Pilates Booty: The ultimate summer workout

I was intrigued as soon as I saw the Pilates Booty class on the Bromance Paname schedule. The studio is conveniently located in the heart of Paris’ 11th area and was founded by two friends Audrey and Elise who make you feel instantly welcome. It is their mission to find the perfect balance between fitness and relaxation. Bromance Paname offers a flexible mix of barre, yoga and pilates classes. The space lends itself to relaxation, surrounding you with warm, relaxing colours and natural light streaming in from the glass roof. Adding to the cosy feeling is a coffee bar and seating area to chat and chill with other members, before or after your class.

What is Pilates Booty?

We were welcomed in the ground floor room by Julie, who teaches this class several times a week. The space is comfortable because there’s no mirror, which is great because you can concentrate on how you feel, rather than how you look. Our teacher asked us to face the front so she could correct our posture if necessary and said she would be acting as our mirror. We each grabbed a 1kg dumbbell, an elastic band and a pilates ring to intensify the core workout and add resistance when exercising your arms and legs. Julie explained that the session would be divided into two parts. The first was designed to strengthen the muscles around our legs and the second was to work our abs.

Pilates Booty – Part One: Muscle building

We began by using the pilates band to add resistance in a mixture of hip opening and squat exercises. The thighs began take the strain when the glutes had no more strength. As the session progressed, I began to feel the difference and knew that I’d worked my glutes to capacity. We continued to add resistance to our legs, working on our glutes. Julie wasn’t letting us off the hook too easily though and told us to grab some weights to make the exercise more challenging. Some of the exercises were unpleasant, to say the least, but the instructor was so positive and encouraging throughout the class that I stayed motivated even when I thought I couldn’t go on any longer. Her energizing playlist of Estelle, Kanye and Daft Punk definitely helped keep a smile on my face and stay in rhythm with the exercises.

Pilates Booty – Part Two: Abs

It was now time for the second half of the class, focussing on our abs. We quickly discovered that coordinating our breath with our movements was vital. Even as a pilates enthusiast, I found the core exercises extremely challenging. We finished the class with breathing and stretching exercises.

How did I feel after?

The centre of my body was on fire but I told myself it would be worth it. I felt like I’d had an excellent workout. My muscles were aching the next day. I’m confident that with a few more of these classes I’ll have a booty like Beyoncé. The class is so popular that Bromance Paname have added classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, so there’s no excuse to slack off!

Don’t forget to bring…

Water and two towels, a small one for use during the class and a larger one for the shower. The studio provides yoga mats and other equipment you need for the class. I encourage everyone to come by, try it out and see your hard work pay off once you hit the beach with your hard-earned beach body.