Why Don’t You… Take a Pilates Class

There are a few options when it comes to pilates in St Albans, and for the uninitiated it can seem a) a bit daunting and b)what actually is it all about, is it like yoga?  So I asked around for a good recommendation for a first timer class and went to find out the answers.  And here is the result - a 50-year-old-beginner’s guide to pilates

Pilates with Tatiana - fun, friendly, and very, very good for you

So back to that new year’s resolution. Get fit. Try one new activity every month. Turns out pilates ticks both of those boxes for me.  I’ll admit that before the class I had a decent helping of ignorance along with a whiff of worry. Ignorance -  yoga and pilates are closely related; whiff of worry -  my limited experience of yoga is that I’m not that great at it, alas my gymnastics physique seems to have deteriorated over the last couple of decades and my movements are now as smooth as the oldest action man at the bottom of the toybox, so would I fare any better with Pilates?

What the What?

Let’s start by clearing up the yoga / pilates thing. Yoga encapsulates elements of meditation, spirituality and physical exertion with a basis in ancient Indian philosophy. Pilates is relatively recent (early 20th century) and is solely focused on the mechanics of the body, so there would be no pushing the body to move in a way it wasn’t designed to. Having said that, there were definite similarities  - the mats on the floor where the workout took place, Tatiana our instructor guiding us through movements which progressed and developed from the initial move to moves that were more complex, with Tatiana coming round the class to ensure that we were engaging the right muscles, getting in the right positions and providing alternatives where injury or other restrictions meant that people couldn’t do the current move.

One more thing to note, pilates can be done on a mat (like I did here) or it can use specialised apparatus like you’d see in a gym - one of the more well known ones being the Reformer bed… But more on that in a future post.

So what does a typical session look like?

I was first to class (swot!), went via the ballet class (wrong room, d’oh!) before eventully finding Tatiana and her room complete with 9 mats and 9 pillows - yep there were 9 in the class – and for the record 4 of the 9 were guys. Just saying.

The session started with a bit of a warm up (think “walk outs” if you were in a gym – going from a standing position, touching your toes or as close as you could get (a Roll Down) and then walking your hands out until you end up in a plank position.  And from this point it became clear that we were focused not so much on the reps (like in a gym), or being meditative (like yoga), but were focused on how the spine was moving, how our ribcage was positioned and engaging the body at every stage of the movement.  Interestingly, there is an automatic mindfulness to these exercises as you are being so focused on such tiny details.

After that we started to run through a number of different exercises, all of them focusing on small, slow movements repeated 3 – 6 times, all of them engaging muscles for the whole movement, most of them working on strength and flexibility rather than cardio.

There were clearly moves that were common to all the pilates classes which the rest of the class knew well - think downward dog in yoga - such as a Curl Up (similar to a crunch sit up but more beneficial to you), or a Bridge, these could be picked up just by watching Tatiana, and there were some that were more unusual that got a full demonstration and explanation, but I was able to follow on quite easily - with only the occasional puzzled look.

Turns out the pillow was a smokescreen.  Not there for relaxing meditation, but to stop you popping your knee on the hard floor, or straining your neck or back when exercising while on your back. 

So how hard were these exercises? Some a walk in the park! And then others. Extend your legs into the air a few times whilst in a crunch sit up. Hard.  And hold.  Shuddering core muscles, straining neck the full works! I managed them all, but was I graceful? No. Not at all!

The class was friendly, and more interactive than I expected with conversation, questions and commentary from the students – for some reason I’d imagined that there would be no talking and it would be entirely serene. There were also no moves that I couldn’t attempt, although most of them definitely needed a bit of work to make them look elegant and effortless.  I could also feel my muscles working hard – this was a workout and not a meditation although there was definitely an element of mindfulness to it.

And how was it?

By the end of the class, I was pleasantly surprised by how invigorated I felt. The controlled movements had worked some really hard to reach muscles and the emphasis on getting the small details right left me feeling calm and centred. Pilates had proven to be a full-body workout that challenged me both physically and mentally.

Final Thoughts

Yay! I now know what pilates is (except I don’t, as I haven’t tried reformer pilates, yep watch this space I know its got to be done).  It was a really enjoyable hour, at times relaxing, at times really tough but at the end of it I felt great, energized and zen-like. Tatiana has a lot of regulars which is a testament in itself and now I can also add the recommendation of a 50 year old first timer… It's good, really good, give it a try

The Facts

• Tatiana runs classes throughout the week in St Albans and Harpenden

• Some specialist classes for over 60’s

• Price: Classes are £13, and private sessions are £55

• Do take this class if you want to build strength and work on your flexibility with some mindfulness thrown in.

• Pilates can be really good for injury rehab, but speak to Tatiana beforehand.  She can tell you whether it will work for you and make the necessary adjustments to your exercises

• Don’t do this class if you’re looking for a high energy, cardio workout – Zumba or Bounce may be more your thing

• If you are looking for reformer pilates (which uses machines like you might see in a well equipped gym you could try WOW PILATES who does private and small group sessions)