As society has evolved, there have been various techniques on how to stay healthy through body movement. Some of these could include cycling classes, Zumba, strength training, yoga, and many more. But there is a specific type of workout that has gained a lot of popularity and interest over the years, and that is pilates. An individual is now able to find these studios all over the world and now here in this community.
Pilates is a type of body and mind exercise that has gained much popularity in the last couple of years from numerous social media platforms. It was invented back in the 1920s to help soldiers after war who had bad injuries. But it has transformed to become one of the most well-known athletic classes people will take. This type of workout is used to help strengthen the core, increase flexibility, and still get some movement through the body while performing a low-impact exercise. For the longest time, when someone would mention pilates, people would think of a type of training that the wealthy or the elderly would do. But this has now changed, and an individual can see people of all different social classes and ages attending these classes.
With the rise in the popularity of these classes, one can see pilates studios popping up all over the place. There just happens to be a new one that opened in Uptown Marion under the name Club Pilates. It is a chain of studios that can be seen all over the country. According to Crystal Rivera, who is the supervisor for their Cedar Rapids and Marion locations, which are owned by Jara and Spencer Stevens, they decided to open a studio in Uptown Marion because they love the community and everyone here. It has always been a dream of theirs to open a location in Marion, and their dream is now becoming a reality. They had the ribbon cutting about a month ago on Sept. 18, and have had many classes starting since then. “The flow class is our most basic reformer type, then from there we have a center and balance class that focuses on stretching. A sculpt class that focuses on cardio. There is a F.I.T class that has a boot camp style to it, where they will incorporate weights into it. Then finally, the restore class works with trigger point rolling and helps with recovery,” said Rivera. There are a variety of memberships depending on what the individuals want; she said, “Our lowest level membership runs for $99 and then we have an unlimited that runs a little over $200. The price ranges depending on how many classes one can take.
Even though many people think of pilates as a way to get their bodies moving, there are actually many benefits to it, for example, one of these being an increase in flexibility. As many people get older, they can become more tense and stiff, but with these small movements and strength training, they can help them gain some muscle and decrease the risk of falls and injuries. This can also be a helpful tool for athletes. Many of them can find themselves straining or tearing their muscles if they don’t stretch enough. Going to pilates can help stretch people’s muscles that they might not normally use and reduce the possibility of injuries.
With there being a demand for this type of workout, many people are wondering if this could be the new yoga or Zumba. An individual can see videos all over TikTok and Instagram of people showing what they do during these classes, and also what they are wearing to them. This has helped bring many people to be interested in these types of exercises, including young women. Many are wondering if it is just going to be a phase the world is going through, or if it is going to become the next big workout class.
