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Fall Open House!

longnadlean0020Join us in celebrating our first few months in the Elmwood Village with our Fall Open House and Grand Opening Celebration! From September 14th to September 19th, Long + Lean will hold special events and promotions including the debut of fitness apparel by Onzie, a complimentary tea tasting, the debut of our signature Long + Lean Yoga and Pilates with Props classes, free sample classes and Reformer demos, and much more! See the full agenda below, request a private 15 minute demo session on our amazing Pilates equipment, reserve a spot in one of our complimentary sample classes, and contact us for additional information about our events!

Monday September 14th

Long + Lean Yoga

 5:00pm: Debut Long + Lean Yoga Class

6:00pm: Pilates Mat Class

*All classes are buy one get one free for the week! Save the extra  class for yourself, or give it to a friend!*

 

 

Tuesday September 15th

Pilates Class, Tea Tasting and Apparel Sale at Long + Lean Pilates5:30pm: Debut Pilates with Props Mat Class

6:30pm: Complimentary Tea Tasting with Katie T of Steeped Tea + debut sale of our Onzie apparel, exclusively available at Long + Lean! Please RSVP here.

 

 

 

Friday September 18th

PilatesHappyHour5:00pm: Pilates Happy Hour!  Book a 30 minute private Pilates session and receive a complimentary 15 minute make-up application by the amazing Shianne and a post-workout glass of champagne!

Contact info@longandleanpilates.com to reserve our spot!

 

 

Saturday September 19th

All morning long, we’re offering 30 minute FREE previews of all of our classes. Space is limited, so follow the links below to reserve your spot in a class. Ready to try the Reformer? Contact info@longandleanpilates.com to sign up for a FREE 15 minute Pilates Reformer Demonstration!

10:0Free Pilates Classes0am: Free Pilates Mat Class

10:30am: Free Stretch + Restore Yoga Class

11:00am: Free Long + Lean Yoga Class

11:30am: Free Pilates with Props Class

12:00pm: Free “Reformer on the Mat” Class

7:00pm: Grand Opening Celebration Party! Please RSVP here.

 

 

 

 

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Free Outdoor Class Alert!

Long + Lean Pilates at Delaware Park

We are so excited to offer a complimentary Pilates Mat Class out on a beautiful summer Saturday in Buffalo! Long + Lean  Owner Hayley will teach an all levels Pilates Mat Class on the lawn at the Amherst and Colvin entrance of Delaware Park on Saturday, August 22nd at 9:00 am. The class will be an hour long and will focus on core strength and give you a full body work out. Come enjoy the beautiful weather while lengthening and strengthening your entire physique.  We will also be handing out $10 class passes for anyone interested in coming in to the studio! Please bring your own mat and water to keep hydrated!

 

Class Details

Date: Saturday, August 22nd

Time: 9:00 – 10:00 am

Location: Delaware Park, on the lawn at the Amherst and Colvin entrance

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How Can You Add Walking to Your Life?

Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today I’m going to give you a challenge. It’s a really simple challenge, but I know that doesn’t make it easy. I am currently growing an obsession with walking and limiting my “sitting time” every day. It is fascinating how much of our daily lives are spent sitting in a chair with our tailbones tucked underneath us (not ideal!) when our bodies are made to be standing and walking around. My current inspiration and role model,  biomechanist Katy Bowman, says every single human should be walking 3-5 miles everyday. I believe her. But I also believe myself and everyone else when we say it is an almost impossible task to add 3-5 miles of walking into our everyday life. Especially since this means literal walking. Not running. Not spinning. Not even walking on a treadmill or elliptical. Real, honest to goodness, walking outside allows you to utilize all of the muscles in your leg as they were meant to work, including your glutes and hamstrings which are almost impossible to use correctly on a treadmill or bike. Walking is natural movement that our human bodies need to be doing. Standing too. Sitting for the prolonged periods of time as most of us are these days is detrimental to our posture, joint health, cardiovascular health, and overall wellness. So we’ve got to start making a change, right? RIGHT!

I believe in baby steps. I believe that something is always better than nothing. So today I want you to challenge yourself to think of a few ways that you can add more standing and walking to your life. Start small. Don’t worry if you miss a day. Whatever you start doing helps! Here is a list of some easy ways to incorporate more walking and standing in to your life so you can spend more time out of your chairs!!

Take Calls Standing Up
If you’re in an office, or even at home on your couch, make a point to stand up and walk around a bit while you are on the phone. Even if you’re only on the phone once today. You will have used your  muscles to get up out of your chair, changed the alignment of your body, and begun a new habit.

