Two Saturdays ago, I attended another fabulous Bloggers
event hosted by @BlogandTweetBos for a Pilates class at The Studio Empower in
Newton Centre. Although, I used to be an avid Yogi at my old yoga stomping
ground Green Tea Yoga in Salem, (about 4 years ago), I really haven’t hit the
mat since and the thought of going to a Pilates class with people I assumed did
this all the time, made me quite nervous. Pilates, I learned is a little
different from yoga, in the sense they use they intimidating contractions to stretch
your core muscles and really make you work…something I really wanted work on.
Here’s a little tid-bit/confession about me: I hate going to
the gym. Every year, it’s always the same routine: I sign up for a gym,(about 3
different gyms in the past 2 years), go for about 2-3 weeks constantly, skip a
day or two, which then turns into skip a week or two…skip a month… oh, who are
we kidding?! I need someone to really kick my butt and make me want to go to
the gym. I did have a personal trainer at one point, who really did a great job
kicking butt, however, she has since moved to New Jersey…damn.
Without someone
telling me what to do and how many reps and how to actually use the machines, I
usually just end up on the treadmill for an hour then leave… I can do that
outside for free. What I really like
doing, is taking classes- yoga, Pilates, cardio/strength training, anything in
that category, a class that makes me move, sweat and have fun. I would try
almost any types of classes, (except CrossFit, that shits just scary!)
The morning of the event, I was set to go and try this class.
It was a nice easy ride off the highway from Quincy, (if I actually lived in
the city like a Queen Bean, I could’ve easily taken the Green Line D Train to
get there). As soon as I got to the area where the studio was, I couldn't help
but notice how cute of an area Newton Centre is. I believe I've walked in the
area during the Walk for Hunger, but I never actually had the chance to walk around
the area and see all the little shops and restaurants. This was something I put
down on the to-do list to explore some weekend.
When I walked into the open studio, my initial thoughts
were: 1. I really hope there are some other ‘Pilates newbies’ here & 2. What
the hell are these contraptions and do they really expect us to use them?! Our
instructor was both energetic and friendly and did a quick demo on how the
machines worked and showed each routine before we did them. The class itself
was quite deceiving- although it was a low-impact class, you had reps that made
you use your own body weight and strength for 1-2 minutes. In the beginning,
the class moved at a slow pace and I really wasn't felling the burn in my abs
like I thought I would. Honestly, the stupid thought that went through my head
was, “really, this is it? I thought I would be a little more endurance”. Well, apparently,
our instructor had ESP, because no sooner than I thought that, my arms, abs,
legs and butt were getting kicked! Those 1-2 minutes reps were a killer, my
body was really getting a workout, and I loved every second of it, (despite my
face being super red and my legs were shaking like Jell-O).
By the end of class (and three days later), I was sore, but
it was that amazingly good sore you feel after a great workout. It’s a class I would
love to try again, and although it stinks that it’s far from me, (because, let’s
be honest with myself, there’s no way once it turns cold that I’m going from
work to Newton back to Boston to go home), a class every other weekend may be
my best bet to keep going here, and keep my butt kickin’ every time!
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