Two of my favorite things? Catching-up with friends and getting in a great workout.  And when the two collide, it makes for a perfect Saturday morning!

I’m very excited to tell you about a new-to-Seattle, pilates-based workout studio, Pilates ProWorks.  The foundation of this quick 50 minute, total-body workout is the Lagree method, which uses a pilates reformer machine to strengthen and tone.  Generally classes begin with a warm-up, which often includes a variety of plank exercises; engaging your core.  From there, a leg series is usually at the beginning of each class.  Think lots of lunges while engaging your abdominal and lots of small muscles in order to maintain your posture and balance.  Just when you think your legs are on fire, there is very brief relief in moving on to arms.  It’s brief because your arms will soon be burning as well!  The springs on the carriage create resistance – arm exercises often use the pulleys to move the carriage (working all the muscle groups in the process).  Usually class closes with more core work followed by much-needed stretching.

Eager to try the new studio, which is located conveniently in South Lake Union, I gathered a group of like-minded, fit friends to join me for a Saturday morning sweat sesh.  We shared some laughs, as getting used to maintaining your balance on the reformer machine can be humbling.  Several of us were new to this type of class but, given that we are all athletic, we easily fell into the class (none of us actually fell!).  And, although many of us were newbies, we all got a great workout and felt it the next day(s) for sure!

We’re all busy moms and/or creative professionals.  Finding time to catch-up with friends and take care of yourself, particularly as we approach the holidays, can be difficult to do.  So grab a buddy and book a class – you’ll be held accountable and, I can guarantee, you’ll feel fulfilled after doing so.  New to Pilates ProWorks?  Lucky you.  You can try your very first class for free!  Maybe I’ll even see you there!

Activewear compliments of Brooks.  You can find my tights, tee, bra, and tank.  Kirsty’s tights and bra as well.  Oh, and our matching running shoes too!

Skip on over to Kirsty’s blog to read about her experience trying Lagree pilates, and Pilates Proworks for the first time.  Given her grunting and sighs, I can only imagine she’s going to be sharing her true feelings on the workout.

Thanks for reading! ~Jenn

This post was done in partnership with Pilates Proworks and Brooks.  As always, you can expect all opinions to be my own.

Thanks to Sarah for photography.