Help Find Balance At Pilates Works

The city of Fort Worth is big and bustling. For those in need of a break from the noise there is Pilates Works. Owner and instructor Kerry Kreiman focuses on helping adults, especially those over 50, age gracefully. A certified functional aging specialist, Kreiman has developed a studio that mixes Pilates, Plyometrics and so much more to create an all-encompassing workout for the busy person. Kreiman answered questions for Texas Homes For Sale about her inspirations and philosophies of what makes for healthy aging.

What advice would you give beginning Pilates practitioners?

Sometimes newbies get intimidated by the fact that there are hundreds and hundreds of exercises on a wide variety of machines. I tell new clients to be patient with themselves, to realize there is a big learning curve at first, and that as you continue to learn more over time, your mind and your body will come to understand that all of the different pieces of equipment and exercises are complementary to each other and help to inform each other.

Depending on where you live, the options for Pilates-based training may be quite limited, or may be quite diversified. Some fitness facilities only offer Pilates mat classes and others offer a variety of equipment training. Each studio may have different training formats ranging from one-on-one private personal training to small or large group training. Different teachers have different degrees of training and experience. If you have health conditions, injuries, or body issues which may impact your performance, you may want to spend some extra time shopping for a teacher who is appropriate for your needs. The best certification programs require more than 450 hours of training for a comprehensive certification (to teach on all of the large pieces of equipment, such as the Reformer, Chair, Cadillac/Trapeze Table, Ladder Barrel, etc.). When investigating studios, you may want to inquire about simple things, like what their cancellation policy is, what their dress code is, how often they clean their equipment, how often they replace the springs on their machines, and what kinds of continuing education their instructors do.

How can your personal fitness program help your clients get in shape?

In addition to a wonderful selection of traditional Pilates equipment, our studio also has Balanced Body CoreAligns and MOTRs, which beautifully blend the traditional Pilates repertoire with functional fitness methods. We try to make each workout session unique to keep challenging neuromuscular pathways in varied ways. For our regular private clients, we give great consideration to their lifestyle and participation in other fitness forms, sports, leisure activities, etc., and think about designing their training over days/weeks, rather than just that day’s work out. This enables us to better help our clients improve over time.

What else would you like to convey to the public about your Pilates center? What do you enjoy about your job?

I truly love my job because I am able to use my skills and knowledge to help others, and see their progress over time. I love helping people to be stronger and feel better in their bodies. I also greatly enjoy getting to know clients over time, because they start to feel like family and truly become part of our Pilates community. It’s also fun to see clients make new friends from exercise class. It can be a great way for people to find new face to face social connections, at a time when our society can start to feel more and more disconnected. Whether it’s making new connections in your body, or with others, it is my hope that everyone will feel more connected, healthier, and happier as a result of their participation.

By Caitie Vernon