My first foray into reformer pilates was about 4 years ago here in Bangalore with the lovely Anjali and Sharat from The Zone Mind & Body Studio. To say I fell in love with pilates would be an understatement! Not long after falling in love, I had to leave Bangalore for about 4 months, as were getting married back in the UK. I was more than a tad concerned about being able to continue with my pilates, especially as I probably needed it more than ever with our impending nuptials…..So, as I always do in these situations, I turned to my trusty friend Mr Google, and found Bootcamp Pilates. Bootcamp Pilates was like my regular pilates classes back in India, but souped up. It was a more dynamic form of the pilates I’d been used to. My first session was where I met the fabulous Niko Algieri. Niko made every class fun and dare I say it enjoyable, and it wasn’t long before he became my favourite teacher (being a fellow Welshie obviously helped!).
Well, fast forward 3 years and Niko has ventured out on his own and launched Niko Physique. The launch in late March, timed perfectly with one of my visits back to the UK. So, without hesitation, I set myself-up an account and booked in for as many classes as I could possibly fit in.
Niko has taken the basics from traditional pilates and combined them with dynamic moves to create an unbelievable workout that will help sculpt your body and get you in shape in next to no time. I noticed a change in my body after just 10 sessions!
As we all know nothing in life happens without hard work, and these classes epitomise that. Each class lasts an hour and there is a maximum of ten people in any one class, ensuring that everyone receives one-on-one attention and tuition. Extremely advantageous when you are popping your legs in maternity stirrups and standing on a moving platform that threatens to bring out the inner-gymnast in all of us!
Niko starts each class with some gentle warm-up exercises and stretches to prepare the body for the torturous intense workout ahead. Every class is a combination of resistance and endurance moves that will push you to your absolute physical limits. Niko will have you do anything from squatting whilst keeping the moving platform still (quite tricky!) to holding a plank on the torture bed, or doing what feels like a hundred pikes to help strengthen your core.
Niko’s reformer pilates classes are easily the best workouts I’ve ever done. They are always so much fun (he is super cheeky and plays the best tunes!) and a complete challenge. I leave every class feeling completely stretched and that every muscle in my body has been worked in several different ways.
Don’t expect a workout that will leave you gasping for your next breath, it won’t, but don’t be lured into a false sense of security…your legs will be jelly like on the way home and movement the next day might be a challenge….however, I can promise you it’s definitely worth it! This is a workout for the fit, the unfit, the flexible, the inflexible, men, women – anybody and everybody will leave wanting to come back for more. There’s not many workouts you can say that about, is there?
Signing-up and booking is extremely easy and your first class is FREE!
And if all that wasn’t enough to spur you on to book in for a class, Niko is also a former Men’s Health Magazine cover model….I’ll say no more!
With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo
