At a Glance:

Website: http://www.carriespilatesplus.com
Address: 8500 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Length: 45 minutes
Price: 1 class/$33, 10 classes/$290, month unlimited/$199
Sweat scale: medium
Energy level: medium

I took this class on Monday. It is Thursday. My abs are STILL painfully sore. I’d call this sweat a success.

Pre Sweat

After accidentally driving into the parking garage of an elementary school, being pointed in the wrong direction by a kind valet man at Ago, and calling the studio, I finally found the two level black and white striped building. I followed the sign for visitor parking and landed myself in a small underground garage with no one to be found. I took the elevator up to level 1 and turned to my right, finally laying eyes on Carrie’s Pilates Plus. After checking in and signing a waiver, I grabbed a free water bottle and picked out a reformer in between two regulars.

Sweat

These megaformers plus are like nothing I’ve seen before. They have torture device written all over them. Leslie, the instructor, had us get hand weights to put next to our machines—I got 4 pounders. CPP is circuit training that combines strength training, cardio, and Pilates. The workout is EXTREMELY fast paced—so much so that it was hard to keep up with. Each exercise is done for 30-45 seconds with a pulse to follow.

Using resistance from the reformer, we did lunges, squats, curls, leg lifts and circles, and crunches. It was a full body workout that exhausted muscles in my core, legs, arms, inner thighs, and booty. The clientele makes it obvious that this workout does the trick—everyone had rock hard abs and sculpted bods…it was hard not to stare with envy.

Post Sweat

Trendy and popular coffee shop Alfred in the Alley is right across the street! Grab a quick bite to eat at Le Pain Quotidien or something yummy at Taste on Melrose. There is also plenty of high end shopping around the area including Rag & Bone, Theory, Dash, Marc Jacobs, and Oscar de la Renta.

Tricks of the Trade

• Because there are so many regulars, there is little instruction throughout the class. Try to get a spot near people who are familiar with the workout so you can sneak peeks at them.
• The parking is supposed to be $2 with validation, but when I arrived  left there was no attendant so I made it out for free. The meters in the area run about $1.50/hour.
• Go slowly. You will feel very unsteady at times because of how much the reformer slides.