Weekly Wrap up. Week 15. 2025

On the beach, meeting our challenges and other bits and bobs

Look at little Gretl's pose in the picture!!

By the time you read this, I will be celebrating my birthday, having completed another couple of classes on the beach. Apologies for a few minor technical hitches - just the usual dusting off, shaking out the cobwebs, oiling the machinery and maybe some new varnishing for the Summer season!

Yes, it is very chilly but glorious. Just glorious - swans flying overhead, waves lapping the shore, birdsong, fresh air and sunshine. I was dressed in many warm layers but it was really worth it.... not least as I had my van back and could drive there as the night before I was faced with the dilemma that my van was in the garage and would not be ready and there I was thinking "why oh why did I choose this week to go to the beach and was contemplating cycling, complete with tripod. spare mats etc on my back before continuing into Lymington to 121 clients so I was very relieved that my huffing and puffing paid off and my van was ready to collect. Would have been a very early alarm call otherwise.

So as I enter my next rotation of the sun, I have been reflecting on the past year with, may I say, some pride. 12 months ago, I started lifting weights with consistency and purpose, bringing that to my classes and sharing with you.

Coming up with different challenges, keeping it varied, dusting off my personal trainer skills and just simply turning up week after week has been a massive challenge but one I have embraced with open arms. I can assure you there have been many Friday mornings when the alarm goes off and I have lain there wondering how on earth I am going to get out of bed, much less teach a full on strength class and I am afraid, as you all know, those tend to be the most challenging classes as I am so worried I am not giving enough energy, I overcompensate and nearly kill us all.

I know all too well, what confidence is needed to take it up a level and we all have our areas where we feel less able. As you know, I was a passionate runner and could run for ever. Slowly and ideally fairly flat but I could just run and run, I remember once, running from Beaulieu to Lymington and there was one bit where I came off the forest onto the road just as my mum was driving past. "Where are you off to?" says she -"do you need a lift?"...."no mum, I am running. I am training." "Don't be daft darling - no need - hop in!"....

When we went travelling, my luxury item was my trainers into which I packed my 1000 mile socks and sports bras and I ran in almost every country we visited. I particularly remember 2 occasions... one was in Australia where a family we were staying with would drive me out somewhere and drop me and then look after my girls as I ran some 20 odd miles back and this one time, I was in my own little world, running a very, very long and flat and empty road and looking up to see, sitting in front of me, a large, male Kangaroo. Fortunately, he found me totally boring and leaped off over a fence but it did frighten me.

When we arrived in Fiji, we really lucked out with the holiday promoters who were jostling us at the airport. We were by now, exhausted and it was late, very hot and stressful and daughter no. 2 burst into tears which set me off. The holiday rep was mortified thinking he had pushed us too hard and frightened poor little single mum me and my little girls and before we knew it, we were offered a 5 star family lodge, all inclusive as a last minute cancellation - thank you very much and don't mind if I do. It came with a really excellent kids club - such a shame we only had 3 nights but total decadence while we were there. On the drive in, I noticed the long train tracks for the sugar cane trains and thought that might be a good way to get in some miles as even I couldn't get lost if I just ran out, turned around and ran back. I was discussing all this with the resort manager - was it safe, where would it take me, what should I look out for etc, when he sweetly said "madam, where exactly do you wish to go? Can I arrange a taxi at a very reasonable rate for you?"

Anyway all that behind me, I am trying to progress with my cycling. Well, I say that... I have joined the Lymington Triathlon club (for the cycling section) and they could not make me more welcome and it has been a really good step forward, not least as last Sunday I spent 4 hours on a bicycle maintenance course. I actually didn't fully understand some things and there was definitely a time or two when my mind wandered off, thinking "Sod that, Im not mending that thing I cant even remember the name of. In the event of that catastrophe I will definitely sit road side and look forlorn until help arrives (or get a taxi and buy a new bike)" but I do now understand a bit more about general care and maintaining my bike - even if everyone did keep asking me if it was brand new as it was so spotless. EXCUSE ME, I pointed out, I have been out loads actually... well, quite a bit...

