It’s really crazy what you can achieve in less than one month of regular attendance at the Spinlates studio. (Fittingly enough, their catchphrase—printed on the back of all the trainers’ T-shirts—is “A Little Bit of Crazy Is Always Fun! A motto inspired by the endlessly positive, embracing-the-edge owner, Bambi Martin.
I have been indulging in the smorgasbord of awesome classes at Spinlates (the eponymous mix of Pilates and Spinning), group Reformer Pilates classes, and power yoga over the past three weeks; I have taken ten classes total. I have also been watching my diet, keeping it high in protein and low in carbs and simple sugars.
Ready for the exciting part? I went to the doctor today, and on the medical scale, I had lost ten pounds since my last visit just two months ago! I am only five-foot-five, so this is a pretty huge percentage for me.
Clothes that hadn’t fit me in over 18 months (when my aforementioned breakup and ice-cream wallowing hit) now zip up easily. My posture is much more erect and elegant. I can feel muscles—like my obliques—that have not been in evidence in a good ten years.
Ten seems like the magic number here, right? My experience totally echoes the Joseph Pilates’s famous quote (and the basis for Spinlates’s JP 30 Session Challenge): “In ten sessions, you will feel the difference, in twenty you will see the difference, and in thirty you'll have a whole new body.”
I am here to shout from the (Hollywood) hilltops that I can most definitely feel a difference—I can also see it, as can my friends and the lovely, encouraging trainers at Spinlates.
Even more wonderful, I feel a happiness, confidence and a lightness of spirit that I haven’t had in a long, long time. (Another exciting tidbit: I have been getting hoards of dates with some very charming suitors.) I attribute all of this good stuff to Spinlates.
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been a breeze: I have sweated and struggled and, yes, ached a bit (in a good way) on this journey.
After each class, I feel I have left all I have on that Reformer and/or bike. It hasn’t been easy. The cool thing is, however, all I need do is walk into the studio and—boom!—the work begins. The classes are so incredible and well-taught (and the tunes are so hot) that you have nary a moment to think or look at the clock…and, 55 minutes later, you have worked out every inch of your body.
And I am here to tell you that these classes give you dividends unrivaled by any workout I have ever known. I can’t wait for class 20…and 30…and on into a lifetime of fitness ignited on the corner of Sunset and Vine!
Laura Vogel is a writer and editor who has written for Real Simple, Martha Stewart, In Style, The Washington Post and The New York Post. She just took her tenth class at Spinlates on July 26, and will be sharing her progress and other fitness tips in this blog every other week.