The Company Team's January Challenge: Tenpilates

TenPilates

The Challenge: a TenPilates course to tone up,  feel leaner, flatten and tone stomach and waist.

My skinny jeans are feeling a bit tight after a period of over eating and lack of exercise,  I really need to get back in shape ready for spring. I have tried so many types of exercise over the years but I have never managed to achieve a flat stomach and trim waist. I tend to either bulk up no matter what I do and I am short so this is a big no no.

I found out about TenPilates when I bumped into a friend of mine who I hadn\'t seen for sometime and was so amazed at how fantastically slim and toned she looked. She had discovered an amazing new pilates called Tenpilates which she had been going to twice a week. After a bit of investigating I discovered that TenPilates is a dynamic pilates designed to strengthen and engage your core waist (a problem area for me) and lower back muscles. Not only does it promise to improve posture and prevent injury but unlike traditional pilates it is an intensive and highly effective full body work out designed to give you a slimmer, leaner figure fast! Er, what on earth am I waiting for. Ten have three studios in London, one in NottingHill, one in Chiswick and one in Mayfair.  My office is very close to Mayfair and so I have booked myself in for two sessions a week for five weeks. I am feeling really positive and excited.

tenpilates.com

0208 969 9677

Single class £25

5 classes - £120

10 classes - £200

20 classes - £360

30 classes - £495

Click through the gallery to see how Oonagh got on...

TenPilates: Week 1

I was really quite nervous as I headed down to my first session at the TenPilates studio in Mayfair. I wasn\'t sure what to expect and although I had done regular pilates before It was some time ago and I was a bit rusty to say the least. The studio is incredibly cool, full of very buff  beautiful people, I will have to invest in a stylish gym outfit.

I really enjoyed my first class but my god do I ache. I have been going to the gym religiously for years but my core stability is pretty weak. Ten focuses on balance and strengthening your core using a reformer bed. The 55mins absolutely whizzed by, you have to stay so focused as there is a lot to take in, how to use the bed, the exercises balance and breathing. I think I managed ok though and am really looking forward to my next class...

I am really getting into this it\'s amazing. I already feel a lot tighter and my stomach seems much more toned. I tried on my skinny jeans this weekend and they feel a lot more comfortable maybe it\'s psychological I don\'t know but I feel a lot more positive about my body . My boyfriend commented on my legs and said he thought they felt really toned and I definitely see more definition in my arms. I\'m getting so into this that I have booked to do an 8am class this week. Now that really is dedication!

TenPilates: Week 2

5 classes in...

I really love doing the classes in the early mornings and I never thought I would say that! It gives me so much energy for the day and I am so worried about getting stuck at work and missing my class so this way I know I will get to my lesson.

I have had three different instructors so far and they all have very different teaching methods which I really like because I feel like I am getting a good and varied work out.

I really feel the muscles in my bum, stomach and arms which is a good pain and lets me know I am working those problem areas. I can see more definition in my thighs, my stomach is certainly flatter and I think my bum is looking a bit perkier too!

The results seem so instant with TenPilates it is very rewarding and spurs you on to keep going  - no other exercise has given me such fast results. I am hooked!

TenPilates: Week 3

I have been going to the beginners classes up until this week and one of my instructors mentioned that after about three sessions you should start thinking about moving up to intermediate. I am a bit anxious about this although I do feel like I would like to push myself even more.

The intermediate classes are faster paced so you get more excercises in and they challenge you more too so the results are even more noticeable. I coped ok with the classes - they are definitely harder but in a good way. There are slight differences in the excercises and I managed to master a \"pike\" and box lunges which I hadn\'t tried before. The burn in my glutes (bum muscles to you and me) was so intense I had to hobble out of the studio at the end. I tried on my skinny jeans again tonight and they are so much loser around the waistband. The biggest weight loss is around my middle, I\'m beginning to see a much more defined waist and my bum is definitely shrinking it feels so good to have found a training programme that I really enjoy and that works for my body too.

TenPilates: Week 4

Nobody else turned up for  class in one of my sessions this week  and so I found myself having a personal training session with Neil, so no slacking for me!! It was so great,  Neil is such a brilliant trainer and it was tailored to my needs so I could really focus on my weak areas. This I must point out is a very rare occassion at Tenpilates, the sessions are nomally packed with people on the waiting list but the late class on a friday on a rainy winter\'s night must have just put everyone off so great for me! Look how dedicated I am!

I am really noticing my stomach strengthening now, it\'s amazing how you have to really work on those deep core muscles to get a flat stomach, all those crunches in the gym over the years with no results whatsoever and then 4 weeks at Ten and immediate results it\'s just incredible. Neil gave me excercises that i hadn\'t done before like box lunges (v hard and agony) and squats as well, all very challenging but you can feel it working! I could barely walk the next morning but it\'s worth it for a pert bum and toned legs! I am finding myself getting stronger each session.

One week left to go and i am already feeling anxious at the thought of it all ending. I will certianly be joining i can\'t let all this hard work go to waste!