What Pilates Studio is right for you?

This is a wonderful opportunity for a lot of people. Large group sessions make the price more affordable. Affordability gives more people opportunity to experience Pilates. In a group setting the pace is set by the instructor.  An experienced instructor will read the room and tailor the session to the bodies in front of them. Maybe you love the louder music, and the projecting voice and maybe you have craved going to a boot camp or a YMCA group class in the past. This might be what you are looking for. There are a variety in instructors, classes, and it is a more affordable option. 

NOTE FOR MY EXTROVERTS:

If you are looking for an affordable Pilates Studio to connect with people, this could be an excellent opportunity, but sometimes it isn't.  Let me explain. Most of your Franchise studios have very little space for people to come and go and get to know each other. You have about 4-5 minutes to get off your reformer and clean up. Then the next shift of people come in for the next session. If your main purpose is to find an instant connection, that may take awhile. I find that your most social people in this setting are going to be your 11:00 a.m.  12:00p.m. and 1:00pm retirees. They have time to chat outside of the lobby. They want to get to know each other and they are not so quickly coming and going. Your earlier sessions are working professionals who leave and are out the door to the next thing. Your evening people have worked all day and they are toast by the time they come in and don't have much left to say. They want to get their workout in and go to bed. 

 I would suggest a group mat Pilates session at one of your larger health clubs if affordability and long lasting friendships are what you are trying to build. People talk in the hallway, see each other again in the locker room and their bonds form a lot quicker than in your tight cramped Franchise studio.  Or, try those later morning and early afternoon sessions for a better chance at connection if reformer and price are best for you. 

NOTE FOR MY INTROVERTS:

This is still a great choice especially for price. If you are new to Pilates and your are searching around please consider buying a session or two over a huge unlimited package and investigate how you feel after a few sessions. I would say that about any studio big or small. 

While you are on the reformer check in with yourself. Are you feeling uplifted and recharged or, are you leaving feeling irritated by all the noise and people? How you feel later in your body not just physically but mentally is a great indicator of what works for you. So check in with yourself. 

I am a self Proclaimed and very happy extroverted- introvert who LOVES people. And the Meyer's Briggs will confirm all of my Introverted tendencies.  Most people who know me would say, yep, Jessica is an extrovert. You would probably never know it unless I shared with you Personally.  

Group classes  do work for me but only when I am recharged or have had a day or two of solitude. If I go into a Franchise Pilates Studio, and I am mentally or socially drained, my Pilates session is no good to me. Instead of feeling recharged and reset, I feel like a crabby overdo-er who needs a nap.   What happens if I keep feeling this way? You guessed it, I quit going and most likely I waste my sessions or my membership? Has that ever happened to you? If it has or it keeps happening with your fitness goals than you might be apart of the introvert club. That hat is okay because you have options.

 I drive a little farther, pay a small amount more, by the class. I take group sessions from an established studio who has around 5 reformers. I would still prefer a private session because I feel like I get more for my time and money. When a private is not an option. I drive across town to my special favorite instructor who only teaches group early on Tuesdays. I enjoy a smaller setting because my instructor can correct my form better. I don't feel so crowded in my space. The music isn't so loud.