Tonight I had my first night of private pilates class. The class is actually semi-private I suppose, just the trainer, myself and two other women. I've done mat pilates at the community centre before but wasn't too sure what to expect from a private class like this.
Holy crap!
It was hard!
But good...
The class started out with an intro to the machines we would be using. The 'primary' apparatus is what is called the reformer which looks somewhat like a torture device...it's got bars, handles, straps, springs and pulleys all over the place. After our trainer explained all of the different parts however, it didn't seem quite so scary.
Since tonight was the first class, she took things pretty easy with us, just teaching us some basic moves and stretches with special emphasis on the breathing and stomach/pelvic positions necessary. I found that just holding the breathing positions alone was a workout! It was actually really interesting to see what a difference the correct breathing makes in pilates - it's very different than what you are taught for yoga which is more about relaxation.
We went through a simple routine starting with slides first focusing on our abs, then on our inner thighs, guads and glutes. We then did some table top exercises to focus on our legs again. We then brought out the arm straps and did some upper body work which involved using your triceps and underarms (don't know the names of the exact muscles!). We then switched positions and did some intensive work on our glutes and lower back and then into some cool down stretches.
So, verdict for the first night is that I like it! My legs are feeling shaky and my stomach feels like it's been working. Now, if this is just the intro, what are the next 12 weeks going to be like? Yikes!
In other news, I found out today that my sister is going to join us in a couple of weeks for the Okanagan International Marathon. My husband and I have been planning to run the half event, conveniently we can stay at our cabin on Shuswap Lake and just drive over to Kelowna the morning of the race. My sister has run half marathons before and finally confirmed she'll be doing it too. This race sounds great - being in Kelowna they even have commemorative bottles of OIM wine! What better way to top off a race?
Holy crap!
It was hard!
But good...
The class started out with an intro to the machines we would be using. The 'primary' apparatus is what is called the reformer which looks somewhat like a torture device...it's got bars, handles, straps, springs and pulleys all over the place. After our trainer explained all of the different parts however, it didn't seem quite so scary.
Since tonight was the first class, she took things pretty easy with us, just teaching us some basic moves and stretches with special emphasis on the breathing and stomach/pelvic positions necessary. I found that just holding the breathing positions alone was a workout! It was actually really interesting to see what a difference the correct breathing makes in pilates - it's very different than what you are taught for yoga which is more about relaxation.
We went through a simple routine starting with slides first focusing on our abs, then on our inner thighs, guads and glutes. We then did some table top exercises to focus on our legs again. We then brought out the arm straps and did some upper body work which involved using your triceps and underarms (don't know the names of the exact muscles!). We then switched positions and did some intensive work on our glutes and lower back and then into some cool down stretches.
So, verdict for the first night is that I like it! My legs are feeling shaky and my stomach feels like it's been working. Now, if this is just the intro, what are the next 12 weeks going to be like? Yikes!
In other news, I found out today that my sister is going to join us in a couple of weeks for the Okanagan International Marathon. My husband and I have been planning to run the half event, conveniently we can stay at our cabin on Shuswap Lake and just drive over to Kelowna the morning of the race. My sister has run half marathons before and finally confirmed she'll be doing it too. This race sounds great - being in Kelowna they even have commemorative bottles of OIM wine! What better way to top off a race?