Workout of the week: Pilates Circuit

Camera staff
Posted: 08/10/2010 04:00:00 PM MDT

Pilates Junction, 3601 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-374-4581, pilatesjunctionboulder.com

Instructor: Jodi Woodruff, 47, of Boulder, has been teaching Pilates for 13 years. She opened the Pilates Junction almost two years ago. Woodruff studied dance at the University of Colorado and has run Pilates teacher-training workshops.

She teaches classical Pilates, just a few generations down from the founder of Pilates.

“My goal is not to dilute it down, to stay true to the form and not deviate because the form works,” she says.

I would soon find out how well it works.

Martina Mason, foreground, and Christine Wilson work out under the direction of Jodi Woodruff during a Pilates circuit class at Pilates Junction in The Peloton. ( MARTY CAIVANO )

What is the workout? The circuit class utilizes two to three different pieces of equipment, giving students an opportunity to work out their whole bodies on various apparatuses. This allows for deep penetration of muscles.

A circuit is more aerobic than other kinds of Pilates classes, because Woodruff coordinates all moves into a constantly challenging flow.

What does it cost? A one-time drop-in is $25.

Who does it? My class was three people, but class could hold six participants.

When: The 55-minute class is at noon on Monday, 8 a.m. Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Level: The circuits class is offered on three levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Woodruff said the class I took was intermediate. I can only dream of being tough enough to take the advanced class. This was probably the most challenging Pilates class I’ve taken — at least an eight on a 10-point scale. It’s worth noting I am still recovering from a complicated pregnancy, so my core — the cornerstone of this class — was pushed hard.

“I have a way of getting in there, really making sure people are working truly, honestly from their core, so they do walk away and say, ‘I felt that. I seriously felt that,’” Woodruff says. “But you shouldn’t be in bed for three days after.”

She says the class should be appropriate for a healthy person new to Pilates with no big body challenges.

Newbies: I would recommend trying the beginner’s class first.

Format: Pilates follows a standard sequence of exercises, and Woodruff organizes the class by piecing together various sequences on the different pieces of equipment.

My class moved from the reformer to the low chair. Class followed a warm up, peak and cool down, all using different Pilates moves. We started with footwork, lengthening and breathing. Once we were warm, the real challenge hit.

Equipment: My class included the Pilates reformer and the low chair. Other classes might include the tower system or mat.

What to wear: Comfortable clothes (but avoid short shorts), no shoes.

Muscles worked: Full body, with an emphasis on the right alignment of the core.

One new move: The low chair upside down push-up. (That’s a mouthful.) With your feet on the pedal of the low chair, place hands on the seat, grabbing the edges of the chair. Now the task is to get the pedal to move up into a sort of headstand, with your abs suspended in the air while the head drops toward the floor. You have to shift your weight and use your breath to do it. It took me a few experimental attempts before I could get the pedal to move.

What’s different: Woodruff’s class has a strong emphasis on how breath connects with movements. The intimate circuit class is faster paced than other Pilates classes I have done and highly effective. Every move, every breath, was precise and intentional.

What I loved: You can tell Pilates is Woodruff’s passion. Every sentence she spoke with conviction; she never lost focus or control of the class, not even for a blink. Very rarely do you meet people who you know are fully present while they interact with you like this, and that translated into one of the highest quality strength-training experiences of my life. Woodruff knows what she is doing. She is patient, as a teacher, but no softie.

What I didn’t like: I was so sweaty. It was disgusting. I felt sorry for Woodruff when she had to touch me. She probably needed a decontamination tent after I left.

Inspiration for class: Woodruff wanted to create a 55-minute session exploring all of the equipment and tying it together in a complimentary way.

How I felt after the class: Uh oh. I knew I was going to be sore.

How I felt later: I think this might be a record-breaking deepest full-body soreness in history, especially in my stomach and obliques. No, I wasn’t stuck in bed. But I honestly felt the effects for a week.

If I could afford it, I would do this class once a week. I think it’d be the quickest way to reclaim my pre-baby body.

– Reported by Aimee Heckel.

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