Hey all! Georgeanna here. I thought I'd drop by to write a line about our new Pilates/TRX/Barre fusion classes. I have been teaching a TRX/Barre fusion on Wednesdays at 9:30 am, and it has been a blast. I am excited to add more Pilates to the mix! A lot of you have done some TRX work in our group equipment classes, or tried out our Barre class when we had one. Maybe TRX scares you (heck, anything invented by the Navy SEALS as a method to keep THEM in shape is a little intimidating!) and maybe you haven't had a ballet class since you were five years old. Well, good news: our Pilates/TRX/barre fusion classes aren't bad, I promise. In fact, they are a great way to workout!

Let me back up. If you are saying "what is TRX?" I'll give you a quick run down. TRX is suspension training, meaning you use your body weight to create resistance; no weights, no springs, nothing but this straps. The straps are designed to be used lots of different ways: hand in, feet in, ankles in, one hand, etc. This allows a mutlitude of exercises, some that are new and unbelievably hard, like this:

and some that are more familiar, and are based in Pilates principles (you already know!), like this:

If hearing the phrase "barre class" makes you fear I'm going to slap a tutu on you, rest assured. Barre classes are a legitimate workout method for people seeking fitness, not just people in the Bolshoo Ballet. In fact, barre classes are growing in popularity all across the USA (this V Barre, Dailey Method, etc.) People love that it is low impact: no running, nothing hard on the joints. Don't get me wrong: you will still get a great workout. Dancers have incredible bodies, and they do barre every day. We tweak it so that you don't need to dust off your pointe shoes, but you still get the incredible sculpting that barre work brings. It is great for men and women of all shapes and sizes and all athletic abilities! You won't be doing this:

                                                                But you will be doing this:

And finally, we are adding in some Pilates to our fusion experience. Pilates will strengthen, stretch, and lengthen your muscles, which is a great combination with the cardio of TRX and the sculpting of Barre. 

So why TRX/barre fusion? Why not?! I know I love to change up my workouts because I fear boredom, so our fusion is fun and never gets boring. If you HATE TRX, you know we won't be there a whole hour (and vice versa!) Because our classes are limited to four people, we can cater to YOUR needs in each class. You will have lots of individual instruction from our knowledgable instructors (me included :)

In conclusion, check us out! We have Pilates/TRX/Barre fusion classes almost every day!

Client of the Month - August 2012 (A tribute)

This is a very special client of the month post for me and in some ways hard for me to write.  This client, Patty Scanlon, passed away last summer.  Her birthday would have been this month which is what inspired me to make her my client of the month for August.  She was such an amazing person, a wonderful client and just a general pleasure to be around—I felt like this would be my own little way to honor her memory, and share with you her personal drive.  If her story doesn’t motivate you to exercise, I am not sure what will!

First of all, just to get an idea of what kind of a person Patty was, I want to share with you what she did for a living.  She was a licensed clinical social worker who specialized in play therapy for children.  She worked with children every day who were struggling through difficulties in life—anything from living through a divorce to being victims of sexual abuse.  Her job was tough—she was always doing everything she could to make these kids’ lives better—and sometimes just bearable.  One of her favorite quotes, which I think applied so well to her life, was this one by James D. Miles: “You can easily tell the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”   Her job was tough and could have easily made someone grumpy or stressed, but not Patty.  She loved helping these kids and she loved life and it always showed.

The next thing you should know about Patty is that she had multiple sclerosis, or MS.  She was diagnosed more than 10 years ago, which was around when I first had the opportunity to meet and work with her.  She came to me when I was a personal trainer, after being referred by her chiropractor.  She worked out with me then for a couple of years.  I took a few years off after that, and our paths crossed again when she noticed my sign advertising Pilates in 2007.  Her disease was progressing somewhat, and she was more motivated than ever to maintain her strength and flexibility.  Pilates helped her keep a fuller range of motion throughout her remaining years.  She was such a role model to me, and many clients because of her perseverance to exercise right up until a few months before she died.  In fact, I will never forget one of the last group classes she came to (she did group classes as well as privates in the years she was a client) because her head had been shaved (she later developed a brain tumor which was what ultimately took her life) and she was a little weaker than usual.  I will tell you, not a single person in that class that day made any little complaint about their bodies or having to exercise when they saw how hard she was working just to keep her body as strong as possible with everything she was going through.