Discover Your Walking Errands
I live in the city, I know that makes me lucky because I have coffee shops, drug stores, grocery stores, and restaurants within a mile of my house. But even at my parents house in the suburbs, the local drugstore was just two blocks away. Our favorite lunch spot was about a 5 minute walk. And we rarely walked there. Take a moment and think about what is close to your home or office. How far is the Tim Hortons where you grab your coffee? Or the bank where you deposit your check? Can you pick an errand that you can walk to? What if you walked to pick up your lunch? I’m not saying you have to walk 7 miles, but find something that’s doable for you. I bet you can think of something!

Make Friend Dates Active
Plans with my friends are almost always getting drinks, getting coffee, or having dinner. Anyone else feel the same way? It’s awesome. I love drinks and coffee and going out to dinner. But what if we added an option or two to our list of possible things to do with friends (or family). Next time you’re making plans, see if your friend would like to take a walk or hike. Even if it means going shopping or touring art galleries, I bet you can find a way to incorporate walking in to your date.

p.s. Please don’t wear heels to go shopping, gallery walking, or to explore the city. It doesn’t feel good for a reason!

Drink Water From a Smaller Bottle or Cup
You have a huge 1 liter bottle sitting on your desk at work so you make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day, right? I love that. But, you don’t have to get up and refill that bottle much do you? Try using a glass, mug, or smaller bottle instead so you have to fill it more frequently. The more often you can get yourself out of your chair and moving, the better. So take separate water and bathroom breaks to increase the frequency of your trips. And if you think someone at your office will have a problem with you getting up from your desk a bit more often, you can have them call me. I’ll yell.

Walk Around the Block Before Getting Into your Car or Home
This one may be my favorite because this is how I started to introduce walking in to my life and it took me less than 10 minutes. Ideally we’ll all be able to add more than 10 minutes of walking in to our lives but we’ve got to start somewhere! If you can’t possibly imagine making time in your schedule to take a walk, challenge yourself to walk around the block when you get home from work, before you even walk in the house. Maybe you can keep your sneakers in your car so you don’t even think about walking in the house before you’ve taken a brief walk. I will often walk out of the house completely ready to go, toss my bag into my car, keeping my keys and phone on me, and take a walk. Then I don’t even have to get back in the house and get ready, I just hop in my car and go about my day.

Stay Standing When You Get Home
A body in motion, stays in motion, right? I have noticed that if I sit down on the couch as soon as I get in the door and take my shoes off, I’m done. I’ve started to take care of the things that need to be done around the house (or at least some of them) as soon as I get home, so that I can stay moving a bit longer. Although I’m not a lover of cleaning, I’ll get the dishes done, or put away some laundry, sweep the kitchen, whatever it takes to just stay standing a bit longer before I give in to relaxing on the couch. Every little bit counts and the more you do it, the more natural it will feel. If you’re sitting down to chop vegetables for dinner, start there, stay standing!

Take up Hiking
This isn’t necessarily the simplest change to make, but it is incredibly rewarding. Even if you can only fit in a half mile, add a hike to your weekend plans. The weather is improving here in the Northeast and being outside to enjoy it will drastically improve your mood and overall health.

There you go! Seven ways that you can start adding a bit more standing and walking to your day. Remember, every little bit counts!! I would love to hear other ideas you may have or methods that have worked for you! Please share in the comments below or on our Facebook page!

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5 Reasons to Love the Pilates Reformer

Photo by Katie Africano

Everyone knows what a Pilates mat class is. We all see them at the gym, on videos, even outside in the parks during the summer! You’ve got the mat class down, but did you know that Pilates was created with many pieces of equipment including the miraculous machine: The Reformer? If you haven’t experienced Pilates on the Reformer, you have not yet discovered all that Pilates has to offer, and trust me, you should! Here are just 5 of the many reasons you will absolutely love Pilates on the Reformer:

1. You Can Do It!
The number one reason to love Pilates on the Reformer? No matter what your age or fitness level, you can do a Pilates workout on the Reformer! The Reformer’s spring resistance system allows your trainer to adjust the Pilates exercises to meet your abilities and needs. Resistance can be added or taken away in a snap to assist you through an exercise or make it more challenging. The machine may look a little intimidating, but after the first time you get your feet in the straps, the anxiety will pass. You will leave feeling more confident than when you walked in the door because you will have put your legs over your head, stood up on the Reformer, and worked new muscles like a champ!

