Classes

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Classes

Please click on the title of the classes in the table, or scroll below the timetables to view the description of the classes.

Ross-on-Wye

Days Pilates Be Steady Be Strong Advanced Be Steady Be Strong
Monday
10am – 11am 16:00pm – 17:00pm 18:00pm – 19:00pm
No
No
Tuesday
No
No
11am - 12pm
Wednesday
No
No
No
Thursday
10:00am - 11:00am 16:00pm - 17:00pm
No
No
Friday
No
11am - 12pm
No

Balsall Common

Days Pilates Be Steady Be Strong Advanced Be Steady Be Strong
Monday
10am – 11am 16:00pm – 17:00pm 18:00pm – 19:00pm Virtual Classes Only
No
No
Thursday
10:00am - 11:00am 16:00pm - 17:00pm Virtual Classes Only
No
No

What Is Pilates?

Pilates is a method of exercise which focusses on strengthening the body, with a strong emphasis on abdominal/core strength. Like different forms of Yoga, Pilates concentrates on full body posture, breathing control, balance, and abdominal control. Injury risk in Pilates is much lower than other forms of strenuous exercise as the impact of the exercise is much lower.

Pilates also focuses on the mind-body connection. While doing the various exercises your mind needs to be constantly aware of your breathing and the way your body moves, this will help strengthen the nervous pathways utilised through everyday activities.

Can Anyone Do Pilates?

Pilates can be modified through varying exercise levels to provide either a gentle strengthening program, or a challenging workout. As the exercises may be modified easily to suit the individual, it is suitable for both beginners and those who exercise regularly.

It is recommended to check with your health professional if you haven't exercised for a while, are older or pregnant, or have health problems, before coming to one of our classes! Pilates has also been useful for those who suffer from arthritis, as it helps to keep your joints flexible and healthy. Because Pilates strengthens the thigh muscles this may be particularly useful in reducing the risk and sensitivity of arthritis and other injuries.

What Health Benefits Can Be Achieved Through Pilates?

  • Good posture - Pilates will teach you to gain and maintain good posture. The exercises require that your body is always in alignment, which may be beneficial if you suffer from lower back pain, or other forms of mechanical musculoskeletal conditions.
  • Muscle Tone – As the Exercises are very specific, the likelihood of you performing similar tasks throughout your day is quite low. The exercises will help strengthen and tone muscles that are pivotal for full body control and posture.
  • Flexibility - As we age we tend to lose flexibility and muscle elasticity; Pilates will help restore your flexibility through dynamic, controlled movements. This is especially important for avoiding injuries or overstretching muscles.
  • Improves your balance - The mind-body connection which is taught through Pilates will increase awareness of how your body moves and performs. Pilates not only improves your physical balance, but can also help restore your ‘mind-body’ balance.
  • Reduces stress – It’s no surprise that exercise can help reduce stress through the reduction of stress hormones, and the release of endorphins. When doing the exercises, you'll be totally engaged and all the stresses and responsibilities that may weigh you down will likely be forgotten. Breathing control is also an effective way to relieve stress.

Do You Need Any Special Equipment?

In short, no. We will provide you with all the relevant equipment needed to take part in our classes.

High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a type of training technique characterised by giving near maximal effort during short bouts of exercise. The short bouts are alternated with short (and sometimes ‘active’) periods of rest/recovery. As this keeps the heart rate at high levels, a lot of energy is used to maintain performance in HIIT sessions. You can get similar benefits from going out for a long run, however depending on the intensity you run at, it is likely not to burn as much fat as a single session of HIIT. This is because you need to use fat deposits for energy at a quicker rate in HIIT compared to long distance running, or other forms of moderate cardiovascular exercises.

One of the goals of HIIT is to not only raise the heart rate, but to ensure that the exercises are carried out at near-maximum intensity. To really reap the benefits, you need to keep the intensity level high. This is also why we see short bouts of rest periods between exercises/sets; resting between each set is an essential part of the workout, if you do not take enough time to recover, you will not be able to work at near-maximum capacity throughout the next exercise. HIIT has been seen to be a more effective means of getting lean incredibly fast. As it uses both body weight and added weight, it not only spikes up the heart rate, but also tones muscles.

Simply put, HIIT can help you lose body fat, stay lean, improve endurance and add more muscle mass. These are only a few benefits to note, so why not come along and try the classes out to experience all the benefits yourself!

Be Strong Be Steady are our specially created classes aimed at older adults to help improve balance, stability, and strength. We hold both a beginner and advanced version of the classes that will cater to you, whatever your needs and goals. It is well documented that exercise has many benefits on the body and mind. Targeted exercise programmes such as those delivered in our classes, can positively impact many systems in our bodies, including:

Musculoskeletal System:

  • Cartilage naturally reduces in thickness as we age, which may predispose individuals to a higher risk of developing conditions such as osteoarthritis. As well as this, our bone density naturally diminishes by 0.5% every year after the age of 40, and muscles naturally waste due to age related sarcopenia – at 65 years of age, a typical person will have lost 25% of their peak muscle mass. All of these factors increase the risk of individuals becoming frail and weaker, which can lead to further complications. It is therefore important to regularly exercise to reduce the rate of these changes occurring. With targeted interventions held in our classes, we are confident that your risk and rate of age-related changes as mentioned above reduces.

Central Nervous System Changes:

  • Ageing also affects our nervous system, which has subsequent effects on other bodily systems. Some of the changes include decreased conduction and firing of our nerves, which may result in decreased mobility, balance, postural sway, reflexes and slower gait. Exercise can help kick-start these systems back to a good level of function, which in turn will help improve balance, stability and strength. All of which will greatly reduce your risk of falls and other injuries.

Cardiovascular System Changes:

  • Stiffening and thickening of vessel walls occurs as we age, which results in less blood leaving the heart, and a lower maximal oxygen uptake in our blood. Both these factors lead to an increased risk of hypertension. Exercise can help improve the strength of your heart, reduce arterial flow resistance and subsequently reduce your risk of hypertension.

Respiratory System Changes:

  • As we age there is a reduction in lung function, and a reduction in abdominal cavity muscle strength and neural input to these muscles, making breathing much less efficient. Exercises performed in our classes can help reduce the rate of this occurring, and have positive effects in your respiratory function by increasing lung volume, compliance and function.

There are many benefits to exercise, many of which we have not touched on above. However, it still remains clear that the benefits of exercise outweigh the benefits of a sedentary lifestyle. So why not give our classes a try and begin your journey to a steadier, stronger life!