Patty had a tough road, both with her own health and with her job, but her spirit was so positive and happy—my husband at one point shared office space with my studio and gave Patty the nickname “Giggles” because he could always hear her laugh when she was working out.  I know Patty used working out as a way to keep herself as healthy as possible, but I am also proud to say that I think she saw coming in and training with me, and laughing with me, as a kind of catharsis too—she could vent a little about things going on in her life and job, and keep her mind and body as strong as possible.  It was my pleasure to know her, and train her for so many years.  I took pride in knowing that in some little way I also felt like I was vicariously helping those kids she helped—I helped take care of her a little and hopefully made her work and her path just a little easier.

I also wanted to share one other memory of Patty because it was such a special thing.  Sometimes you have the opportunity to do things for people in life that don’t seem like that big of a deal until you see the looks on their face.  Patty was a HUGE fan of the Bob & Tom show on Q95.  I mean, huge!  She listened for years and years and always wanted to meet them.  As luck would have it, I also train Tom Griswold from the show.  I sort of hesitated asking this favor—I am sure he has requests like this all the time, and it isn’t something they do on a regular basis, but I asked him if there was any way Patty could come watch the show (I shared a bit of her story with him).  He instantly said yes and wanted to know when she could come. (What a nice guy.)  He told me later about how much she laughed during the show and how thrilled she was to get to meet them all (check out the picture!).  It wasn’t more than a week or two later that Patty passed away.  I was so glad that she got to check this one little thing off of her “bucket list.”  And I am so grateful for the kindness of Tom and the staff at the Bob and Tom Show. How cool is are they for making this happen for Patty?


More than anything with this post, I wanted to honor Patty and her memory because I have been thinking about her a lot lately.  I also think she was a great role model in life for so many reasons—and I think even in death she continues the legacy of the way she lived her life.  I know she also taught me about dying with grace.  I also wanted people with serious and terminal illnesses to hear about her and realize that exercise may be able to help keep their bodies strong while they fight other battles.  I am sure she would love knowing that she might help even one more person who might be struggling out there with a similar disease.  I am so glad I got to know Patty as a client and as a friend--for all these reasons, I have made her my posthumous Client of the Month for August!

"You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than you can in an hour of conversation." - Plato

Client of the Month - July 2012

I am happy to announce my choice for July’s client of the month, Brenda S! Brenda is a dedicated, loyal client, who even with a busy schedule and full time job manages to always show up for her group classes.  Brenda has been working out here with us at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to fit for 3 years this month (so what better timing for her to be client of the month right)? Happy Anniversary Brenda!

When Brenda started Pilates with us, she was really tired of her usual exercise program which mainly just included working out on her elliptical machine at home.  She was really looking for something different.  As luck would have it, she happened to drive by our studio and see our sign.  That motivated her to give us a call.  And since her first class, she hasn’t looked back.  She now regularly participates in 2 group reformer classes per week (including our “jump” class sometimes.  She likes having her classes on the schedule and feels much less likely to blow them off then she did when she was just working out at home.

One of the things she likes about Pilates in general is the fact that the classes and routines change all the time.  She likes how we are constantly shifting the programs so they never get boring.  She also told me that just when she feels like something is becoming a little “easy,” we shake it up and make it just a little more challenging.  That is how we keep you progressing.  We watch our clients as they work out and we NEVER want it to be easy!  Of course, we always want your work out to be fun too, but it should be challenging.  She also likes that Pilates works on all areas of the body as well as having its focus on the core.  She says she feels much more toned and muscular throughout her body.

Brenda likes our studio in particular because she likes the fact that the classes are very small (maximum of 4 people in most classes) so that even though they are a discounted price, you are still getting individualized attention from the instructors.  She knows if her form is bad in an exercise, that it will quickly be corrected.  And this is something that she feels may be a problem for her working out on her own.  It is too easy to learn something the wrong was and just continue that way if no one is there to correct you.  This will certainly not happen at 15 to Fit!  She also told me she really enjoys the way we are constantly integrating new equipment into our classes (she is benefiting from my equipment addiction!).  Most recently we introduced the TRX equipment which is a completely different and lots of fun. 

Like other clients of the month, Brenda enjoys the camaraderie of the classes as well and told me how she has really enjoyed getting to know some of the other people who regularly work out with her in the same classes.  Her advice to others looking for motivation to exercise? Find something you really like to do and focus on that—she has found that here at 15 to Fit and we are so glad she did!