2. A Truly Full Body Workout
Pilates mat classes are notorious for working the core. Although I absolutely love the Pilates mat workouts, some people find they want more leg and upper body work. The Reformer answers those needs. With a full repertoire of upper and lower body exercises that emphasize core engagement throughout (of course), you will feel every muscles of your body work during each and every Pilates Reformer workout. After only a few sessions, you will experience a more balanced feeling in your body as all of your muscles begin to find their synergy after working together throughout your workouts.

3. Two Words: Eccentric Contraction
The unique spring resistance system forces you to work during all portions of the Reformer exercises, including the release. You will contract your muscles concentrically to perform each movement, and then release with control to engage them eccentrically. This strengthens your muscles in a very functional way that will help you in your day-to-day life, improves the flexibility of your muscles, and helps develop that signature Long + Lean Pilates body.

4. Workout Variety
Have you ever gotten frustrated with a workout that includes 4 moves repeated 50 times to exhaust your muscles? I have! Although that method does build strength, it can be incredibly boring and hard to stick with. Pilates Reformer workouts take you through a whole series of workouts, repeating each movement only 6-12 times. You will often work the same muscle group in multiple exercises, but in a different way each time. There is a beautiful flow to the Pilates Reformer exercises that keep you moving and guessing what will come next. Each Long + Lean Pilates Reformer session is a bit different from the one before it. Whether it’s changing up the order of the exercises, or trying new variations, your Pilates Reformer workout will never feel like the same old thing.

5. It Just Feels Good!
The beauty of the Pilates Reformer workout is in its ability to work all of your muscles without exhausting them. You build strength without reaching fatigue while also creating improved range of motion in your joints and improving your flexibility. Each session will leave you feeling energized, relieve stress, improve your posture, and relieve joint pain. Many people say they feel longer and taller after their Pilates workouts and Pilates is famous for relieving back pain and rehabilitating injuries. Bottom line? You will feel soooo good after your Pilates Reformer sessions!

Ready to feel amazing and try Pilates on the Reformer for yourself? Contact us today to set up your introductory appointment at our Allentown Studio on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo!

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Core Strength: What’s the Big Deal?

Reason numero uno for doing Pilates is always….”amazing core strength!” Pilates is a method built around strengthening the core and just about everyone out there tells you to increase your core strength. But why? What does increased core strength give you?  First let’s talk about what the core actually is…

Yes, the core includes your abdominal muscles.  That means not just your six pack muscles (the rectus abdominis), but also your internal and external obliques, and your transverse abdominis. Pilates works all of these abdominal muscles, thank goodness, because they are all integral to having strong and flat abs. But your core goes beyond your abs. Also included (and worked in Pilates) are the pelvic floor, glutes, multifidi, diaphragm, psoas, lats, and quite a few other muscles of the back and hips that stabilize your pelvis, spine, and shoulder girdle. The important thing to know here is that a strong core means more than six pack abs.

Pilates is such a great workout because it works all of those muscles listed above in every exercise. Each and every Pilates exercise is designed to work your core and train your body to stabilize your limbs with those support muscles. Pilates devotees all have super strong and efficient core muscles. When I say efficient I mean they’re quick to engage and support you when the body needs to move and do all the crazy things your life asks you to do.

So let’s talk about why that’s so important…the core muscles, especially the deep ones like the pelvic floor, transverse abdominis, and psoas, are the muscles that turn on just before your mover muscles (quads, pecs, etc.) start performing. The deep core should work intuitively to protect your spine and support your pelvis while your limbs are moving freely. That’s another thing about core strength: when you have it, your other muscles don’t have to try to compensate so they’re free to do their own job easily and effectively. Movement efficiency means you work less to get the same thing done, which is so amazingly important for athletes but also for everyone else too.

As I mentioned before, core strength supports your pelvis and protects your spine. Which will, in turn, protect your from injury and keep you free of back issues and pain. Injuries can occur to anyone, not just athletes and weekend warriors. You can hurt yourself twisting to get a bag in the car, bending over to pick up your toddler, walking down your driveway. Also, core strength will improve your balance and coordination, meaning you won’t fall as easily or you’ll be able to recover from a stumble without spraining your ankle.

Beyond all of these benefits that will make you move better and feel better, core strength will help you look better too! Not only will focusing on your core muscles give you a flatter belly, slimmer thighs, and a toned behind, core strength also helps improve your posture and make it easier for you to sit up and stand tall without having to work too hard at all.  A strong core will give you the ability to maintain great posture without even having to think about it. Woohoo!

Are you convinced that having a strong core is well worth it? Great! Now come do Pilates with Long + Lean and start strengthening that core!!

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