Around Tampa Bay, Pilates workouts keep people healthy and flexible

It is important to exercise while sleeping. And it works.

In Pilates, participants often lean on a device called a reformer, which uses a system of pulleys and springs to support their weight, building muscle and strength with fluidity rather than force. This exercise can also be performed on other machines or on the floor with a mat.

This workout is a popular method to help reduce stress, tone muscles, and increase flexibility.

“I started Pilates in my 20s because I had mild scoliosis and my lower back would hurt once a week,” said Amy Ludden, owner of Araden Pilates in St. Petersburg.

While living in New York and working in the fashion industry, Rudden was “a self-proclaimed gym rat, doing step classes, the treadmill, lifting weights, and was a tennis warrior on the weekends.” However, her back pain did not find any relief until she started doing her extension exercises using Pilates equipment.

“Most people like me find out about Pilates because they have chronic pain,” said Rudden, 62. “We focus on what’s bothering them; We also focus on other parts of the body.”

Although Ludden still works full-time, she decided to earn her Pilates instructor certification through the Toronto-based Stott Pilates program, which has training locations in the United States and Canada. “It was a grueling two-and-a-half year program,” she said. “I then sold my dining room furniture and put Pilates equipment in my New York City loft apartment so I could teach at night.”

Ten years later, she moved to St. Petersburg to help care for her mother.

“I was going to take a breather and just take care of my mom, and it’s hard for people in New York to take a breather,” she said. She started looking for a studio. “And I found this charming little renovated school building, and it seemed like kismet.” It opened at a secondary school. She currently offers private sessions with clients as well as group classes for up to three participants.

Are you making plans for the weekend?

Subscribe to our free Top 5 Things to Do Newsletter

Every Thursday, we bring you ideas for going out, staying at home, and spending time outdoors.

Everyone is registered!

Want more free weekly newsletters sent to your inbox? let’s start.

consider all options

Javier Latigo, 62, of St. Pete Beach, attended an open house at Raden’s studio soon after it opened and has been coming back two to three times a week ever since. “I’ve never moved so little and sweated so much,” he said. “I’ve gained a lot of flexibility and I’ve also gained stability, which is something I never had.”

Latigo, who works from home in the insurance industry, said she worries about her leg muscles weakening because she often sits at a desk for long periods of time.

“It was starting to sit up and getting to a little creaking point,” he said. Latigo said training while lying on a Pilates reformer and a Cadillac, a fixed table similar to a bed with a frame, has improved his balance, flexibility and overall strength.

The age range of Araden Pilates’ customers ranges from their 20s to their 80s, with the largest number being in their 50s. Many older adults seeking fitness are drawn to Pilates because it is low-impact, unlike running, tennis, and some aerobic programs. In our new customer promotion, you can get 3 private lessons with him for $189. Group classes are $45 per person.

“I’m worth it,” Latigo said. “Considering how much people are living right now, I’d be willing to pay that money to feel as good as I do right now.”

Many professional athletes report using Pilates to increase strength and improve sports mechanics. Domestic genius and entrepreneur Martha Stewart recently credited Pilates for keeping her in shape enough to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue at age 81.

This fitness regimen is named after Joseph Pilates, a German physical trainer who developed methods and equipment to help fellow prisoners of war in World War I and soldiers recovering in hospitals afterwards. I did. In the 1920s, he and his wife Clara moved to New York, where they opened “His Body Conditioning Gym” where they taught their methods. It was especially popular among dancers who needed flexibility and strength-building techniques to recover from injuries or improve performance.

That’s how Tampa resident Stephanie Krank, 54, became a Pilates believer. She is a dancer in ballets such as Oregon Her Ballet Her Theater, Cincinnati Her Ballet, and Chicago’s Joffrey Her Ballet, after injuring her back during a performance and taking four weeks off work. I started her Pilates.

“When I went back to the theater to rehearse, I was really surprised how I was able to come back so quickly,” she said. “I was able to jump higher and rotate better. I still had injuries, but Pilates made my body more balanced and stronger.”

Crank moved to Florida and opened a Pilates movement studio in Tampa 20 years ago. Currently, she offers private sessions, freshman packages for $195, and group classes starting at her $40. She considers Pilates to be a “postural balancer.”

“The reason it’s so effective in all of these ways is because it corrects your posture in a way that puts much less stress on your muscles as a whole,” she says, adding that this isn’t the focus of a traditional, everyday gym. ​​Noted that it targets deep muscles that were not trained. “Maintaining muscle structure and supporting your joints can take a lot of stress off your joints.”

Some of her students, who started Pilates in their 70s when Crank opened her studio, continue to work out into their 90s.

Tierra Verde resident Larissa Daigle, 67, recently completed her 250th class at Club Pilates in St. Petersburg. She pays $229 a month for unlimited use of the company’s studio in South Pasadena, downtown on Central Avenue and Gulfport Boulevard South. Club Pilates classes can have up to 12 students at a time.

“I just wanted to maintain the flexibility and balance that I have at this age,” Daigle said. “Over the years, I’ve done everything from teaching aerobics to running marathons, but to be honest, exercising while lying down in an air-conditioned room seemed like just the ticket for me. I did.”

studio

Araden Pilates, 327 11th Ave. N, Suite 200, St. Petersburg. 727-289-2801. aradenpilates.com.

Pilates Movement Studio, 11719 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. 813-931-5169. pilatesmovement studio.com.

Club Pilates in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee Counties. clubpilates.com.