• Equipment: You won’t need to bring much with you to a class, as the studios will provide equipment for the workout. The exception would be a non-slip mat would prefer to use your own rather than a shared one from class.

• Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

• Think fitted breathable clothes: Choose clothing that’s stretchy but not baggy. Clothes that will stay in place as you move. Your instructor needs to see the alignment of your bones and how your muscles are engaging.

• Skip the shoes: Pilates is done barefoot—no fancy footwear needed. If you’d like something on your feet opt for non-slip “sticky” socks for hygiene and better stability on the floor.

• Opt for unscented products: Many people are sensitive to perfumes and strongly scented deodorants, lotions, and sprays.

• Avoid hardware: Skip clothing with zippers, buttons, or metal clasps.

• Hair up: Tie long hair back (a bun on top of the head is best for lying flat).

• Grip socks
• Water bottle
• Small towel (for sweat or extra head support)
• Hair tie (keep it out of the reformer springs!)
• Positive mindset

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Pilates was a game changer for me as a deskbound professional. Pilates exercises like Planks and Dead Bugs trained my torso to remain upright and efficient, even when fatigue sets in.

• The Deep Core: We’re talking about the transversus abdominis—your body’s natural corset. This isn’t just about looking good; it’s about stabilizing your spine.
• Posture Correction: In our ‘tech neck’ world, Pilates acts as a reset button. It realigns the spine and opens up the chest. Pilates focuses heavily on the spine’s natural alignment and strengthening the muscles that support it, helping to undo the damage from desk jobs and slouching. We’ll talk about how this focus on ribcage placement and shoulder blade placement fundamentally changes how you hold yourself.
• Enhanced Core Strength and Stability: The “powerhouse” is central to every Pilates exercise. We’re talking deep abdominal muscles here, not just the ‘six-pack’ muscles. This foundational strength is key to everything from better balance to reducing back pain. Performance Note: Think of Pilates as the ‘insurance policy’ for your other hobbies. It makes you a better runner, a stronger lifter, and even more agile on the pickleball court.”
• Increased Flexibility and Mobility: Pilates is a fantastic blend of strength and stretch. You’ll gain long, lean muscle mass while simultaneously increasing your range of motion. It’s that wonderful feeling of being both strong and supple.
• Mind-Body Connection and Mindfulness: This might be the most profound benefit. Pilates is all about concentration and control. It forces you to be present, to focus on your lateral breathing and how your body is moving in space. It’s a moving meditation, giving your mind a much-needed break from the daily grind.
• Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation: Because the movements are low-impact and focus on proper form and muscle balance, Pilates is often used in physical therapy settings. It builds strength safely, making your body more resilient to injury.

You can also listen to this on my podcast  9 to 5 Wellness linked below. See you soon in a Pilates Class.

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Fitness coaches build a personal relationship with you and help you reach your goals while focusing on mental, physical, and social health. You get the support to be successful.

Want to learn more benefits of hiring a fitness coach? Here are a few:

Education– Fitness coaches want to empower their clients with knowledge. The most important reason for working with a fitness coach is to educate you on all aspects of health, fitness, and exercise. They want you to do well in your fitness journey. Knowing which muscles to work, proper form, and nutrition is necessary to maximize effectiveness and reduce the risk of injury. You won’t find this type of comprehensive good for your fitness education on DR. google.

Personalized Program– Every individual is unique. That means everyone’s fitness abilities and requirements are different. One person can be an elite bodybuilder looking to compete, while the other can come from an injury. A fitness coach will meet you where you are. For example, if you had an ankle injury and are coming back after it, a fitness coach can help you rebuild the muscles and improve mobility. A fitness coach’s expertise can help you with a customized approach.

Goal Achievement– When we start training, we expect to achieve goals like tomorrow. Whatever your goal is, weight loss, muscle gain, or increased mobility, these changes take time to show. When your goals aren’t realistic, it’s easy to get discouraged and have anxiety from this experience. Fitness coaches help you set real and measurable goals. They assess your current fitness level, help you carve out a plan to achieve your goals, and track your progress. 

Motivation– Motivation can be internal or external. You may have some intrinsic motivation to work out, like coming off the blood pressure medication or improving your posture after sitting on the desk for hours. But there are always distractions around us, which can cause loss of motivation. Fitness coaches can motivate you to make it to your workout sessions regularly. 

