Be Careful What You Wish For

I love Instagram. Yeah, I said it. On Instagram, I see photos of all different kinds of workouts and boutiques, and it always inspires me to try out new things. But recently, Instagram did me dirty. It led me to believe that something would be so easy, and that I would look so strong and powerful while doing it. Well, to that I say: You sleep in a bed of lies, Instagram!

Instagram told me that Pilates reformer was going to make me look super elegant and graceful, and that was just… inaccurate. When I tried Pilates reformer at my gym a couple of weeks ago, I looked like a hot mess, and felt like I had absolutely zero strength in any important muscle groups. #reedfail

Pilates reformer is hard, people! When you’re scrolling on IG and see people doing lunges on the reformer while making it look effortless, just know what you’re getting yourself into. You will engage muscles you didn’t even know you had, and things that you think should be easy are actually pretty difficult! But know this: Pilates reformer is a great low-impact workout, but you will definitely have to put in some work!

If you don’t know what Pilates reformer, it’s basically a room filled with fancy medieval torture devices that have been given a modern finish.* At my gym, they have the reformer, which is the table-looking thing that you’ve probably seen online (it is no friend of mine) and the “chair,” which should really be called “Congratulations! Your Butt Hurts! Now, Grab This Handle…” Avoid eye contact with both of these machines.

Can you complain about being tortured if you signed up for something — twice! — and, if you’re being honest, loved it? Science hasn’t reached a final conclusion on this one.

What about if you try a more intense version of something that you were already being a baby about? Can you complain about that? Hmmm…

I’ll let you know after I try an even more intense reformer class at [solidcore] this week. I read this article on Fitt about the top workouts in the DC Area, and [solidcore] popped up. They’ve actually featured them a couple of times on the website, and I’ve been really interested (despite all the earlier complaining). It turns out that there’s one about 5 minutes from my home, so I signed up for a class on Thursday! Here’s hoping I get over my fear of the reformer while getting a good sweat in. Also, here’s hoping that I stop being a big baby. That’s even harder than a little Pilates reformer…

*Keep in mind that I’m being a crybaby about this whole thing, despite the fact that I loved it, so I might be exaggerating juuuuuust a little bit…


Have you ever tried a workout you loved, but maybe you were a whiner about it during the class? What’s the toughest workout you’ve tried lately? Have you ever used social media or websites to find a new fitness class to try? If so, make sure you check out Fitt.co. They have some great recommendations for a lot of different cities around the US!