I went out with the Wednesday group a few weeks ago. Get out in the fresh air, I thought. Join a club with like minded people. Step away from work and do something for YOU. It will do you the world of good.

My idea was a swift morning cycle followed by an afternoon of admin and chores. We met at Lymington council offices to ride off at 9am. A friendly group of around 10 of us.

Well, by the time I got back from that ride, I couldn't even face taking the bike off the back of the van, and had to lie down on the sofa... the rest of the day was a total write off.

However.... having been inspired on my bicycle maintenance course, I hastily signed up for TWO endurance events and have not slept properly since to tell 'truth.

A lovely friend and online member Laura who is a NINJA cyclist, spin instructor and triathlete and I went out for the loveliest cycle on Wed night. You know what a beautiful evening it was? It was a joy from start to finish and she very generously gave me hints and tips. However, she has also very kindly offered to meet me again and help me with .... well all of it really and I have to tell you I am really excited and utterly terrified.

Why am I. telling you this? well, because a) it makes me accountable because now I have put it out there, I have to do it (yes, I do! I'm far too proud and committed not to) and also to say that b) I truly understand why you may feel hesitant about picking up heavier weights or trying a circuits class or something like that. I get it - I can't completely explain it because who are we competing with except ourselves? I mean, Laura won't be carrying a whip and a megaphone to shout at me so why am I nervous? So yes, I do understand and many of you have spoken to me about this and about the confidence side of things. I only hope I can inspire, motivate and encourage you when you choose to push your boundaries as much as my new cycling coach is doing for me.

I am committed to my fitness and exercise and the lifestyle changes I have made and I intend to continue this year with the same punch that I started 12 months ago, so I just want to say that, give or take the odd sofa crash, lie in and extra occasional day off, I really do practise what I preach! What gives me the greatest pride is seeing how many of you have come SO far too. More classes a week, heavier weights, more advanced exercises - it means THE WORLD to me. No just that but as another really good friend and fellow member said this week, having had to miss a few classes due to a skiing injury, that she was going to get online and join a class even if she couldn't do any of it, as she just missed logging on and being connected to us all. And that says it all - we support eachother. Warriors are we!

I actually managed to dig out a photo of me in Fiji running on the trainlines. I remember that iPod shuffle on my armband - I was absolutely thrilled when I bought that in Oz - positively archaic now!

I am really looking forward to our talk this coming Tuesday. The link is in your live calendar and I invite you to test the link before the day to make sure you have no issues.

I met oline with Yvonne this week and we are in for a treat - SO much information is coming our way so please make sure you are sitting comfortably by 7pm!

Yvonne is an exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced clinical nutritionist and we are in for a treat.

Clare is taking some much deserved time off next week and I will be covering her Wednesday 8am class.

There are no live classes on Good Friday, Easter Monday and Tuesday.

Recommendations.

As you know, I follow Rangan Chaterjee and a recent podcast was fascinating and one I do encourage you to listen to. - Find his podcast "Feel better, Live more" and look for no.542 with Helen Hall. It is all about how our head placement can cause injury elsewhere and is sort of bonkers and so interesting.

As for somenthing gentle, funny and easy, do find the movie Swimming with Men. It is on Apple and Prime. It stars Rob Brydon which gives you an idea of it's genre but is a lovely, gentle and amusing movie.

Finally, good to remember that

20 mins of exerise is better than no exercise

A small peice of fruit is better than no fruit

1/5 litre of water a day is better than no water

Reading one page is better than reading no pages

Getting a little done is better than getting nothing done.

Keep moving forward!

That is all. See you next week, tell all your friends about our talk and have a lovely, sunny weekend.

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Weekly wrap up. Week 24. 2025

By juliet • June 12, 2025

The unlikely comparison between Battersea Power Station and Pilates!

Weekly Wrap up. Week 23. 2025. Reformer training.

By juliet • June 5, 2025

What is happening to Pilates? Is it in danger of getting lost in the rush?

