Mary Jane Bell Amrein has been a fitness instructor since 1981. Before introducing Pilates, I ran a gym called Aerobics Plus for 20 years.
“For the past three years that I’ve been running this business, I’ve seen it as just another type of exercise – water aerobics, step aerobics, circuit training, aerobics classes – but then I realised it was something completely different,” Amrein continues. “When I introduced the Reformer Pilates workout to the gym, people who had back problems were no longer in pain – no one had ever heard of it, including staff and members.”
In 2002, Amrein narrowed her focus and opened Pilates Fitness and Therapeutic Conditioning Center, “We were actually the third facility offering Pilates in Virginia, and it grew exponentially nationwide because of the benefits and how comfortable people felt.”
With a mission to improve health and fitness, the studio provides education to both staff and clients through a variety of opportunities, with many of its instructors traveling across the country to receive training.
Through muscle testing and activation, Amrein can determine how many repetitions of an exercise will actually strengthen a muscle (and not weaken it). MAT “activates” muscles, but it doesn’t make them stronger — that’s what Pilates does. The MAT process can usually pinpoint the source of an issue after just three sessions, she explains.
The technique can be an effective, quick approach to “mobilizing muscles that aren’t working,” Amrein says. “Then Pilates strengthens the muscles that weren’t working, so this is a great two-part system to help people improve their strength and health.”
The studio is used by a wide range of age groups, from high school athletes to people in their 90s.
“Pilates is a versatile form of exercise that can cater to a wide range of needs, from people recovering from or wanting to avoid surgery, to extremely healthy, competitive athletes. It can cater to a wide variety of people, from those with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, recovering from a stroke, to golfers, gardeners, pickleball players, and more. In other words, it can cater to the needs of a wide variety of people and at a range of fitness levels.”
The majority of clients train one-on-one with an instructor.
