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While it is good to take a break away from work, one must never forget to keep fit and healthy. For one, I feel extremely guilty that I haven’t done any workouts for the last one month and with all the weekly food and alcohol binging, it certainly isn’t doing my body any good. The good news is, I’m still losing weight by managing my intake of calories but the bad news is, my body has been feeling lethargic and my fitness level is dropping really badly.
The solution?

Stop procrastinating and start working out by engaging in my weekly 5-Kilometre runs. To be honest, I really hate running; though I probably will get accustomed to it sooner or later. But what really would be useful for me right now would be some Pilates Classes at Pilates Fitness!

Previously, we have shared about our experience at Pilates Fitness and though the location was somewhat inconvenient for us, we are really glad that Pilates Fitness has recently opened another branch at Serangoon Gardens.

With the new branch at Serangoon Gardens, it now gives us an extra reason to take up Pilates classes at Pilates Fitness. In fact, we’re pretty sure a number of people would welcome this new avenue to keep themselves fit and healthy!

Now, one really awesome benefit of taking up Pilates instead of Gym Classes, Yoga Classes, or even Fitness Boot Camps is that Pilates has zero impact on the joints. This means that the elderly, obese, people with body size on a bigger side, pregnant ladies, or even those recovering from an injury can still do Pilates safely. If only I knew about this earlier, I probably would have been able to keep my weight in check as the wrist injury I sustained during National Service hindered me from doing a lot of physical activities. Moreover, running has a high impact on my knee joints and it is probably wiser to alternate between Pilates Classes and my weekly 5-Kilometre runs.

If you are wondering what classes at Pilates Fitness is like, check out the short clip that we have created.

You probably would have noticed from the video that the class size is small, and this is the case for every session at Pilates Fitness because they believed that every participant should be given maximum attention and interaction with the instructor. As a matter of fact, the ratio of the number of instructor to the number of participants per session is 1:10.

Apart from a small class size, the regular/full-time Pilates Instructors at Pilates Fitness would be able to monitor and keep track of your progress and fitness goals! As such, this allows them to be fully committed to your growth and development. Imagine the horror of having a different instructor every time you go for your lesson!

Well, it’s high time that we start getting our fitness back on track. Even as I am typing this blog entry, I really reminiscence the time we spent doing Pilates at Pilates Fitness and really, if you are looking for a positive and conducive environment to keep fit, lose weight, and tone some muscles, Pilates Fitness is the place!

For more details, do check out Pilates Fitness’ Facebook Page or Pilates Fitness’ Website!

Both Jacqueline and I have been attending Pilates Classes at Pilates Fitness for about a week now and we can feel the pace of the classes picking up with increasing intensity. Even then, the Pilates Classes aren’t that tough and both of us are able to survive every lesson without fail!

If you are wondering what exactly is Pilates, you can check out our previous blog entry -> here. Now, if you are interested to join a Pilates Class, the next question that you might probably have would be, “Is Pilates only for fit people and is it difficult to do?”

Well, the answer is a big ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Both Jacqueline and I went for our first Pilates Class at Pilates Fitness with zero experience and though we were initially apprehensive about going for the Pilates Class, it really wasn’t so bad after all because all classes are customised by the instructor, according to the strength and weakness of each participant. Hence, there is no categorisation of classes into Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced levels. As a matter of fact, the instructor will adjust the difficulty level of each exercise to make it challenging for everyone, regardless of differences in strength. For example, a male participant may have to put on a heavier load than a female participant if the instructor feels that he can cope with the exercises.

Now, how has the Pilates Classes with Pilates Fitness helped us thus far?

The Pilates Classes have greatly benefitted us in many ways!

Firstly, there are noticeable physical body changes, especially on our abdominal, thighs, calves, and even the chest. Our muscles are rather toned up now and it can do with more training. If we are to compare working out in the gym lifting weights and having Pilates Classes at Pilates Fitness, we will gladly sign up for Pilates any time because the Pilates exercises really works out the entire body and most importantly, it helps to create a better body posture by firming up both the abs and the back!

Secondly, we could control our breathing better now. Take for example, we recently went for a short 5KM jog around the neighbourhood and we could literally jog throughout without stopping while maintaining a constant pace. The breathing technique that we learnt from the Pilates Class is really useful and we’re pretty hopeful that our timing for our upcoming 10KM run for the Run For Hope Event will be way better than our previous runs!