Weekly Wrap up. Week 22. 2025

By juliet • June 1, 2025

A busman's holiday

Weekly Wrap up. Week 21. 2025. What does "being healthy" mean to you?

By juliet • May 19, 2025

What does being healthy mean to you? I don't suppose any of us set out to be deliberately unhealthy. We may continue a behaviour that we know is not good for us, but we don't actively choose poor health. We may grumble that we ought to do more exercise of make some changes to our diet, but I am asking you to stop for a moment and just think - what does "being healthy" or "living a healthy life" mean to you? I know for most of us, our default opinion will be towards diet, exercise, relaxation and sleep and yet is it not so much more vast than that? What about the term "unhealthy relationships" or working "in a toxic environment" to name just two examples of things that affect our health but have nothing to do with what we eat or how much we move. I had an insanely "healthy" weekend this one just gone. I did a couple of really good training sessions, I had an afternoon nap, walked in the forest in the late afternoon sun with the dogs and ate so well that if you cut me I would probably bleed raw vegetables. When I sat down to watch some t.v. I flicked over to a true crime documentary on Netflix. Now, I am the QUEEN of crime dramas, be it reading them, watching them... I would probably be quite an asset to the SOCOS, truth be told with my eagerness to establish who last saw the victim alive and protecting the crime scene, (although the waste of single use and throw rubber gloves is of some concern - can we find something more environmentally friendly?). When I was running one of my retreats in Turkey, one of our guest's husbands was a detective actively working a murder case that week and I was only too willing to offer my extensive knowledge on procedures (not taken up, bizarrely!). Yet here I was watching this hideous documentary and finding my peaceful, happy mode deteriorate towards something quite dark and I just stopped it to wonder what on earth I was doing. I had to flip it around and instead go full immersion into a podcast on The Archers, itself quite dramatic but in a much less gruesome way (although Peggy's will is a worry but so too is her entire family's attitude - poor woman has not yet gone cold in the ground and they are doing their sums). I talk to people a lot about health and wellness. Of course I do. It's my business, a passion and interest of mine and I always feel privileged when someone chooses to discuss concerns with me and I reiterate - what does being healthy mean to you? We need consistency in our lives in order to carry us over the lows as well as the boring bits - the highs can often take care of themselves but they will always have a downhill or at least a flat bit to follow. Sometimes, the boring is good - some familiar, chugging along, recharge and just hum drum normality but the lows are what are going to be the challenge. So maybe for a change, think further away from the immediate - if you are still not sleeping well, or have that growly digestive issue or are more irritable or anxious or emotional, maybe your diet and exercise choices are not to blame but there is something else staring you in the face. I am not suggesting you choose divorce (worked for me but hey! may not be your first option) but maybe that friend is actually draining you more than you realised. Maybe work is taking up too much from you and you just haven't seen it because it has been like this for so long. We adapt to what we do and then it becomes the norm and perhaps we then don't see when it is no longer servicing us, or we forget that we change as we age and want and need different things. I am not big into meditating per se, but I am into mindfulness, gratitude, recognising what I have rather than what I don't . Those are things that have helped me. Well that and stepping away from a few relationships that were not nourishing me and were taking up a lot of battery power. What other things might enhance your life? What might your changes be? Perhaps your book club just isn't right for you anymore or actually you really do not want to continue Tuesday morning walking group- it might seem so trivial but if you are thinking and worrying about it, it clearly is not trivial. What is one thing you could cut loose and what is one thing you could replace it with? If you are fed up, sad, stressed, exhausted, cant sleep, can't stop sleeping, get bloated or gassy, have no energy... then apart from any genuine medical concerns, maybe you need to look at your global health. As the motivational speaker Mel Robbins says - "No-one is coming to rescue you". You have to fix it. Take a good look, have a good think and perhaps it is something that diet and exercise are not a part of. psst... but keep going on the exercise!

Weekly Wrap up. Week 20. 2025.

