Service Review: BODYBAR Pilates

Hey guys! Since I moved to my new blog, I wanted to re-share my service review of BODYBAR Pilates.

The Southlake location just celebrated their first year yesterday too!

What perfect timing to re-share my experience with them, right? Let me be honest and open with you before I share details of my experience.

I was so nervous to attend my first Pilates class!

Yep. I was afraid because I didn’t know what to expect.

Isn’t that always the case when you’re doing something you’ve never done before?

When it comes to working out, I believe the number one fear why people don’t try new ways to get active is because they’re afraid of not knowing what to do. The second reason? They are scared of looking dumb in front of others.

Eyes of what feels like judgement glaring at you as you walk past machines is bad enough. But hoping you can take a quick glance at the how-to graphic sticker so you can look like you know what you’re doing and missing it might be worse. It’s kind of like having a cheat sheet during a test and not looking at it to look smart. However, you know that you need it in order to pass.

Talk about feeling vulnerable. Have you ever felt this way?

Hold that thought though because we’re about to talk about my first Pilates reformer class!

DESCRIPTION:

“This is anything but your traditional Reformer class! We’ve ramped it up a notch and brought it into the 21st century. The gorgeous Allegro 2 Reformer is about to take you through a seamless workout combining Pilates, Strength Training and short cardio drills.”*

ENVIRONMENT:

The studio is gorgeous! Light wood floors and neutral paint choices made the space feel so airy and fresh. I particularly loved the layout and didn’t feel cramped as there was tons of space between each machine. Gorgeous black sconces on the mirrors and the touch of mini gold trees peeking out from the top and bottom of each lighting fixture made the studio feel elegant.

I can only imagine what the space would look like with natural lighting pouring in from the huge windows during the day!

PEOPLE:

For our 6:30pm class, it was just me, Rachel and a married couple. It was very intimate. Between you and me, I actually prefer workout classes in smaller numbers so it was perfect!

Lorraine was our instructor and we had a great conversation before class started. She took the time to educate us and what part of the body would benefit based on which part of the machine we used. With 30 years in the health industry, I was glad to have her teach a beginner like me.

FITNESS LEVEL:

I was happy to learn and experience that this reformer class was for every fitness level. Being a former athlete and trying to get back in shape, this was a great kind of Pilates exercise to try.

Side note: I exercise in various ways. From Kayla Itsines‘ BBG program to Fitness Blender, bootcamp, tennis and boxing, I try to mix up my workouts.

EXPERIENCE/FEEDBACK:

For an energetic person like me, I wish there was music in the background while I worked out. But at the same time, I felt like it was a “wind down” kind of a workout. I guess that’s the high energy, cardio side of me, ha!

Rachel said that for not being healthy all her life, she could do what Lorraine instructed her to do even if it was on a shorter range. She had fun, was challenged and said she would go back again. Needless to say, I was happy to hear that I didn’t drag her to a class she didn’t like.

At the end of my 50 minute session, my legs were shaking, but if you know me, I love taking on challenges! I’ll definitely be back to try out different variations of it.

WHAT I GAINED:

Back to that thought you were holding. Even though I was nervous, the fact that I still went to class was a big deal. It was important to me to “feel the fear and do it anyway” as Susan Jeffers would say it.

On top of that, I solved the feeling of being vulnerable by bringing Rachel with me since she’d never done Pilates before either. Yes! We both can look like we don’t know what we’re doing, haha!

I liked that this class was for people of all fitness levels. It made doing a different kind of workout for the first time less intimidating for sure!

Do you do Pilates? If so, what’s your favorite type of class?

Note: I redeemed a free class (during February 2016) by using a promo code I was gifted. I was not compensated nor asked to review this Pilates studio by BODYBAR.

*Description of the class was taken directly from BODYBAR website.