Thirdly, apart from a reduction in our body weight, the fat % and muscle mass % in our bodies have also significantly improved. Having attended 4 Pilates Classes so far and coupled together with some runs, I have lost about 1KG and I saw my fat % dropped to 20.5 % and my muscle mass gaining up to 37.4 %! That to me is a huge achievement ever since I started my keep-fit regime in June.

Do you have the desire to start living healthy and kick start a keep-fit regime?

Well, we have a piece of wonderful news for all of you and that is, in collaboration with Pilates Fitness, a FREE Pilates Class [worth SGD$54] will be given away to ALL of you readers! Yes, you read it right, ALL OF YOU READERS!

There is strictly no obligation for you to sign up for any package or whatsoever and it is entirely up to you to decide and see for yourself how Pilates can help you achieve your goal of keeping healthy!

However, there are the usual Terms & Conditions that you have to bear in mind if you wish to redeem your FREE Pilates Class with Pilates Fitness:

1. This exclusive promotion is only valid for first time customers of Pilates Fitness.

2. You will have to choose between a 30 mins reformer intro + 55 mins Weight Loss Class OR Core & Body Aches Class only.

3. This exclusive promotion will be valid till 21st December 2013.

Now to redeem your free Pilates Class with Pilates Fitness, all you have to do is the following:

1. ‘Like’ Pilates Fitness Facebook Page & A Winsome Life Facebook Page.

2. Quote “A Winsome Life” when you call/email Pilates Fitness at +65 9184 7622 / enquiry@PilatesFitness.com.sg to book a slot!

It is that easy!

So for all you couch potatoes, don’t procrastinate already! Start keeping yourselves fit and healthy now!

From our previous blog posts, you would have noticed that we were indulging in generous scoops of ice creams that were overladen with calories and because we wanted to burn off those excess calories, what could be a better way to do so other than going for an invigorating Pilates class?

Jacqueline’s cute socks for the Pilates class.

Well, thanks to the friendly and generous people from Pilates Fitness, both Jacqueline and I were offered a complimentary one month unlimited Pilates trial classes at Pilates Fitness and ever since we had our first Pilates class last Friday, we are always looking forward to our next class.

Now, many people would probably have the notion that Pilates and Yoga are the same but they are not. Pilates is unlike Yoga. Yoga poses are considered as a preamble to center, calm, and prepare the body for concentrated sessions of seated meditation. In contrast, Pilates was developed as a logical system of exercises specifically designed to enhance and balance the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the human body. In other words, Pilates is not about sitting still or holding poses; Pilates is about movement! Although both Yoga and Pilates are breath-based disciplines, the primary styles of breathing are quite different. While Yoga teaches the individual to breathe in and out through the nose, which helps to calm the nervous system down; Pilates teaches the individual to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. The Pilates breathing is called diaphragmatic and it helps to engage the core muscles throughout the exercise.

Pilates can be done on a Mat or on a Reformer and because both Jacqueline and I were newbies in using the Pilates Reformer, we had to go for an “Introduction to Reformers Class” where the Instructor from Pilates Fitness taught us how to use the Reformers safely and the various footworks/exercises that could be done on the reformer.

The Reformer glides forward & backward on rollers and uses springs for resistance, along with other attachments, for a wide variety of exercises and positions such as lying down, seated, and/or standing.

Pilates was developed by Joseph H Pilates [1880 – 1967] and it was originally named as Body Contrology. Pilates created “The Pilates Principles” to condition the entire body; proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement. You probably would be surprised to know that this unique set of 500 different exercises are being practised by more than 11 million people worldwide today!

During the Pilates class, my body was literally shaking all over and because Pilates is a mind-body workout, I encountered some difficulty in engaging my mind to coordinate between my physical movements and breathing techniques. Even then, the Pilates class was still an enjoyable session throughout.

After the Pilates class, both Jacqueline and I felt rather invigorated and even when we were expecting our body to ache the very next day, it didn’t and we felt so active that we decided to take a 4KM stroll along Punggol Park.

Over the next 1 month, we will be sharing with you about the progress of our weight-loss through Pilates and we hope to share more with all of you soon.

Stay tuned!