Velvet Magazine February 2016

Health
Reforming your workout
Lauren Eade tries a
session on the Pilates
Reformer machine
at Activate Pilates
Activate Pilates, West Solarium,
Capital Park, Fulbourn, CB21 5XE
Tel: 07738 866771.
www.activatepilates.co.uk
Article by Lauren Eade
Being someone who enjoys lots of
different forms of exercise, it came
as a pleasant surprise to me that
I was going to have a one-on-one session at
Activate Pilates this month. I arrived at West
Solarium in Fulbourn to be warmly greeted
by instructor Steve Cresswell. Steve’s easy
going and friendly manner instantly put me
at ease and he introduced me to his wife and
business partner, Alex, before showing me
around the studio.
The room was light and spacious, yet
perfectly warm, something I was particularly
thankful for, as the cold January weather had
well and truly descended. After a few quick
questions about my physical fitness and
previous experience doing Pilates Reformer -
a couple of sessions a few years back - Steve
introduced me to the equipment. Despite
having used one of the machines previously,
I was amazed at how clever it was and just
how many exercises you can do with it.
As a regular gym-goer who’s used to very
different equipment, the machine initially
looked a bit daunting to me. But, as I laid
down on the carriage and pushed against
the foot bar using my feet, I quickly got the
feel for how it moved. Steve explained that
the resistance of the carriage is controlled
by five springs of different strengths which
can be added or removed easily to suit the
person’s ability, something that only takes
him one session to determine. His passion
for Pilates was something he “fell into by
accident”, literally, after sustaining a knee
injury which led him to become interested in
the rehabilitation side of things. The business
has been going strong for seven years and
runs an impressive 36 classes a week.
As I got used to the machine, Steve
demonstrated stretches and core-building
exercises to tone and stretch out my body,
clearly talking me through them. I also
experienced first-hand how less resistance
from the springs can in fact make for a
harder workout, as I was instructed through
some pretty tough abdominal exercises.
Throughout the session Steve listened to
what I enjoyed most and tailored the class
to suit me. He showed me an excellent hip
stretch when I said it felt tight, and I really
got the most from the 55 minute session.
And I can definitely say I’m feeling it the
day after!
Velvet Magazine | Feb 2016 53