Our Family's Spinning Class Experience at Pilates Inc.

We've been drinking detox water every other day, we've been eating nutrition-packed salads, we've given up chips and other junk foods and opted for homemade vegetarian pizza, healthy breakfast parfaits and wholemeal wraps, and we've been playing badminton whenever we can. Our goal to keep our family fit is starting to pay off and we are getting more and more adventurous in looking for ways on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Having said that, I realized that the family lacks some form of cardiovascular exercise and I know we need to work on it. The sooner the better. As if The Moving Body Group read my mind, they sent me an invitation to try out a Spinning® class at Pilates Inc. How can I say no when the invitation came on such a perfect timing? The trial class was actually scheduled a day after Lady Iron Chef's Christmas Party where the hubby and I were invited to feast on nydc's Christmas menu. 

After indulging on good food on Friday night, off we went to Pilates Inc. on Saturday morning for our much needed dose of exercise. It is a great bonus that we were invited as a family. I tagged along my husband and my 11 y/o girl who happened to be more active than me. She is my badminton partner when the hubby is not around and she is hubby's jogging partner when I couldn't keep up with their energy. We have made "the family that exercises together, stays together" our motto.

Out of our over-eagerness to burn all the excessive calories we've indulged with at nydc, we came almost an hour earlier than our appointment time at Pilates Inc. We were greeted by the very friendly receptionist who is a fellow Filipino. I took the chance to take some photographs of the studio while waiting for our Spinning® instructor. Let me give you a quick virtual tour of the place.

Right opposite the reception area is the ongoing Pilates Class led by the designated pilates instructor. According to Pilates Inc. website, Pilates aims to correct posture by strengthening the weaker group of muscles and lengthening the overused muscles in our body. It is highly effective as part of rehabilitative programme but on its own, Pilates improves strength, works the core region, incorporates proper breathing technique with every exercise, and  increase flexibility.

There is also an ongoing physiotherapy session just opposite the waiting area. Physiotherapy, as aptly described at Pilates Inc. website, plays an integral part in the healing process of acute injuries, post surgery conditions, muscle imbalances and preventive measures on a good body alignment. Pilates Inc. have employed qualified physiotherapists who can put together a treatment plan tailored to the individual.

Part of physiotherapy is the Gyrotonic Expansion System®. It is a 3-dimentional holistic approach to movement that is designed to meet the needs of people of all ages. It apparently works for any age group, healthy individual, and any one recovering from illness or injury. Benefit of the exercise include increased strength, flexibility and general sense of calm and wellbeing. 

Behind those glass panels in the above photo is the Spinning® room. Before I could take a decent photo of it, our Spinning® instructor arrived. He explained to us that Spinning® class was introduced by Pilates Inc. as a cardiovascular complement to Pilates exercise. My family were guaranteed a great and challenging work out plus calorie burn. Didn't I mention that the hubby and I were too eager to burn calories earlier? Yay! We are in for a spin and my girl is equally excited! 

Here's the instructor demonstrating to us on how to adjust the spinning machine saddle according to the height of our thigh when we lift it parallel to the ground. 

We were also taught how to control the pedal resistance by turning the red controller right below the handlebar. The red controller comes with a plus and minus sign to guide you on how to turn it according to your desired resistance.

The spin bike came with a monitor that tracts speed and accumulated miles. On the side of the monitor is the water bottle holder. 

After adjusting our seats and securing our feet on the pedal (if you notice the black strings on my rubber shoes, it is intended to secure your feet during the entire spinning session) and getting everything in place, we did some warm up exercise.

Then we set off to a great start. Look at those happy faces! Let's see whether the big smiles plastered on our faces will last until the end of the 1 hour session. Haha! Time to race, baby! Spin, spin, spin!

My girl was leading the "race" all throughout the session. The instructor kept on encouraging her to keep it up so that no one will be able to catch up with her. Haha! Such a sporty kid. 

Uh oh, look who's beginning to struggle? LOL. We were all asked to increase the pedal resistance, lift our butt from the seat and do the "climb". At this point, I started panting and begged for a bottle of water right after the strenuous "climb". The hubby who is just beside me was sweating like mad. His sweat was dripping all over his face but I could see from his happy facial expression that he is very much gratified with the huge amount of calories he's burning.

As for me, thank goodness I managed to finish the session by drinking water frequently and keeping an eye with my two exercise inspirations (my girl and the hubby). I also have to commend the instructor who is very, very encouraging to us first timers throughout the whole session. We don't look sweaty at all in the above photo taken right after the class, thanks to the heavily air-conditioned Spinning® room. We did some stretching exercise towards the end of the session too which helped us feel relaxed. 

Based on our heart-pumping and physically challenging Spinning® experience, we will definitely come back for more sessions if given the chance. Spinning® is a very good form of cardiovascular exercise for our family. Its impact on our health  is definitely worth every bit of soreness and muscle ache we suffered thereafter. The calories we have burned are just an added bonus. When you sign up for a Spinning® class or do cardio exercise regularly, expect to reap some of its great benefits enumerated by Len Kravitz, PhD and senior exercise physiologist for IDEA Fitness and Health Association which includes:

• Reduced risk of heart disease
• Improved blood cholesterol
• Improved heart function
• Reduced risk of osteoporosis
• Improved muscle mass

Eager to try a Spinning® class for your self or for your whole family? I have a good news for you! Just quote Sweet Memoirs when you sign up for the class and you will be given a 10% discount from your total package. Just take note that Spinning® class is only available at Pilates Inc., East Coast branch. If Spinning® is not your cup of tea, fret not! You can also sign up for Pilates, one on one fitness training, and Gyrotonic® and still avail the same discount off the Starter Kit. 

Pilates and other services are available at the following subsidiary of The Moving Body Group:

The Moving Body (Robertson Walk)
11 Unity Street, 01-23/24 Robertson Walk, Singapore 237995
T. 6235 1051 H. 8128 9062

The Moving Body (Guthrie House)
No.1 Fifth Avenue, 03-09 Guthrie House, Singapore 268802
T. 6469 3870 H. 9653 3809

Pilates Inc (Amoy St)
82 Amoy Street, Level 1, Singapore 069901
T. 6423 1196 H. 9647 3717

Pilates Inc (East Coast)
46 East Coast Road, 06-05 East Gate, Singapore 428766
T. 6345 7166 H. 8222 8353