Would like to try Pilates - any advice/experience to share? Been to Church St Pilates in Vienna?

[Anonymous]

Have been a runner/walker for many years, but now that I've had two kids and am approaching my 40s, I've really seen a drop in core fitness, overall strength, and flexibility. I've heard Pilates is great but am a little intimidated to try it. Despite running/walking very regularly, I can barely do crunches, push-ups, etc.

Any advice or experience to share about starting Pilates?

Has anyone been to Church Street Pilates in Vienna?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

I've been doing pilates reformer (the machine) for years, and it's been very helpful, even though I also do lots of other exercise. My teacher is Claudia, who teaches at Washington Sports Clubs and a couple other places (including Soma Fit, I think), and she also gives private lessons. You can sign up for her classes even if you don't belong to WSC. It's definitely worth it. To reach her, call the Chevy Chase WSC at [phone], and ask for Claudia's contact info. There are also free demo classes held about once a month; they can give you info on those as well.

[Anonymous]

Don't be intimidated. Pilates is for everyone. Before you comitt to an expensive gym (I'm not familiar with the place you mentioned so am not commenting on that), why not try out a county course to see if it's right for you. I took a class in Arlington for only about $120 or so for 9 weeks and really enjoyed it. I have since joined a gym to take classes more regularly but it was a great motivator. Don't worry about crunches, etc. You'll be surprised how even after a little bit of time you will improve. But, there will also be moves that you might never really master and that's fine too, you'll still get something out of it.

[Anonymous]

Pilates is wonderful for strengthening the core. Where are you located? There are good classes at Springhill Rec and McLean Community Center, and very reasonably priced. There is a great instructor in McLean who leads small group classes (mat) in her home studio. Lots of individual attention, and again, really reasonable (like $10 per hour). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who takes pilates in DC. Sorry, I didn't see the Vienna reference in your post or I wouldn't have recommended WSC. You should know however, that there are lots of people who call themselves Pilates instructors who don't really know what they're doing or haven't been properly trained, so I'd advise you to check out the instructor before you take a class. This is more important if your'e doing the reformer (the machine) instead of the mat class. In my opinon, the reformer is far more effective, but it can be expensive. You might want to try a few reformer sessions before taking a mat class.

[Anonymous]

I second 17:20. I would highly recommend taking some one-on-one lessons before you graduate to the less expensive mat classes. The nice thing about the machines are that they 'assist' you at different levels until you get stronger. That's the whole point. I HATE exercising and have been taking classes for a year now, three times a week. It is the ONLY thing I have ever stuck with that long, and people tell me they can notice a difference in the tone of my body etc. Don't be intimidated. But do find a place that specializes in pilates. It makes a huge difference having a real instructor and real equipement.