on.

So I started off my quest at Vera Fitness yesterday, with a Fusion Fitness class. Fusion Fitness is marketed as a “fast paced, full body workout focusing on core strength drawing from the diverse disciplines of yoga, Pilates, plyometrics and classic strength training”. Basically we used weights and did lunges, burpies and other gym type exercises after a few sun salutations for a warm up. At the end we did a sequence of the Pilates ab series, followed by more sun salutations for a cool down. It was fun and I did feel worked out, but not in the same way that 30 minutes on the treadmill gets me. The instructor was sweet and friendly. I thought more emphasis could be given to what muscles we were targeting and why. And I wish she had said my name at least once, especially since there were only five of us in class. Today my butt is sore, really sore, which I like. I think it was from all the lunges. I never do lunges.  Next I will try out a Kinesis session.

This is going to be a fun month!

I am so honored to share my workdays with my brilliant Pilates staff. The teachers at Pilates on 10th are truly some of the best! All have backgrounds in movement or dance or athletics and all have continued to expand their knowledge through various workshops and classes. I love watching them interact with our clientele and hearing their thoughtful assessments and gentle encouragements.

What I enjoy most about our group is that we are not all of the same “brand” of Pilates. We come from varied certification schools and are able to share our knowledge with each other. This is great for us because we never get bored by teaching the exact same repertoire over and over. By trading lessons with each other we learn new variations and different forms of cueing. Sometimes hearing, saying or showing something in a slightly different way can make a huge difference to the client.

I try to encourage my clients to get lessons from all the teachers. We keep detailed notes on each client and what they did in every lesson so the teacher will know what your working on and what to watch out for. If you find a favorite teacher it’s OK to stick with them for awhile. But if they go on vacation try out someone new! You might be surprised what you learn that will carry over to your regular routine.

Our teachers are smart, safe, careful, gracious, effective, courteous and inspiring. I am proud to have them here. So thank you amazing staff of mine. Keep up the superb work!

See you at the studio,
Amie

Wow. What a week!

It still amazes me how many different body types can benefit from Pilates. Every week I teach the spectrum – 28yr old female getting married in 5 weeks and works out 6 days a week, 64yr old man recovering from a shoulder injury, 50 something overweight woman who hasn’t exercised in years, 37yr old female with a high stress job, 62yr old female with lumbar/sacral issues, 20yr old dance student taking Pilates classes for the summer -the list goes on. Each of these clients challenge me and I am never bored!

The wonderful thing about The Pilates Method of exercising is that every individual I stated above can do something. The method is easily modifiable if you know what your doing. I can modify the equipment or which range of motion we’re working in. I can make the movements smaller or bigger or add weight or take weight away (this is does not always make the exercise easier, in fact it often makes it harder) I can break things down into smaller parts or make them more complicated. I can boost, prop, vary, arrange. Movement is attainable to all of them. Building strength is attainable. We might have to start small and be creative, but work we can do.

Each of these people came to me with their own goals. Those goals can range from increasing shoulder mobility to better posture, to being able to sit at my desk without back and shoulder pain, to looking SUPER HOT in my wedding dress to becoming a better dancer. My job is to guide them towards those goals muscle by muscle. I love every minute of it!

See you at the studio…
Amie

What is Pilates?!?

As a Pilates instructor with over ten years in the industry I can tell you I’ve been asked this question a thousand times. And every time I give a different answer. Pilates “is” many things to each individual that practices it. It’s a journey, a habit, a supplement, a God send, a building block, a career and more. I have seen it change lives.

The one thing that all of my new clients find the most intriguing about learning Pilates is how it makes your body think. There are no mindless repetitions in Pilates. Every single motion, muscle engagement and breath is precise and given 100% effort. You cannot take short cuts. Practicing Pilates correctly takes discipline and faith. Faith that your body can change and is smart and will do what you ask it to. Maybe not the first time, but over time.

I have also been asked “How many classes will it take me to see results?” And to this I always answer “That depends.” We all want a get fit quick fix. It’s on the cover of all the heath and fitness magazines. “5 Days To A New You!” Well folks, I know this is going to be tough to hear, but if you want change you have to work for it. Yes, that can mean sweating and muscle soreness but it also means concentration and believing in yourself. Results come from within.

So what is Pilates, really? Pilates is exercise. Exercise that focuses on deep core strengthening above all else. In order to access your deep core muscles you have to know how to find them and engage them. Your brain must talk to your body! Once you can do this the exercises get harder. We test the deep core strength by taking the extremities further away from your center while maintaining spinal stability. We work in all planes of movement on the mat and the equipment. We use breath and control. Building strength in this way leads to a healthy spine and supported joints, better posture and overall strength and a body that can think for itself. Pilates is a lifestyle.

See you at the studio….
Amie