Core Pilates NYC

Core Pilates NYC is an old school NY studio with a loyal following, and the Mat Pilates class is a great way to unwind and get some toning in.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

In this Mat Pilates class, Alexis led us methodically through toning exercises for our arms, abs, back, glutes, and legs, all in order. Exercises included lunges, crunches, arm pulls with resistance bands, and the use of a Pilates circle to ensure that there was resistance in all of our activities. We started the class with standing roll downs and ended all the way down on the mat with rainbow crunches and hip bridges. There were about eight other people in our class, and Alexis did a good job of keeping us focused given that there was also a reformer/jumpboard Pilates class going on in the same studio right next to our group on the mats. We left the class feeling stretched, replenished, and like our obliques had not gotten such a good specific workout in weeks. We’d recommend Mat Pilates for anyone looking for a gentle class or who is just getting into Pilates.

INSTRUCTOR

Alexis was a mild-mannered, friendly instructor who did a great job leading class in what could have been a distracting situation. We enjoyed that she came over and did positional corrections, which helped make sure that we were getting the most out of our workout even if we weren’t exactly sweating. She also did a great job of describing positions with simple language, since we were not as familiar with the standard names for many Pilates positions.

SPACE

Core Pilates is in an office building close to Union Square and has a lovely, lofted open space where multiple classes take place at once. This makes the studio space – while beautiful with high ceilings and shiny wood floors – very distracting. There are pilates videos, yoga mats, and apparel on sale and several changing rooms to the right of the main studio. The bathroom, however, is in the hallway next to the elevators and requires a special key to get into. It did not feel like a clean place where one would want to change into street clothes.