Pilates 30 Session Challenge

Hello everyone!  Wow, I can’t believe it’s already Ash Wednesday again.  Time to reflect on life and decide what bad habits I can try to cut back on.  I personally love the idea of adding in something positive each day, so this Lenten season I’ve decided to pay a little more attention to my physical fitness by taking the Pilates 30 Session Challenge!  Will you join me?

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Joseph Pilates is famous for saying,

“In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference,
in 20 sessions you’ll see the difference,
and in 30 sessions you will have a whole new body.”

So this challenge is to take 30 classes in 8 weeks.  That comes out to 3-4 classes per week, which is totally doable!  I plan to get in my lessons at my favorite NYC studios, True Pilates New York and The Pilatium.  If you live in the area, I highly recommend giving these a try!  Another studio I love in the city is Re:AB.

When I can’t make an in-person class, I’ll take an online class on Pilatesology.  This is a FABULOUS website with tons of classical Pilates classes, ranging from Beginner to Advanced, in various time lengths, so there’s no excuse not to squeeze in a lesson 🙂  Check out their blog post on the challenge, complete with a training log and class recommendations.

If you’d like to join the challenge with me, lemme know in the comments section!  I will do updates each week on my progress.

Have a wonderful Wednesday 🙂

PV Body – Ellie Review

Hey there and happy Fat Tuesday!

Today I wanted to write up a review about my experience so far with PV Body, now re-branded as Ellie.  Where do I begin?  I really wanted to love this company but…I just don’t know if that’s going to happen.

It was such a great concept!  Sign up, and for $49.95 a month, receive a cute workout outfit with name brand pieces like Nike or lululemon.  Take a style quiz so they know what kind of stuff to send you, and returns and exchanges are hassle free.  Sign up with Facebook and get a free tank.  This seemed like a no brainer!  Especially considering I am in desperate need of cute workout clothes and lululemon is not exactly in my price range.  So I signed up…and waited.

And waited.  And waited.  I signed up on January 15th and on January 25th, there were still no shipping updates.  The company announced that they were switching over to their own exclusive line, Ellie, on February 1st.  I panicked.  Was this a huge scam?  Would my order just fall through the cracks?  I checked out their Facebook page and it looked as though everyone else was having the same exact problem as I was.  What a disaster.  At least the customer service reps were responding to people via Facebook, so I wrote a post about my concerns.  They assured me my package was shipping out that evening, and sure enough, my shipping information updated that weekend.  A few days later I received this!  A glimmer of hope…

 

Included in my package were a bright orange Nux top and black Ellie capris.  I loved them both!  I had never heard of Nux before, but they make everything in the USA and it was a nice quality top.  The Ellie capris were great as well.  I wouldn’t say they were comparable in quality to my lululemon capris, but considering they were less than a third of the price, I’ll take them.

Not included in my package?  The promised free tank.  I took to Facebook again and they assured me they would get it out.  12 days later, still no sign of it.

So what next?  They are officially Ellie now, and I am scheduled to have my next order placed on February 15th.  The new line is very cute.  Some of my favorite pieces:

 

 

So this is a toss up for me.  Cute, affordable clothing, but they need to get it together on the business side of things.  I’ve decided to give this company one more chance this month to see how it goes, and I will report back with an update 🙂

Have you tried PV Body or Ellie?  What was your experience like with them?

American Health and Fitness Alliance – The Passbook

The American Health and Fitness Alliance Passbook.

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It’s one of my favorite finds in all my years of scouring the internet for food and fitness gems.  I have purchased the yoga and Pilates passbooks and my experience with them was just wonderful.

Basically, you get to try out tons of different classes and studios for just $85 for the entire year!  It’s a great deal, especially if you live in a big city where classes are super expensive.

It was incredibly motivating for me because I would call ahead or reserve a spot online, then I was obligated to go 🙂  This is how I found re:AB, an awesome studio, and also how I found The Pilatium, which I still go to every week.  Lisa prepared me for the apprentice program at True Pilates…and here I am today!

I am in no way affiliated with the American Health and Fitness Alliance, I just think that this is a great program that not a lot of people know about, and I want to share it.  Plus, if you end up getting a membership at any of the studios or gyms, your money for the book is refunded.  To me, the price of the book was totally worth it regardless of whether or not I found a studio to regularly attend.  I think I will purchase one again next year to spice up my routine a little 🙂  It’s always fun to try new places and explore the city.  These passbooks are available in other cities too (Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston).  I really hope the program continues to be a success, and I would love to see it expand to other areas as well.  Health and Fitness Revolution!!!  It’s what our country needs!!!

Soooo if you live in one of the cities that offers the passbook, please check it out.  If not and you’d be interested, let em know!