By juliet • May 15, 2025

The sun is out which can only mean TEACH ON THE BEACH! (The picture above is one of the beauties who joined me this week!! ) We have enjoyed a week of classes down on the local beach and have dodged low flying and quite inquisitive seagulls, ponies coming to see what is going on and a very sweet but very annoying lost dog. I mean, I didn't think he was lost - 2 ladies were walking past and he was with them and as he continued to bounce about over us and our mats with his muddy paws, dropping his stick and waiting for us to throw it, I was glaring at the retreating backs of the aforementioned women, thinking how unbelievably irresponsible ... just you WAIT until they return... until someone in the class mentioned that perhaps he wasn't actually their dog and might be lost... which it turns out, was absolutely the case... and two other walkers passed by and said "Ohhhh he's Lara's dog".... and kindly took him with them... I don't think they actually planned to but as I said "oh MARVELLOUS, you know where is from because he has been a total pain" and they were sort of left with no choice. I hope Lara and he are happily reunited and all is well. Anyway, it continues to be an absolute treat to be able to throw a. mat down on the beach and have our classes in such a setting. I will never take it for granted and I just love seeing you walking down the beach to join me so let's hope this weather lasts (with regular overnight rain please - wouldn't that be the perfect solution). Welcome to some new members this week - I have already seen one of you on the beach and look forward to seeing you online too.

Weekly Wrap up. Week 19. 2025.

By juliet • May 8, 2025

So that was a busy weekend. As Lou and Clare were coming to the end of an epic 100km run around the Isle of Wight I was settling in for an early night before taking my bike over to ride the 100km the following day. I have never seen so many bikes - the ferry we were on had only 2 cars and otherwise it was wall to wall bikes with a lot of lycra in the lounges! Bearing in mind people were arriving on ferries from Portsmouth and Southampton as well as Lymington, that was A LOT of cyclists. The group I was in were faster than I would normally ride so it was quite the challenge. When we first sat down in the ferry and I saw one of our group wearing a "Team GBR Triathlete" I felt slightly doomed and to be fair, we were pretty fast straight from the onset.... I could see my 2 little energy bars were not quite going to cut it. This was going to take a lot of gritted teeth and hoping for the best. Very early on, Lou was driving (trying to avoid the thousands of cyclists) and overtook me, so she kindly pulled in and took a little video of us going past (pic above) and it was lovely to see her. Do you KNOW how hilly the island is? They just keep coming.. and you sort of can't really enjoy the downhill as you know it will only be short-lived before you start the climb again. I knew that I would do it. If I put my mind to something I will stick to it despite how much I may overthink and worry but I knew that I would finish it, no matter what. A small achievement to many but the start of something new for me and being in a group, God forbid I held anyone up. It was actually a year to the day... it was last year that I went over to the Island to watch Lou and Clare run 50km (although I did sort of wander off and find our island member Sarah and spent a very happy afternoon in her bluebell wood eating home made chocolate brownie but I was thinking of them) but I really missed being part of the event. After so many years of running, I realised how much I missed the build up and anticipation of an endurance event: the sense of camaraderie and being in something together . It was off the back of that that saw me come home and buy my first proper bike - I mean proper as in all the others have been acquired along the way and have been older and heavier than me. I have snuck off and done a few bits and bobs here and there and of course, had the shock of how much work I have to do to keep up with the clubs I have joined but here we are - one year later and a 100km ride around the island. The Military Road is forever etched in my memory - it was only 20 miles or so from the end and my legs were tired. Somehow for a short while, I found myself out of my group and riding alone and as I tried to ride up this endless hill, cycling slower than a toddler dawdling along, I was literally shouting out loud "WHY do I do this to myself? WHAT is this teaching me about myself?".....but keep peddling I did. You see we are funny creatures - the whole psychology behind a challenge is massive. Once I knew I was into the last few miles, I allowed myself to feel and acknowledge how tired my legs were - until we realised we could make the 5pm ferry at which point I found a new energy and powered on faster and stronger than ever - I was NOT going to miss that ferry! As I say, not a big deal to lots of people who did it and nothing like the achievement of Lou and Clare (I can't even begin to imagine how deep they had to dig) BUT I am chuffed and it is the first step on the ladder. It is all relative isn't it? What is not much to one person is a massive challenge to the next - whatever it is, be it physical or otherwise, to succeed in something that requires courage, discipline and commitment is worth celebrating. We have to dig deep to push out of our comfort zone but when we do, the feeling of achievement is so self rewarding. Sometimes I think we forget to reward ourselves or give recognition for when we have gone outside our comfort zone and achieved something and we deserve to remember - a pat on the back or a mental high five even if it is not shared with anyone else can really boost our mood and if we have tried, we ought to (even very quietly) give ourselves a "well done me!" For me, meeting and chatting to like minded people who are all there for their own reasons. Some built like professional athletes, some not, all doing their best - all encouraging and supporting each other. Mind you, the ones who whizzed by at the end while my legs were falling off, saying things like "nearly there".... not so keen on them to be honest! What next? I think I need to buy a road bike now to start the collection... this could become the new passion..... will I keep going... yes of course I will... I think....

