How to Throw Your Own Pilates Party!
I was strolling through Central Park last summer complaining about my need to work out more when I noticed a flyer for tanilaties: a workout that mixes pilates with the beauty of the great outdoors. I thought it was a fabulous idea! Getting tanned and toned in one go—what girl wouldn't love it?
Since I'm a certified instructor, I figured all I really needed was a crowd, so I rallied my girls and opted to run a crash course straight out of my backyard. The hook? Free pilates and food—a recipe for success.
There we were, eight girls with yoga mats in hand ready to (literally) work our buns off. No sweat, no food! After a solid 45-minute workout and a burning sensation in our cores, our outdoor studio quickly transformed into a salad bar complete with freshly squeezed lemonade and fresh fruit for dessert.
So, how can you throw your own pilates party? It's simple, just follow these 5 easy steps:
1. Buy a really hot workout outfit. Seriously. When you look good, you feel good!
2. Decide on a routine. You can do Stott Pilates, Winsor Pilates, Yogalaties... just try not to settle for a bunch of crunches. You could hire a certified trainer to give your group a private lesson, or just pop in a DVD and bring your laptop outdoors.
3. Find an area that has level ground and not too much noise. It will be hard to focus on your core when all you can hear are cars driving by and music blaring.
4. Buy or prepare simple refreshing salads like California-Style Salad with Apple and have plenty of chilled water. I like having a pitcher of ice water with a few slices of orange, mint or cucumber in it—it adds a little flavour with few calories. Finish off with slices of watermelon or cantaloupe. Remember: keep it all covered and refrigerated until you are done working out.
5. Rally up your friends and enjoy!
Pilates is set to its own rhythm, so playing music is not necessary, but to help create a studio atmosphere try typical spa music; light and lyric-less.
Related:
Follow Joy all month long on Slice.ca, HGTV.ca and Foodnetwork.ca as she brings you great ideas and tips for easy and fun summer entertaining.