Fitness coaches observe your behavior and guide you through behavioral modification principles. They can help you overcome the mental barriers that keep you in a bad habit loop.

Accountability– Accountability, and motivation go hand in hand. There are  many times we have gone to bed and said, “Tomorrow I’m going to wake up, go to the gym first thing in the morning!” You hit snooze when the morning comes and stay in the warm bed. A fitness coach will keep you accountable. You are investing your money which is a commitment device of its own. We all want to slack from time to time. A fitness coach will push you to your session and let go of the other temptations. 

Variety of Workouts– If you go to the gym without a plan, you wander from machine to machine not knowing what to do. A fitness coach can help you find a purpose for each training session. If you are already working successfully, fitness coaches can bring an objective eye. They can make necessary adjustments to make your workout more interesting, more challenging, or even just more fun.

Coaches provide unique workouts from their expansive exercise library. It will keep your body guessing and you interested in your workouts. Say goodbye to plateaus. 

Wellbeing– Research shows that physical exercise can help with mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety. A fitness coach is much more than just a trainer. They help you achieve your fitness goals, but they will also help you with other wellness goals like drinking more water and getting enough sleep.

There are so many reasons why a fitness coach is essential to achieving your fitness goals. A fitness coach can keep you accountable and moving forward in reaching health goals even in busy times like holidays and busy workdays!

The post Why Work with a Fitness Coach? 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

What is Barre?

Barre is a ballet-inspired workout that incorporates moves from ballet, Pilates, and yoga. Barre classes use mostly body weight for resistance and the focus is on small, deliberate movements that target certain groups of muscles, specifically muscles that are weak and aren’t used frequently like upper back and glutes.  It’s a great class for targeted workouts for abs, thighs, or glutes. 

Who Should Do Barre? 

Barre is an incredible workout for anyone. These ballet-inspired classes are good for beginners and advanced athletes alike who want to try a new workout. Emphasis in the barre class is on tall posture, balance, and core engagement. Barre is both low-impact and can be high intensity. Plus, it’s an extremely modifiable workout. These classes move at a slower pace than your typical aerobics class. That doesn’t mean you won’t be sore the next day.

Barre Gear and Equipment?

You might be tempted to wear tutu or ballet shoes. Well, you don’t need them. All you need is a pair of comfortable yoga pants. I like to teach my barre classes bare foot. You may prefer to be barefoot or purchase socks with grippies on the bottom. 

You can practice a barre class without any equipment. If you want to enhance your barre experience you can add a small core ball, loop resistance band, and hand weights to do floor work. You can also use the back of a stable chair for balance. Honestly, you need minimal equipment for these classes, and you can practice from the comfort of your home.

Why Barre Workouts?

In the barre classes emphasis is placed on proper alignment, balance, and core engagement means the classes move at a slower pace. You might not leave a ballet-inspired class drenched in sweat, but you’ll feel the burn after a class thanks to moves that target specific muscle groups.  Here are some of the reasons why you should add barre to your weekly workout routine.

Total Body Workout- Barre workouts focus on the whole body. They build strength through isometric holds, which require your muscles to stay under tension for an extended period.  It’s also a great workout that requires engaging your core for the whole length of the workout. Most barre classes are divided into four sections, warm-up, leg blast, upper body lower body combo, and core blast. As you flow through the class you work the arms, thighs, glutes, abdominals, and posterior chain. The best part about a barre workout is that it focuses on the muscles that you don’t normally use like glutes, obliques and tibialis. 

Low Impact Workout- Barre is a low impact workout with low stress on joints. It’s also great for developing balance and stability because the barre itself provides stability. Balance or stability. Plus, the focus on isometric holds allows you to strengthen the muscle group without placing extra stress on the joint. It has minimal risk of injury and is a safe workout for anyone including pregnant women and the older population.  

Improves Posture-Barre promotes a long and tall posture. Barre instructors are trained to cue proper alignment from the crown of your head to your tippy toes. After a few weeks of practicing barre classes you will be sitting or standing tall which can help reduce the chances of back pain and injury.

