An honest review:
I was excited when I saw a new Pilates studio opening in the neighborhood that had a semi-affordable intro package, ($120 for 6 classes, in comparison to other neighborhood studios where classes are $30-40/class). In my excitement, I preemptively purchased the intro package before trying the studio out - a big mistake.
The class is taught not by a trained instructor but by a video with a slight robot voice and models that look like they could be Ai created replicas. The instructor is there to "guide" the classes but mostly stands around saying "good job!" and "you got this!" There are TVs places around the studio which you must look at if you want to understand what you are supposed to be doing. I found myself craning my neck to look at a TV as opposed to focusing on the exercises and my form.
The instructor does ask if you have an injury before class, but if you do (like me), good luck - you better know how to modify exercises yourself. Because of the video nature of the class, the exercises start whether you are ready or not. This leads to people rushing to change the springs and then rushing to start the exercise with poor form. If you are a beginner, this can easily lead to injury. If you need modifications, you will miss out on the exercise by the time you've modified. When the instructor suggests a recommendation or advice, she has to yell over the video, which ends up sounding like a cacophony of sounds with the poor acoustics in the room.
Now, for the exercises themselves - They are fine, basic Pilates, nothing revolutionary. The third exercise of our 8am class was the 100's - in my opinion, it was an odd choice when bodies are tired and not warmed up yet. The last 15 minutes of class was all mat Pilates exercises with participants using the reformer as a mat. This I had an issue with. Since reformer pilates is often much more expensive than mat pilates, I wanted to use the reformer.
TDLR: If you don't care about being taught by an actual human, then this is fine. But if you are fine with doing Pilates off of a video, you can find better videos on YouTube for significantly less money. If you are looking for a studio to tailor exercises to their students and perhaps form a community, this is not the place.
Lastly --
Normally I'd use up my class package because I paid for it and it's still exercise, but I'm so off put by this Black Mirror-esque experience that I will not be returning. (I should note that I did try 2 classes to try to give it a second chance). read more