Weekly Wrap up. Week 18. 2025.

By juliet • May 1, 2025

USE IT OR LOSE IT! I saw a post on instagram that I shared today. It is a video of a large family posing for a group photo, with many of them sat on the floor. Once the photo has been taken, they try to get up and that is where chaos happens (along with a lot of laughter) as they are clinging onto eachother, trying to get to their feet and getting into a total heap. Very funny... but also not... I was involved in a workshop today at Limewood and the phrase "Use it or Lose it" came up in the presentation. We all know the saying and can use it quite flippantly but how about acknowledging that if we no longer perform that particular activity, our body thinks it is no longer required and we find we CAN'T perform that movement. We need to condition our body and therefor when we first try a new exercise for example, we can feel quite unstable or uncoordinated and lacking in proprioception but as we repeat and practise, the move becomes more familiar and we grow in confidence and ability. Think of some of the sequences we do in Pilates or some of the more complex moves in our weights work - not for the faint of heart and performed only once we have built up the skills and have the coordination and understanding of what needs to go where. However as we stop doing those (or any other)moves they quickly become harder to reach. If you haven't seen it, do please watch "Secrets of The Blue Zones" on Netflix - about communities where people not only live beyond 100 but do so with good physical and mental health. It is a superb watch but the factors are the same in each community and one of them is of course, exercise, be it walking up a practically vertical hill to church or getting onto hands and knees to tend the garden daily. Whatever you do or don't do, please don't be the one rolling around because you cant get up from the floor!! Using it beyond all reason this weekend however are Lou and Clare - please join me in wishing them the very best of luck as they set off together at 6.45am on Saturday to run 100km around the Isle of Wight. If you recall, they did 50km last year and that achievement set them up for going the full distance this year. It also did something else as I went over to watch them and had a bad case of missing out, as I can no longer run and realised how much I missed the training and camaraderie of an endurance event and it was off the back of this experience that I came home and bought a new bike. So a year (and lots of cycling and joining a club) later, I am also off to the island on Sunday to cycle 100km on the IOW Randonnee. I respect that my challenge is nowhere near the scale of what Lou and Clare are undertaking but there are some big old hills over there... good job we have a Bank Holiday Monday to recover!!

Weekly Wrap up. Week 17. 2025.