Muscular Endurance- In barre classes the number of repetitions is very high. The high repetitions increase your stamina to stay under tension and workout for longer periods of time. Stamina is muscle endurance in common terms. You’ll find yourself maintaining a higher level of activity regularly. Endurance has many secondary benefits like lowering your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

Mind Body Connection- Barre classes help you channel the mind-body connection as they combine mindful movements to create new neural connections. The slow and controlled repetitions in a barre class help to calm the mind. Devoted attention to technique helps in keeping your workout movements intentional and harnesses a deeper connection with the brain.

Sample Workout

Perform 3 sets of 12 – 15 repetitions 

• Chair Squats with Ball squeeze/hip adduction
• Power Leg Pulses 
• Plie’ Squats with shoulder press
• Heel Lifts 

If you like it, TRY one of our classes on the Tone and Strengthen schedule. First class is always FREE. Contact us for a coupon code.

The post Meet Me At The Barre 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This mat Pilates class is a combination of exercises developed by Joseph Pilates. The class will focus on stabilizing the core, improving posture, and strengthening the total body!

Utilizing props such as the Pilates ball, light hand weights, the Pilates ring/circle as well as many others keeps class interesting and ensures you’ll never take the same class twice! Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment. Just show up to the class the coach gives many options, and all the exercises can be done body weight. All fitness levels are welcome.

* Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, Pilates ring, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class *

The post Mat Pilates – Mar 2nd – Apr 6th 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Utilizing props such as the Pilates ball, light hand weights, the Pilates ring/circle as well as many others keeps class interesting and ensures you’ll never take the same class twice! Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment. Just show up to the class the coach gives many options, and all the exercises can be done body weight. All fitness levels are welcome.

* Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, Pilates ring, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class *

The post Mat Pilates 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This mat Pilates class is a combination of exercises developed by Joseph Pilates. The class will focus on stabilizing the core, improving posture, and strengthening the total body!

Utilizing props such as the Pilates ball, light hand weights, the Pilates ring/circle as well as many others keeps class interesting and ensures you’ll never take the same class twice! Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment. Just show up to the class the coach gives many options, and all the exercises can be done body weight. All fitness levels are welcome.

* Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, Pilates ring, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class *

The post Mat Pilates – Jan 19th – Feb 23rd 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Utilizing props such as the Pilates ball, light hand weights, the Pilates ring/circle as well as many others keeps class interesting and ensures you’ll never take the same class twice! Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment. Just show up to the class the coach gives many options, and all the exercises can be done body weight. All fitness levels are welcome.

* Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, Pilates ring, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class *

The post Mat Pilates 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This is a hybrid fitness class. Choose from virtual or in-person options. In-Person class will be at Northampton Township Recreation Center, Richboro, PA.

Are you ready for a one-hour full body workout?  Set to today’s hottest music, Body by Barre fuses ballet, Pilates, sports conditioning and stretching. This regimented routine will evenly sculpt and quickly transform the entire body, resulting in a toned, trim physique.  Classes begin with a warm-up focusing on postural strength and alignment, followed by upper body exercises. A waist height sturdy surface can be used for flexible training, and to sculpt the lower body and abs.  Class ends with core work and stretching.  Many of the stretches and strengthening exercises are endorsed by sports medicine physicians and orthopedists. 

All Virtual classes are recorded and recording is provided to registered participants for 48-hrs after class.

*Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class*

The post Body by Barre (Hybrid) – Mar 1st – Apr 5th 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

Are you ready for a one-hour full body workout?  Set to today’s hottest music, Body by Barre fuses ballet, Pilates, sports conditioning and stretching. This regimented routine will evenly sculpt and quickly transform the entire body, resulting in a toned, trim physique.  Classes begin with a warm-up focusing on postural strength and alignment, followed by upper body exercises. A waist height sturdy surface can be used for flexible training, and to sculpt the lower body and abs.  Class ends with core work and stretching.  Many of the stretches and strengthening exercises are endorsed by sports medicine physicians and orthopedists. 

All Virtual classes are recorded and recording is provided to registered participants for 48-hrs after class.

*Yoga mat, Pilates ball, loop resistance band, and two light dumbbells are suggested for this class*

The post Body by Barre (Hybrid) 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.