Congratulations Brenda!

Client of the Month- June 2012

I am happy to announce our June Client of the Month- Mike F.!  Mike started doing Pilates here at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit about 2 years ago when he just happened to notice our studio.  He had never done Pilates before, and had always utilized a more traditional workout including weight training and running.  But after a hip replacement several years ago, he wanted to involve a trainer in his workouts so that he would stop constantly injuring himself.  He was also just looking for something different to do—he had just been doing the same workout on a stationary bike and then spinning through the various weight machines at the gym and was kind of bored with it I think.

He really liked the core strengthening that came with Pilates—he wasn’t constantly injuring himself because he had a trainer watching his form and making sure he wasn’t pushing things too far.  He was feeling stronger and felt his flexibility was greatly improved.  He liked the variety in the workouts and realized how important building core strength was to his overall health.  Before, he had just been focused on mass building and some cardio.  I think he realized that as he has gotten older, that core strength and flexibility are just as important.

Mike is also a golfer and can see the improvement in his golf game.  His increased flexibility has surely helped in this area as well.  And Pilates is such a great complimentary workout to many sports, but especially golf. In fact, I even wrote a post about it awhile back.  (You can read it here.)

Then, last year, Mike realized his ongoing back problems were going to require surgery—which he had last November.  After a few months of rehab, I was so glad to get him back in the studio several weeks ago.  I felt as his trainer that the best course of action would be for him to do a few private sessions to make sure that we both knew where he was physically and to make sure he didn’t overdo it in a group class.  Mike prefers the group classes though and is happily back as a regular client in classes twice a week!  I couldn’t be happier with his progress and am so glad that he has gotten back to Pilates.  I think Mike is a great example not just to men (Mike doesn’t understand why more men aren’t doing Pilates), and some of my slightly older clients, but to demonstrate how Pilates can be a great workout to incorporate even after a major surgery like this.  And for his perseverance and dedication, I am happy to name him client of the month!

Client(s) of the Month - May 2012

Lynn & Paul at the Summit!

For May, I am excited to announce my first husband and wife team for client(s) of the month! Lynn and Paul have been working out with me together in a duet for several years now.  In fact, I have known Lynn for a very long time and she actually worked out with me before I became a certified Pilates instructor and did other types of fitness training.  We have been through a lot of exercise together!

One of my favorite things about these two are their wonderful travel stories—they are very adventurous travelers and love to hike in places like Utah, Machu Picchu and have even summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.  I spoke with Paul who told me how much Pilates has helped with his flexibility and from preventing muscle inflammation and tightness.  This type of increased strength and flexibility was certainly beneficial during the very grueling climb to the top of Kilimanjaro. Paul told me that he definitely felt much looser going into the intense climb. Lynn also told me how when she was in  Bali doing a treacherous ropes course that she thought to herself how happy she was that she had been doing Pilates for so long.  She told me that not only did it improve her core strength, but that it also increased her confidence at that moment just when she needed it most! .

They have always worked out with me personally and I am honored to say that one of the reasons they like our studio at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit so much is because of me!  You know it warms a trainer’s heart to hear things like that (not that my other trainers aren’t wonderful, but it is always nice to hear that people still like working out with me too!)  Paul also mentioned how he enjoys that in some ways Pilates is similar to yoga, but that he feels like it is even better because of the increased resistance from the machines—you get similar benefits as you would with yoga, but you are also strengthening even more.  They also like that Pilates integrates working out all the muscles in the body and doesn’t just focus on certain muscle groups the way many forms of traditional exercise does.

When Paul and Lynn first started training with me, Paul’s goals were really just to get himself out of the house to do something physical.  He wasn’t very regular about his exercise regimen and found himself doing things somewhat sporadically—often dependent on the weather.  It seems in the winter, he tended to get a little less enthusiastic about exercise.  They started doing Pilates with me regularly and have been dedicated and loyal clients since.    Because of this dedication and loyalty, I am happy to name them clients of the month!

Client of the Month- April 2012

I am excited to announce our April client of the month—Julie L.!   Julie is a busy woman—an attorney, wife and mother of two.  Julie is another of my favorite long term clients—she has been working out with us here at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit for nearly 4 years—the cool thing is she won her first sessions at a school health fair, and has never looked back since then (she had never tried Pilates elsewhere).  She enjoyed it so much that she has stuck with it—I would say any exercise regimen that anyone sticks with for that long must be working!

