A Well-Oiled Machine

April 30, 2019

It’s Pilates Reformer season here at Chelsea Piers Fitness. This month we will host a Pilates master class in Brooklyn, a brand-new reformer studio will open in Chelsea and we have a special Pilates Reformer offer for all members.

Have you peeked in to the Pilates Reformer studio and wondered what those Medieval-looking machines are used for? In fact, a wide variety of exercises are done on the reformer to promote length, strength, flexibility and balance. It’s a practice that is somehow both gentle and the most difficult think you’ll ever do, working out areas of your body as if it were for the first time.

“I have been feeling it all day - in a really good way! Not sore or in pain in any way, but beautiful awareness and reminders that these sad under-utilized muscles have been activated. Like my body has been fine-tuned. Like an instrument. It’s amazing.”
- Rachel K., Member, Chelsea Piers Fitness

Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf in 1880. He was a sickly child so he became determined to make himself strong and healthy by devoting his time to body-building. In 1912, Pilates left Germany for England where he became a professional boxer.

At the start of World War I, he was interned as a German enemy alien by the British. His internment sparked the development of a new approach to exercise and body-conditioning – the start of what is known today as Pilates. During this time, he also worked as a nurse using his techniques on the ill and injured- adding springs to the hospital beds of those who were bed-ridden.

Today you can find Pilates Reformer studios all around the world. Pilates is suitable for everyone from people who are new to exercise, to those recovering from injury, or even for high-performing athletes who are looking to improve flexibility, posture and core strength. Curious to learn more? We have a special offer for all members below.

“Approximately 30 months ago I believed I needed a knee replacement. A 30-year-old sports knee injury was becoming increasingly hard to manage.
A doctor I met suggested I try some rehabilitative therapy to see if I could mitigate my issues and delay surgery for a year or two. I started doing PT 2-3 times a week and didn’t feel it was helping me very much.
Our group fitness manager at Chelsea Piers Connecticut suggested that I try Pilates. So, in late 2015 I started seeing Oleg 2x a week. As Oleg likes to say, “I can fix you”. And fix me he did.
Today I am playing hockey twice a week, spinning 2-3 times a week, swimming and continuing my rehabilitative work with Oleg. I am stronger, more balanced and maintaining much improved muscular skeletal functions. As of today, getting a knee replacement is not something that is currently on a list of future things to do.”
- David T., Founder, Chelsea Piers