By juliet • April 24, 2025

Blink and you miss it. There went Easter. I hope you all had a lovely time doing whatever you got up to and we now enter the summer term. I mean we don't really have terms but if we did, this is it... exams, summer uniform, netball and cricket and dusting off the bbq's. Personally, none of that really applies to me... well perhaps the summer uniform as I drag my shorts blinking and yawning from the back of the drawer. As for netball - I used to absolutely love it. I was always in the school team, playing Centre or Goal defence and did briefly join Lymington as an adult. When my girls were at prep. school, they reinstated a teachers v parents netball match and we won by a country mile -none of us really knew how but me being me, I went full out to start a mum's netball club one evening a week. Before we knew it, "friends" had mentioned us to the Bournemouth and Southampton leagues. This was very, very scary as we were just running up and down shouting "is that allowed? what are we supposed to do here? did that count?" so clearly in our infancy and anyway, we didn't have any matching kit but we did have a lot of fun - well, until someone went over on her ankle which promptly broke and that was the end of that. I have been spared life as a cricket mum or widow but sitting in a deckchair for hours in the sunshine pretending to watch sounds wonderful to me. As I watch my nephews revving up for the start of GCSE's, I thank my lucky stars those hideous days are behind me. I have a vivid memory of sitting at the kitchen table trying to revise while my mother sat outside in the garden listening to Wimbledon on the radio and the two are forever linked for me. Wimbledon with exams not my mother. Apparantly we have wonderful weather next week so dig out your sunscreen and if you can make it, I will be teaching on the beach for Monday and Tuesday's classes. We went through the 34 Moves recently and the upside down/inversion moves are usually the ones that need the most practise. You can really get a deep dive into these moves on the studio equipment if you ever go to a studio but we have several in our mat work - Roll over, Rolling moves, High bridge, Control balance, High Scissors and Bicycle. Remember that Joseph Pilates' philosophy was to perfect on the studio equipment and practise on the mat, hence we use all sorts of equipment and creativity to recreate as close to the studio work as we can for the vast majority of us who do not have access to a fully equipped studio. Why inversion? Gravity can lead to compression of the spine and their little shock absorbers known as discs that can become dehydrated. When we tip our body upside down, we can reverse the gravitational pull. This can help to create more space between the verterbrae and studies suggest that this allows for the discs' soft tissue to absorb moisture and rehydrate and plump up. Exercises like Roll over or the rolling moves can provide a massage for the spine and fascia as well as improving spinal mobility and of course, abdominal strength. (please note in photo above, my right arm is not perfect - my wrist should be flat and my arms could be stronger and better connected to the floor but it was the best pic I could find for now and I wasn't sharing that space with anyone else so it was a mediocre me or nothing!!!) Want more? Well, it is widely believed that being upside down can stimulate the lymphatic system and help with lymph drainage. Also the action of being upside down can increase blood flow to the stomach and therefor help with digestion and digestive issues. You don't need to be performing an advanced Control Balance move - some of the rolling moves and spinal extension we have been working on do the job in a modified way and anyhow, high blood pressure, glaucoma and spinal issues are some of the reasons why full, advanced inversion is not ideal - there are always ways to adapt, modify and practise safely. What we established in our 8am class yesterday was how many ways we can break down, build up and practise. For example, consider the Roll up, Roll down and Roll over as exactly the same exercise but variations come from the position you start from, how you work against gravity and whether it is your upper or lower body that moves. Thinking about Roll over, and going into the inverted positions (where your hands support you from under your hips), we worked on how to open up the chest, the need for strength through the traps, lats and triceps, length in the hamstrings, strength in the core and so much more. So for example, to improve High Scissors, you could consider side lying chest opener, Roll down with arms behind you, Saw and upper body only double leg kick - all moves to open up the chest and strengthen the upper body. In addition, hamstring and hip flexor stretches. Focus on pelvic floor and deep core connection so lots of abdominal and core strengthening- we could (and do) a whole class on moves to prepare us for one single and seemingly evasive exercise. What we do know is that to get better, we need to practise - a few daily exercises relevant to what you need to build on will make ALL the difference so.... with that in mind, I am going to start planning some workshop style classes again as we haven't done this for a while so your input would be welcomed. What moves really challenge you and what would you like to work on? I will get my creative hat on and build a class around the strength, stretch and mobility we need to focus on. What I continue to hear from you (and feel for myself) is the benefit of building strength from lifting weights and how that really helps with your Pilates progess. Isn't it great!!

Weekly Wrap up. Week 16. 2025.

By juliet • April 17, 2025

Make it a lifestyle, not a duty.

Weekly wrap up. Week 14. 2025.

By juliet • April 3, 2025

Spring Reconditioning.