Week 51. Weddings, Christmas and Pyjamas.

Weddings, pyjamas classes and working out with concrete weights

Well, that was a wonderful trip. We had the very happiest time and I was so proud of my beautiful daughter and my very wonderful new son in law! If ever someone has found their soul mate, it is those two!

I learned quickly to accept that "this is Tanzania" when it comes to what will be done and when. The most significant example being a very important delivery for the set up. Work went on for several days beforehand to get everything ready and deliveries were arriving daily with crockery, chairs, tables etc... - as this particular delivery got delayed and became less and less likely (despite so much planning in advance), in the end, Rosie set up a what's app group amongst her local friends, sending out an SOS and the response was incredible. Within hours, cars started arriving and we worked alongside an army of helpers all day to bring it all together. It made me so proud to see what a fantastic community she is a part of and how actually, this only added value as this was all done with love and made it all the more personal.

The wedding was perfect in every way. Very organic, very relaxed and a huge amount of love. Small bridesmaids running around barefoot, a guard of honour made up of Cricket bats, a good luck double rainbow a couple of days before, rain in the morning (good luck in Tanzania) followed by a sunny afternoon.

As you know, I carried "The dress" in a carry on case. 25 hours of travel door to door. THE most stressful thing, I cannot tell you. When it came to steam ironing it, I practised on various times before I approached it... and found it a mix of mindfulness mixed with abject terror. I ended up doing an hour or so most days in the lead up. I was an absolute Rottweiler about protecting it and was very, very relieved to hand it over!

I was a very, very proud Mother of the bride and was overwhelmed with everyone coming up to meet me and tell me what a fabulous daughter I have!

Check out my dumbells! I went to some fitness classes with Rosie and as you may imagine, equipment can be tricky to access.

Our weights were made from metal poles with concrete each end - different weight options depending on the size of the buckets used to set the concrete and they worked brilliantly.

I didnt obsess but I did practise what I preach. I wouldn't be much good if I gave out all this advice but didn't follow it myself. I always find it easier to eat healthily in warm weather and also to drink gallons of water. I did a bit of something nearly every day, but only 30 mins or so to keep ticking over. Some Pilates, a couple of classes with weights, some stretch and mobilty and A LOT of rest!

There is a lovely saying in Swahili- "pole, pole" which means slowly, slowly and slowly, slowly I settled into that. It gave me space to think too about 2026 and how sometimes, less is more.

I am thrilled to see how many of you have been using the library. I get the data each week and last week you worked through a total of 57 hours of classes - that is just fantastic!! Don't worry - I don't go into who has done what.... I could but honestly? who has time in their life? Well done those who have and doesn't the library work well! Extra well done to those who connected with fellow members to be accountable and not just roll over for an extra hour in bed!

You can Bah humbug all you like but the fact is that we are one week away which means...

Pyjamas, Christmas t shirts, daft hats, bauble earrings are ALL totally acceptable and normal leggings and tops are not!! Please note we have specifiic Pyjamas classes (perk of being online and don't know about you but I will be popping a sports bra on!) but come on! get in the spirirt!!

There will be 30 min classes so that you can squeeze in a class before the rest of the house wakes up but I also know that this is a very busy time of year for many so if we don't see you, we completely understand.

WEDNESDAYS. Clare is moving into new ventures and I have decided for the time being, from Jan 26, to stop the Wed am classes. I gave a lot of thought to bringing someone else in but decided that Juliet's Pilates is just that! It is me and no one is going to value you like I do. Doing a couple of months of Wednesdays reminded me why I had stopped it in the first place - I need a break in the week but will be bringing in bonus classes here and there and as always, have a few plans up my sleeve - you know me! I hope the last couple of weeks has helped you really connect with the library so you can always pick a class on demand to get your Wednesday fix.

I am sure you don't mind a rather brief blog this week and I cannot wait to see you all again - I have really missed you.

Right - off to dig out some sparkly leggings and find my Xmas t shirt. See you soon and have a fabulous weekend.

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So, you ran the London Marathon.... what next?

By juliet • May 7, 2026

In the words of Holly Willoughby, "first of all, "how are YOU?".

