2008 Woodie Awards
Pilates class review
Jennifer Lane
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Health
As my friend Amanda and I walked out of the Student Center about two weeks ago we looked at each other, took a deep breath and smiled. We had just left our first Pilates class of the semester and were happy with what we signed up for. Although the second class last week was cancelled because of inclement weather, the first class was very interesting.
While waiting for the instructor to arrive, I was expecting the class to be a regular workout class. However, my expectations were not entirely correct. Instead of the instructor doing the exercises with the students, she says the exercises out loud. As she says the exercises, she walks around the room and helps to correct the movement of anyone doing it incorrectly. Initially, I did not think that I was going to like not being able to see someone do the exercises with me. However, as the class went on, I did like just hearing the instructor's voice. The class was able to hear her clearly because she was not doing the exercises and always had a calming voice. Also,since many people had never taken a Pilates class before it was good that she could correct our movements.
During the entire class, we were constantly in motion. We learned many new exercises and different ways to control the body. When the instructor told the class to not move their hips in many of the exercises she went around the classroom and corrected people who were making the same mistakes I was. I was surprised to find that I did not have as much control over my body as I thought.
Although I was aware going into the class that it was all mat exercises, it surprised me was that it was done almost entirely sitting or lying down. I also did not know that usually for Pilates, each person takes their shoes off. I was expecting most people to be in sneakers, but one of the first commands the instructor gave was for everyone to take off their shoes.
In general, everyone in the class is at all different fitness and experience levels. Some people in the class have taken Pilates many times before, but there are many people, like me, who are attending their first one. The instructor did not seem to mind helping people or explaining certain moves, although she did speak quickly and sometimes I would get lost. I was happy to find that once the exercises started I did not feel embarrassed at my skill level; although I did laugh at times because some of the exercises seemed a little odd to me.
I think that at the end of the class most people were satisfied and excited for the next week. I am anxious to see what the rest of the semester will bring, especially because at the end of the class the instructor informed us that all of the exercises we had just completed were simply a warm-up!
While waiting for the instructor to arrive, I was expecting the class to be a regular workout class. However, my expectations were not entirely correct. Instead of the instructor doing the exercises with the students, she says the exercises out loud. As she says the exercises, she walks around the room and helps to correct the movement of anyone doing it incorrectly. Initially, I did not think that I was going to like not being able to see someone do the exercises with me. However, as the class went on, I did like just hearing the instructor's voice. The class was able to hear her clearly because she was not doing the exercises and always had a calming voice. Also,since many people had never taken a Pilates class before it was good that she could correct our movements.
During the entire class, we were constantly in motion. We learned many new exercises and different ways to control the body. When the instructor told the class to not move their hips in many of the exercises she went around the classroom and corrected people who were making the same mistakes I was. I was surprised to find that I did not have as much control over my body as I thought.
Although I was aware going into the class that it was all mat exercises, it surprised me was that it was done almost entirely sitting or lying down. I also did not know that usually for Pilates, each person takes their shoes off. I was expecting most people to be in sneakers, but one of the first commands the instructor gave was for everyone to take off their shoes.
In general, everyone in the class is at all different fitness and experience levels. Some people in the class have taken Pilates many times before, but there are many people, like me, who are attending their first one. The instructor did not seem to mind helping people or explaining certain moves, although she did speak quickly and sometimes I would get lost. I was happy to find that once the exercises started I did not feel embarrassed at my skill level; although I did laugh at times because some of the exercises seemed a little odd to me.
I think that at the end of the class most people were satisfied and excited for the next week. I am anxious to see what the rest of the semester will bring, especially because at the end of the class the instructor informed us that all of the exercises we had just completed were simply a warm-up!
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