As I finished college and looked ahead to the next chapter, I realised I needed a new way to exercise, meet people and discover a hobby I genuinely enjoyed.
At 21, I think a lot of people can relate to the challenge of finding a new way to stay active after leaving behind the sport, activity or hobby they grew up with. For me, that was ballet. After 16 years of classes, competitions, leotards and tights, it was time to move on.
I tried lifting weights in the gym, this was too boring. I preferred an exercise that would work on my whole body at once instead of isolated leg days and arm days. I also missed the social aspect of going to a class at the same time as everybody else. Yes, there were certainly familiar faces in the gym, but everybody keeps to themselves for the most part. Not ideal for a chatterbox like me.
While I was in university, I struggled to find a form of exercise I could stick with. I joined a few sports clubs, but nothing really grabbed me. Most training sessions were in the evenings, which made my days difficult to plan. Do I brave the traffic and go home between college and training, or bring my dinner and spend 12 hours on campus? Neither felt sustainable, and after about six weeks, I’d usually give up.
I even tried going back to ballet, but after so much time away it just wasn’t the same. That led me to Pilates, which I like to think of as the adult version of ballet. It has all the fun, girly outfits and none of the end-of-year shows. I’d been to a few Pilates classes before, but nothing had really clicked. That changed when I tried reformer Pilates. You’ve probably seen the machines on Instagram, usually surrounded by celebrities and influencers or, if you’re lucky, in the middle aisle of Aldi or Lidl. When a studio near me reopened after a renovation and launched a special offer for May, I had to give it a go.
I bought the six class relaunch package for €99 from Solis Pilates in Douglas when they reopened with a wide range of classes. I was most eager to try out the reformer machines, so their Flow reformer class was the first one I booked. Even with the ambitious 8am start that I’d somehow chosen, I really enjoyed the class. It was definitely challenging, but not impossible for a complete beginner like myself. My teacher Maeve took time at the beginning to talk me through all the different parts of the machine, the springs, the ropes, the moving carriage etc. I was welcomed into the class with no judgment, and offered loads of guidance with the exercises. We used balls, and handheld weights to do all sorts of squats, pulses, glute bridges and more. I knew immediately that this was the kind of class I had been looking for. By the end of the session my legs were shaking, and my face was the colour of a beetroot. Mission accomplished. The next day I was hardly able to move, my poor muscles had a very rude awakening. I’m always up for a challenge, but I wasn’t looking for something that would require loads of recovery time. Pilates struck just the right balance for me.
The quest wasn’t over just yet, I still had to figure out which classes suited me best. Alongside the mixed-level Flow classes, I decided to try a beginners’ session too. Looking back, I’m not sure why I didn’t start there. Foundations with Paulina was much more my speed. While I’d got the hang of the breathing and the movements in Flow, I still found the exercises challenging and often had to skip a repetition or two. Taking a step back made me realise I needed to build up my strength first if I wanted to get the most out of the classes.
Once I felt comfortable in the Flow and Foundations classes, I decided to branch out and try one of Solis’ non-reformer sessions. I’d been warned that mat Pilates is tougher because you don’t have the reformer springs to help you along.
The Hot Sculpt Mat class nearly finished me off. My final class was an intense mat Pilates workout in what can only be described as a furnace. No Irish person was built for that kind of heat. The moment I walked into the room, I knew I was in trouble. Between the temperature and the infrared lighting, it felt like I’d wandered into a rave except everyone was doing the same routine and sweating a lot more.
The workout itself was challenging but manageable. It was the heat that made it feel almost impossible. Within minutes, every person in the room had droplets of sweat falling off them.
When the class finally ended and I was just about able to breathe normally again, our instructor, Elena, handed out cold towels. Like some pavlovian nightmare, I forgot that my body had melted violently for 45 minutes. I genuinely can’t describe how I felt afterwards. I was in a dream-like trance and doubtful I could even drive myself home. My face hadn’t been that shade of crimson since I had slapped cheek as a child.
In hindsight, choosing the spot beside the heater probably wasn’t my smartest decision.
Joking aside, I think I might have enjoyed the heated class and I will be returning for more pain and suffering. Once I had left the studio I realised how far I had come in a short four weeks of training. I had gotten over the hump of sore muscles and first-times, navigated my way through different levels of difficulty, and found myself not struggling with the content of the class itself, but the heat in which I did it. A marked improvement in my books.
I certainly feel stronger and more confident in class. I’m shocked by how quickly you can improve. I think reformer classes can look misleading because they are low impact workouts, most of the time done lying down, but the difference they can make is massive. For me, I don’t struggle as much when lifting heavy handbags on my shoulder, and I have less pain in my hips from leftover ballet injuries. As well as strengthening my joints, the range of motion in my joints is back to where it was when I was still dancing. An excellent added bonus, especially for older people.
I have loved meeting new people at these classes. The most friendly people by far were the women enduring the heated class with me. By the end it felt as though we had been trauma-bonded, but we could all have a good laugh about it. Never did I think that pretending to be cooked in an oven would help me to make new friends, but here we are.
Solis Pilates has been incredibly easy to fit into my routine. Their website and app are user-friendly, making classes quick and simple to book. They also offer a range of memberships and packages to suit different needs, even Baby & Me classes. They’re located at the back of Douglas Woollen Mills, where there is free parking. The facilities are all brand-new and very clean. Every instructor was incredibly welcoming and took the time to explain everything before class. This made walking in as a beginner much less intimidating and the experience has been so good in terms of health, fitness and wellbeing that I’m now hooked for life
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