The wife and I got to try out Studio 6 for free, and I have to say that Pilates can be really helpful. For example, before I went in to the studio my left knee hurt some (seemed like the pain was stemming from right above where my Sartorius inserts into the tibia). On one of the exercises I felt the muscle freak out a little bit, and then when I walked out of the studio I didn’t have that pain anymore. I still don’t have that pain. So whatever exercise it was, Pilates corrected a malfunctioning muscle. Pretty cool. Being that it was lunch time I was (again) the only guy in the room. Not really a bad thing, but I thought it was noteworthy nonetheless.
One of the ways studio 6 tries to separate itself from the pack is the equipment it uses. Instead of the regular reformer or Cadillac (both I’ve used before) they use the MEGAFORMER!!! They don’t use all caps but I think with a name like that it deserves the distinction. The MEGAFORMER is a variation on the reformer. Essentially it’s a sled on rails with spring tension. It’s creator, Sebastien Lagree, designed it so that “It brings to Pilates what Pilates was lacking”. Namely, it allows more strength training.
The class room is pretty intimate, I think they had ten MEGAFORMERS (ß not getting old for me) in all. The class was pretty interesting. The instructor was very good, although sometimes with the audio setup/music it was hard for me to understand her commands so I was left to try to imitate what the person in front of me was doing. Although I typically follow a powerlifting routine, this was a good class for me to take because it worked strength moving laterally as well as work on endurance. After all, it did fix my Sartorius that had gone haywire.
Afterwards I definitely felt worn out. Sometimes I will leave a Pilates workout feeling a bit energized, like I just went through a great warm-up, and now I’m ready to hit the gym. This was not the case for me and the MEGAFORMER (ok last time I promise), I felt like I had done a taxing lower body workout. I say lower body because there were not many exercises focusing on the upper body. Perhaps that is because the clientele are mostly women, I don’t know.
One thing that bothered me was that they require you wear grippy socks. I don’t begrudge the requirement because the pads on the MEGAFORMER (I lied) are a bit slippery, but what bothers me is that if you don’t own a pair you have to rent out a pair for like $3. I thought that was a bit steep and a bit sneaky. Also, judging by the prices on Amazon the socks that they sell here are a bit overpriced. Guess that’s the convenience fee.
Overall I think if I had to choose a Pilates studio this place may be the frontrunner. However, I would need to compare the prices between an unlimited monthly pass here vs Classic Pilates and Equinox. I also still really like Classic Pilates for offering a men’s only class that is tailored for guys with tight hammies.
Surfability:
If you have a free pass it’s pretty straightforward, but unless you own a pair they will charge you $3 for socks.