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By juliet • April 28, 2026

Members news. Week upcoming : Bank Holiday Monday - class running as usual and this coming Wednesday, 2 x 30 min classes. Details in library. As I am away a few days here and there in May/June, I will continue to put in extra classes now and then to keep everyone topped up. It's all about give and take! Following on from requests this week, upcoming we have a Roll over/Control Balance workshop (Thursday 8am), Back care (Thursday 9am) and Body Conditioning, sculpt and tone style (Wed 8am). All updates will always be in your live calendar. We welcome 4 new members this week and can't wait to see you on the screen! We can now add Portugal to our community! That means that currently, we are beaming into the UK from Cornwall to Yorkshire, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Germany and now Portugal! We are so much more than Pilates and our community continues to support in so many ways. While a couple of our treasured members are going through some hefty challenges, I am so pleased that you use our online connection as a form of support and to use the friendship of your fellow members. Don't forget you can log in 15 mins early for a natter before class and on Thursdays, I will leave the meeting open after we finish the 9.45am class for anyone to stay on and have a chat. Grab a coffee and log back in even if you weren't in the class. If you would like to join our "Friends of JP's" what's app group , let me know - we are slowly growing and it is a friendly place for a chat and check in, (and a grumble about how tough the class was!). Have a lovely weekend, Jx

Sitting in Southampton airport and other stuff

By juliet • April 9, 2026

I want to keep it as on point and brief as I can and here are some cold, hard facts. Doing SOMETHING is a lot better than doing NOTHING! Whatever equipment you use and program you follow is far less important than the fact that you show up. Regularly and consistently. Only 30% of adults meet the resistance training guidelines and this drops to as low 10% for older adults. What is required? Training all major muscle groups at least once a week Aiming for 2 - 3 sets per exercises Using a weight that is getting challenging by the end of the set Moving through full range of movement. Now, why this is good news is that this can be acheived in whatever form of exercise takes your fancy and over here on our Pilates mat, we tick a lot of those boxes. Going into the 100 and wishing for the end, sitting tall in your Spine Twist and pushing for JUST ONE MORE rep is meeting this! We go through full range of movement, we use bodyweight as well as small equipment, so even if you are not lifting weights, you are doing your bit. (N.b. provided this is min. 3 times a week and you are pushing yourself to max ability in each of those sessions in one way or another and bringing in bands, small weights etc for additional resistance) WHAT COUNTS BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES AT HOME BANDS, BALLS, BODY WEIGHT, LOOPS A QUICK EXPRESS SET WHEN YOU GET BACK FROM YOUR RUN/WALKING THE DOG 15 MINS IN THE KITCHEN - YOU DON'T NEED TO COMPLICATE IT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE FANCY, STRUCTURED OR ELABORATE. IT JUST NEEDS TO HAPPEN Generally ALL types of resistance training work, as long as they are performed with high efforts which means that you get to a point where you are almost at failure. In other words, choose what you enjoy as you are more likely to stick to it and work harder at ut. CONSISTENCY IS KEY and the BEST exercise programme to do is the one you enjoy and will be more likely to stick at! MEMBERS. We have multiple classes involving strength and resistance every week. NON MEMBERS - I am just putting dates together for another 4 week strength program. Please email me if you are interested. More details to follow (I am delighted to be starting a 4 week strength training session with my local running club so I really am doing my best to share the love! )

Why runners need to lift weights

By juliet • April 8, 2026

Let's start with Improves balance and coordination Improves bone density Boosts metabolism and weight management Enhances mental health Helps with daily activity A few more?! Improves posture by strengthening your core and back muscles Reduces risk of injury by strengthening joints, ligaments, and tendons Helps regulate blood sugar levels and lowers risk of type 2 diabetes Improves sleep quality and helps you fall asleep faster Enhances athletic performance (speed, power, endurance) Slows down age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) The ACSM (American college of Sports Science) is the bible of the fitness world with regards to fitness and exercise prescription and has recently done a huge survey, publishing it’s findings in a new report which has got the fitness world very excited as it is the first survey of it’s kind since 2009.