Low-impact fitness is the new 'bootcamp'
As a circuits kind of fitness lover, I’ve often gravitated towards the HIIT classes that leave me drenched and spiked with cortisol. Speaking that into existence already sounds chaotic, but I’m getting to the part where I’m in my mid-30s seeking gentler modalities. I’m in the era where back and neck pain are regular end-of-day visitors and my social hour now consists of a heating pad, lathering arnica balm, and a good book *ah*. All this to say, I traded my HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class for low-impact pilates and I’m loving life. I wish I started this sooner, as you don’t need to leave a class breathless to see results. In fact, I leave Pilates feeling lengthened, relaxed, and stronger –– without the chronic fatigue HIIT classes give me.
Reformer pilates is the type of exercise where I almost can’t believe I’m starting off on my back in this supported, cozy apparatus. It’s deceptive though, as typically we begin with our feet on the bars, pushing in and out in subtle movements. Once that bit is over, it’s game time with whichever moves the instructor has up their sleeve. In the case of BODY pilates classes I've taken, the instructor may tell us to take out the pilates ring, the box, or a ball—and I’m finally realizing to expect the unexpected, but always to expect a challenge.
While short-term spikes in cortisol can help the body, over time it can lead to chronic fatigue, muscle fatigue, and worst of all, falling off the exercise motivation wagon. The reason pilates speaks so much to me is I leave feeling the workout, but I feel invigorated rather than depleted, and with adequate gentle cardio like walks, and a whole foods plant-based diet, I see results too.
Now in my mid-30s, these HIIT classes seem more like one-offs here and there, but my body craves gentle, effective fitness. I have plenty of friends and peers who have been on the pilates train far before I was and they’re some of the most toned people I know. If it’s good enough as a practice to rehabilitate wounded WW1 soldiers and to condition injured dancers (invented in the 1920s by trainer and gymnast, Joseph Pilates), I think there’s something to it. When BODY of Santa Fe opened the doors of its new Studio B inside their mecca of a location for health and wellness, Santa Fe truly received it’s new destination for reformer pilates.
From lengthening to developing a strong, capable core, the way the reformer supports as you stretch and lean into micro-movements, really conditions the body like an athlete, helping prevent injuries while toning the body all over. The BODY pilates studio is open daily with class offerings like Foundations and Sculpt to suit the desires for learning all the pilates foundations for proper form, to pilates lovers who seek more challenge in class––each class will provide low-impact strength training, with subtle results each time, that build from class to class. Since the pilates studio opened in February 2024, just a few months ago, I’ve seen results speak for themselves on my peers and myself. I love finding a space that gives me results without high impact that often leaves me out of commission after a couple of weeks. Pilates has completely reformed the way I view fitness!