Her initial goal once she started working out with us was just to get generally more fit.  When she started seeing that progress taking shape, she added getting more toned and losing weight to her goals.  She has definitely seen major progress in her goals—she feels much more physically fit, much more toned, and can tell her core strength has improved greatly. No more “girl push-ups for Julie!  Additionally, once she combined her work outs with a healthier eating program, she has managed to lose about 20 pounds since starting Pilates.  She has kept up her motivation because she likes being challenged and likes to keep improving the difficulty of her work outs.  Her husband will also tell you that he appreciates the results of her workouts and loves seeing his wife in a two piece bathing suit!

The fact that the workouts are continually evolving and increasing in difficulty are also one of the things that she really enjoys about working out at 15 to Fit.  She feels like her work outs never get “old”—there are always new levels within Pilates that she can attempt to master so she doesn’t get bored and always feels challenged.  Her other favorite thing about our studio in particular is the fun instructors and the camaraderie that she feels among the clients.  I am proud to say that so far nearly every client of the month has said something similar about our studio—both of our instructors and clients.  This makes me so happy that everyone feels so welcome and has so much fun while there are here working out with us.

Julie takes advantage of our group reformer classes—she varies the specific class she takes so that she can get a regular reformer class and sometimes also takes the class that focuses on a lot of “jumping” to give her an additional amount of cardio work.

I am also proud to say that Julie also recently referred her own daughter to our studio and she has also started taking classes.  Her daughter knew how much her Mom enjoyed it and watched her strength improve and wanted to get in the game herself.  Her daughter also plays soccer and her team uses some of the ab work in their own training.  Pilates has allowed her to work on her core and on strengthening her muscles to improve her soccer game.

Julie wanted me to mention that she would like to share that as a woman in her forties (or for any age really), that she feels like some people might shy away from doing things like Pilates.  She feels like it is great exercise program for me or women of any age and that she plans on making it a “lifetime exercise.”  No better endorsement than that (well that and that she is willing to trust her daughter with us!)  We will be happy to have both of these lovely ladies around our studio for many years to come!

Client of the Month- March 2012

This month, I have decided to highlight one of my clients that has been with me the longest. Erin started with me when I first started training in Pilates and believe it or not, was working out of my garage!  That was nearly 5 years ago, and she has been a loyal client from the garage days to my first studio and my eventual move to our current studios.  This place just wouldn’t be the same without her around! 

Erin has been doing Pilates for over 10 years (she started in San Francisco way back before her kids were even born).  She is a staunch exercise hater and claims that Pilates is the only thing she has ever stuck with long term (even though she still loves to complain throughout her training sessions-- but we’ve gotten used to it).  But I’d say doing something for 10 years+ is true dedication!  As I said, in those 10 years, Erin has had two kids and has managed to keep herself in great shape—with Pilates, walking, and a good diet (even though she is a huge food lover—she even writes a blog about Indianapolis restaurants, www.indyrestaurantscene.com ). I always tell her, anyone who can eat as much as you do and stay in such good shape is doing something right (to be fair, she eats a lot variety-wise, but is extremely healthy in her portion sizes).

Erin tells me the things she likes about Pilates is the constant variation in the routine and exercises, and that she never does so many repetitions of anything that it becomes too boring.  She has worked out at several Pilates studios throughout her Pilates “career” and tells me she likes Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit because of the true connections she has made with our staff and other clients (she and I have become good friends over the years—we always joke that her sessions are sort of half work outs and half therapy sessions for both of us). We certainly always have at least a few good belly laughs while she is working out (for instance the other day when I asked her to do a certain exercise in a certain way, and she replied, “are you f$@*ing kidding me??”).  She did try a couple of other places in Indianapolis before she found me and did not feel like she was given the individual attention she needed or just didn’t make a connection with her trainers.  She does two sessions a week here (and often one yoga class as well) and is one of the most reliable clients I have ever had, and that is saying something for someone who flunked gym class in high school (her, not me!).  She always teases me that I have “a sickness” because of my love of fitness.

Erin’s goals have always been to maintain a healthy weight and strong body (and she would tell you to be able to eat lots of good food and drinks lots of good wine)—she certainly has met that goal, and continues to maintain her level of fitness as she continues working out with us.  She has recommended several friends as clients and is a fun person to work with.  For all those reasons, and because of her extreme dedication to her healthy mind and body, she is March’s Client of the Month!