Boulder Bodyworks, 4865 Riverbend Road suite 100, Boulder, 303-444-2739, boulderbodyworks.com
Instructor: Gina Hughes, of Broomfield. Hughes started doing Pilates as a dancer in college and became certified to teach in 2001. She has been teaching at Boulder Bodyworks since.
In 2004, she had a serious car accident that she says allowed her to see Pilates through a different perspective, of pain, injury and recovery.
In 2008, she had a baby, so she also understands the physical issues of pregnancy. While pregnant, she says Pilates was her “saving grace,” because it helped her release tightness, increase blood flow and support her body.
“My background is built on being an athlete, dancer and having had a debilitating injury,” she says.
What is the workout? Prenatal Pilates is a class that uses Pilates equipment and principles to help strengthen and open the front of the hips; decompress the lower back; stretch and strengthen the pelvic floor; and integrate the feet and legs into supporting the pelvis, lower back and weight of the baby.
What does it cost? Drop-in rate is $35. You must register due to limited space.
Who does it? Class has space for five women, starting in their 10th week of pregnancy. Some women continue classes until a week before they deliver; my class had a woman in her 37th week. (Bless her tough soul.)
When: Classes are an hour long 11:30 a.m. Saturdays. A 10 a.m. Wednesday class is in the works.
Level: Beginners to advanced. Classes are tailored for each woman. I found the class an appropriate five on a 10-point scale. It was more difficult than prenatal yoga classes I have taken, but it didn’t strain or stress me in any way. Most of my challenge was balance and coordination, which would improve with more training.
Format: Theme and focus varies. Most classes start at the feet and move upward, opening and building strength to the pelvis, spine and upper body. Classical Pilates classes tend to move straight to the core, but Hughes says it’s helpful for pregnant woman to first feel the “support from underneath.”
Equipment: Mat, the Pilates Total Workout System (also called the Pole or Cadillac System) and various props, like Magic Circles, Therabands and foam rollers. All equipment provided.
What to wear: Comfortable clothes, no shoes. No shorts because your feet are up in the air. No jeans. Bring a bottle of water.
Muscles worked: Full body, with a focus on balancing the muscles around the pelvis, shoulder girdle, ankles, knees and upper back. In addition to stretching muscles, this class focuses on supporting the joints.
“When they’re strong and balanced and powerful, it feels supportive,” Hughes says.
Pilates equipment uses springs, which are simultaneously strengthening and supportive, so your muscles are elongated while they’re being worked. This feels different than yoga. I think it gets to your muscles deeper; I can feel it all the way to my skeleton, the way I move my bones and how they connect with my muscles and overall body.
If there is time, Hughes works on opening the neck and shoulders.
One new move: I was surprised by the “mini roll up,” which looks like (but is not exactly) an abs exercise safe for pregnant women.
Place feet under a strap with a blanket under your glutes for support, hands down on the mat behind you. Curl forward a very small amount. This helps move and decompress the lumbar spine and lower back.
“Whenever you have that much weight in the front, your lower back is squeezing tighter, narrower and holding the weight,” Hughes says. “It feels relieving to balance that, decompress the vertebrae of the lumbar spine and engage a little abs support without doing a full roll up.”
I was also surprised that we were on our backs for many of the exercises, because doctors caution about spending much time lying on your back after the 12th week; it can cut off circulation to the baby.
However, Hughes says she believes every woman has a unique pregnancy with different limitations, and she encourages women to follow their own needs. If you have trouble breathing or feel nauseous, uncomfortable or lightheaded, she says use mats, blocks and blankets to prop yourself up. I found lying on my back felt good, allowing my weight to even itself out on my hips and release my lower back.
Hughes doesn’t recommend lying on your back for longer than 10 or 15 minutes, so her class keeps participants moving and not in one position for long.
What’s different: Regular Pilates follows a more specific order of exercises with fewer modifications, props and supports. This class has a greater emphasis on supporting the spine, head, neck and shoulders.
A Pilates mat class typically includes upper spinal curls (sort of like sit-ups) to strengthen abs muscles.
“There are ways of activating and firing the deep core muscles without lifting your head up off the mat,” Hughes says.
What I loved: I’m short. I’m running out of space in here. This class seemed to make more space. And the side stretches and shoulder circles felt amazing.
In Hughes’ words: “When you take an average Pilates class it feels good anyway, but it’s magnified when you’re pregnant. It feels so good for them in a deep way, like my body needs and craves this. I can’t imagine being pregnant and not doing Pilates.”
I also enjoyed Hughes’ hands-on help to assure that each student got the most out of the moves and stayed safe.
What I didn’t like: Are you kidding? If I could afford it, I would make this class my new religion.
Inspiration for class: Hughes developed the class in 2003.
“I delight in knowing I’m helping women who are carrying life. It’s such a beautiful energy to teach a class — there are five in a class, but I feel like I’m teaching 10,” she says. “It feels like a sacred class. I cherish my prenatal women and think they’re beautiful. I want to honor and support them.”
How I felt after the class: Glorious. I had a busy Saturday ahead, and I believe this class is the only reason I made it through the day without hurting or needing a nap. I was able to do things that are otherwise a physical struggle.
How I felt later: I woke up slightly sore three days later. Apparently, we’re running a little slow around here.
– Reported by Aimee Heckel.

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