At a Glance:

Website: http://strongbodypilates.com
Address: 13033 Ventura Blvd, Suite F, Los Angeles, CA, 91604
Length: 55 minutes
Price: 1 class/$35, 12 classes/$378, month unlimited/$230
Sweat scale: medium
Energy level: low

I’ll be honest; I stalk the ClassPass site for new studios. Unbeknownst to me, I stalked so hard that I ended up at this studio on their first day with CP.

Pre Sweat

The studio is located on the second floor of a small shopping center with Pressed Juicery and an adorable nail salon. While there are a few spots out front, there is a lot of parking in the neighborhood and on the street across Ventura just watch out when you’re crossing the busy road. I signed in, filled out a longer waiver, and met Nicole. It turned out that I was the only one signed up for class so I got a private lesson! Lucky me!

Sweat

Since it was just the two of us, Nicole was really helpful and always adjusted my machine for me in between movements. We did a bunch of legs, arms, and core work on the reformer and I let her know that I had never done the jump board. She got it out and I got to play on it for a bit, watching my heart rate spike up quickly as I bounced up and down (it’s almost like being on a trampoline but moving horizontally).

Then we even moved to the Pilates Cadillac, which I had also never worked out on before! It is quite an intimidating apparatus and she mentioned that Joseph Pilates created the first one using a hospital bed as a way for bedridden patients to exericse. With my feet dangling in straps and my hands holding the resistance bar, I worked my butt, legs, arms, and abs all at once. We also did a lot of core work including the typical Pilates roll ups, and “series of five” consisting of these five killer core exercises that you do in a row without a break. We ended with some stretching using the Cadillac for support.

Post Sweat

Without a doubt head down to Pressed Juicery and grab a post Pilates treat. The juices are only $6.50 and the thicker almond milk based drinks are $8. They are happy to let you sample whatever. I only wish that they had their signature Freeze at this location. If you’re in a pampering mood, stop by Bellacures for a luxurious mani pedi.

Tricks of the Trade

• Sticky socks are not required!
• Right now on ClassPass they offer a mixed level and an intermediate class. As most people who go to this studio are regulars, I would recommend trying the mixed level class before going for intermediate.