Far from a hundred

Today I did an hour of mixed cardio, weights, and work on the ball. I also did some of the moves I learned at Pilates class, namely, the hundred. This, you're supposed to do until you reach a hundred beats. It is terribly uncomfortable when you are just starting out. Humbles, you, really, to see how you have to struggle through something that looks so darned easy.

Tomorrow I will actually count to see how many I can do.

A friend of mine said she doesn't know of the Reformer.

The Universal Reformer is a piece of equipment that looks like this.

Depending on the exercise, your body weight will rest on the padded platform, which moves along the base of the machine through a series of pulleys. The motions are performed with cables and a series of different handles, depending on what motion you’re performing.

These exercises are not performed in sets, really. It is a long, continual motion that will target balance and flexibility, every bit as much as it targets strength and conditioning.

What’s interesting about Pilates is that there are no weights involved. No adjusting the resistance, no sliding that pin down a couple of plates. *You* are the resistance. When you pull the cables in toward your chest, the weight that you're pulling is simply your own body weight. The Reformer takes away gravity during the exercise; your working muscles create the movement and stability.

Aside from toning up the torso, The Pilates Method is said to help you achieve healthy breathing and relaxation while vastly increasing stamina.

All of which I need.

I really hope I find a studio and teacher that I like. My ultimate goal is to learn how to do the exercises properly (they are much, much trickier than weights) and get my own Reformer, so I can work on my own.

By myself. Oh, how I hate being told what to do. And that includes exercise instructors.