studio pilates – aliceinhealthyland

Written by Alice Bingham

I received an email from Studio Pilates on Thursday stating that I had completed my 50th class. I was quite proud of myself that I had achieved this as looking back on the last 10 months, it has been quite the journey. I had an Emergency C Section with our third daughter in January and have transitioned to be a mumma to three young children. Getting to class was sometimes a challenge as the old silly “mum guilt” can creep in, however it is just what I need. The classes are not only supporting my body and helping me to regain strength, they are helping my mental health too. 45 minutes of pure concentration, deep breathing and connecting with my body and seeing what it can achieve in that time. I have really enjoyed the community at my local Studio Pilates – Wellington Point, every client is so encouraging and I always leave with a smile on my face. The instructors are fun but are so professional too. I look forward to my next 50 classes and seeing what I will achieve.

My Post Natal Journey

I started my Studio Pilates journey at 4 months postpartum, I wasn’ quite ready to return to heavy weights or high intensity cardio just yet, however I wanted to do something that would not only support my body, but help me to rebuild my strength slowly and carefully in my abdomen. I was guided by my Women’s Health Physio to wait to 12 weeks before doing anything to crazy. So when she stated I was ready, she suggest Pilates to me. I was so glad to see I had a local one near my house. Once I started I became in love with reformer. I cannot imagine not having it in my life now. You can read about the first part of my post natal journey (the first 25 classes) with Studio Pilates here, in my first blog I wrote.

Since I last wrote the blog for Studio Pilates, I have now seen some amazing transformations in not only my training at the studio but my body as well. My core is getting stronger and so is the rest of my body. I am able to push deeper in the leg workouts in class and have taken away the head pillow in the abdominal section at the beginning of class, this is a huge win for me. I can now wear ankle weights and feel my Tzone is more engaged during certain moves like”circles” or “bicycles” and I can also hold a plank position for 1 minute 11 seconds on my feet.

I have also seen drastic changes in my posture. My shoulders are back more, when I am performing simple tasks like picking my my kids, I hold in my tummy and switch on my T-Zone. I also do some gentle pelvic exercises with my abdominal workouts (from the Studio Pilates FREE newsletter) too. I am really noticing a huge change within that area.

These are the goals I have for my postpartum body and it is not about weight loss for me. Sure I fit in my old jeans now but I haven’t weighed myself since I was pregnant and I do not plan to either. This is of course my personal journey with Studio Pilates. I would highly recommend giving it a go, try one of their starter packs ( 2 weeks, 6 class passes) to really see how you find it. It took me a few weeks but like I said I cannot picture my life without it now. I have loved the new strength it has given me.

At my local studio (Wellington Point) they have Pregnancy and Post Natal Classes twice a week. You can check the app or call your local studio to see when they have these on. They would be amazing to check out if you are pregnant or recently had a bub as they are suited to support the women’s body during this time.

To read more information about Studio Pilates and Pregnancy you can read this blog. For post natal information call your local studio to help meet your individual needs.

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Website –www.studiopilates.com

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I celebrated a win on Sunday! I did my 20th Studio Pilates class at the Wellington Point Studio. CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON!! Studio Pilates is a total body exercise, developed almost one hundred years ago by Joseph Pilates, to rehabilitate injured WW1 soldiers and later, for strength and conditioning of dancers, pretty cool right?

Studio Pilates is a total-body workout, with powerful cross-training benefits, focusing on strength, mobility, endurance, body alignment and breath control.

I decided after having my third child via a C Section, that I wanted to give reformer pilates a try. I had heard from one of my girl friends how much it had helped her with her postpartum recovery, plus I wanted to re build my body, make it strong and allow it to recover safely before returning to my usual high-intensity workouts that I love and have done for years now. During this process though I feel in love with pilates. I have a Studio Pilates down the road from me, with 3 young children , this was so convenient as I could sneak off early morning when David (my husband) was not working and do a class.

The classes go for a total of 45 minutes, you only have to arrive 5 minutes early and you just need light workout clothes and some grippy socks. Because I’m used to high-intensity workouts or home work outs using weights, I found it took a while to get out of the mindset that you really have to be dripping with sweat to get a workout. NOT TRUE BY THE WAY! Although I do still love to sweat a few days a week at home, these Studio Pilates classes were really something my body was loving. I found it helped to sculpt my body in places I have always struggled with. I mentally felt strong too, as I feel I was also practicing mindfulness in the class. I would concentrate so hard on the movements that my mind would only focus on one thing and that was PILATES!! I would also be so proud of my body and what it could achieve each class.

The class starts with a stretch, while you do that, the instructor comes and personally greats each individual. They also check in on how you are feeling and if you have any injuries. I loved this as I could explain about my scar and how I was feeling that morning after a night of breastfeeding haha. They were really supportive of each client and their individual journey. They also are there to modify the exercise if need be for you if you do have injuries or if you are more experienced. I find it very personalised.

I feel my body is starting to feel stronger, look more sculpted and my T Zone area and Pelvic floor muscles are improving with each class. I love what it is doing for my posture too, I have a natural arch in my back, so I have found that these classes are helping me to switch my abdominal muscles, pull them in and support my body when I am holding my babies or doing simple daily tasks. I look forward to working hard in future classes to continue to improve my strength too. I will be adding in some more cardio and weighted classes in the next month along side my Studio Pilates classes. So I look forward to seeing more progress and how Studio Pilates can compliment that too. I have made some new friends, found a new passion and I love that I am seeing improvement every class. From the moment I finished the orientation class I have been hooked, I will defiantly be continuing. Will keep you updated!