There's Pilates and there's Pilates. If you feel quite relaxed afterwards you're probably not doing it right. If you have trouble walking down the stairs and getting in and out of the car for a few days afterwards, you probably are. Matt is the toughest Pilates instructor at Vita Pilates in Chelsea. I have yet to do one of his classes properly - you'd have to be SOOPA fit. Anyway, aside from trying to kill me he does make me laugh. Here are some of my favourites from a class I did earlier this week...
While I'm sweating/shaking/grimacing/struggling to complete the moves, he's cheerfully walking around the class saying that if he notices anyone with wobbly inner thighs, he'll discreetly push them into a more difficult pose - cue the entire class immediately moving into the more difficult position lest be singled out.... along with their wobbly thighs.
Working the middle section i.e. muffin top, Matt tells the class to imagine girls walking down Oxford Street with low cut jeans and cropped tops, with muffins spilling out over the top. Do we want to be one of those girls? Nooo......
And for arms. Imagine you're having a Christmas drink in a wine bar and one of your friends walk in but you can't wave hello because of your bingo wings? He says this as my arms are fully extended and shaking from the strain in front of the class. But we're all in the same boat; we're more worried about getting through without having a heart attack than the bingo wings.
If you want to challenge yourself, or just see how much fitter you are than I am go to one of Matt's Enhanced Cardio classes at Vita Pilates and come back to me with a full report. I want to know I'm not the only one!
