Denice’s Personal Story: So my palms are sweating and I am so nervous!  I am not the most coordinated person, nor am I in any sort of physical shape, but I am entering the world of Pilates.  My mom suggested I try it out; she does it twice a week.  I thought, “Sure, why not.  If she can do it, I can do it”.  Well, I thought Pilates was similar to yoga. 

BOY WAS I WRONG! My editor, Elana, and I signed up at the Body Center in Claremont California.  Jeff Fairley, owner and director of physical therapy, helped us get situated.  Jeff gave us the grand tour of the center and briefed us on the Pilates machine.  That’s right, I said MACHINE!!!  Who knew Pilates was on a machine!

After we became familiar with the machine, it was off to our semi-private session with Stephanie Stevens, our STOTT Certified Pilates instructor.  The class had two other women in it and it was held in a comfortable room.  Stephanie helped with our positioning and form on the machines.

The class was an hour long, and boy did I feel it!  It was not a cardio type of work out, but a muscle strengthening type of work out!  I was a bit uncoordinated and clumsy on the machine (and yes, I did see Elana stumble a bit too!), but Stephanie helped us out and encouraged us to keep going.

The next day I was sore, but it felt great.  I loved it and I am looking forward to “Day 2″ tonight! Check back to see my progress.

Elana’s Personal Story: ….So I’m finally down with  Pilates. Thank heavens that Denice invited me to try this amazing workout for weekly sessions. I’ve always had a sort of athletic-shaped body – flat stomach, strong legs, and a defined back.

 Yet, amidst my long hours of writing, proofing, e-mailing, and pitching story ideas to PR reps and fellow bloggers (and trying to fit lunch somewhere in between), I find myself eating a few too many dark chocolate Milky Way mini-bars and chocolate chip cookies, or skipping meals altogether! Yes, I know, totally unhealthy. So in trying out a new fitness course of action, I look forward to regaining my toned shape. I hope Pilates inspires me to hit the gym much more frequently than I am now – not at all!

Yes, Beauty Chat readers, the editor of a Blog who preaches the importance of maintaining a healthy body inside and out is not taking care of her health as properly as she should.  This is why I’m so happy to take on a challenging, new fitness regimen.

So with tonight being “Day 2″, we are both excited. My energy is a bit charged, as compared to my fright from last week, because I now know what to expect. In fact, I am already predicting the type of breathing exercises we are going to do. It’s not easy y’all! But Pilates definitely works every muscle in your body. The next day at work, Denice and I compared who had the most aches. I’m not sure who won, but it wasn’t enough to stop us from continuing with Pilates!

Check back next week to see how we’re feeling from the session tonight ….

xoxoxo, Denice and Elana

Photo Credits: Denice’s camera. Can you tell we don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into?