It isn’t a secret that our bodies change as we get older. But I don’t think we really understand how, and even why, until we are in the throes of aging. I know this has been the case for me. I have always been active, but first when I got pregnant, then after an autoimmune flare-up, and most recently after a surgery, my activity levels and intensity have changed. Each time, I haven’t been able to quite get to the fitness level I was at beforehand.
My recent surgery was for a sinus issue that was affecting my breathing so much that intense exercise was difficult. So before and definitely afterward, I was pretty sedentary. One thing I already know about these sedentary periods of my life is that they can be difficult to break out of. I see a fitness habit like kinetic energy—motion fuels more motion, movement begets movement. So when I was asked to try the BetterMe Wall Pilates program, I figured this might be a way to get me started: For 28 days, every day there would be a workout for me to do. I found a wall in my small New York City apartment and prepared to take on the challenge.
I am no stranger to using apps to get my health and fitness goals going. I’ve tried many. For whatever reason, I’ve stopped using most of them in short order. Usually it’s because they haven’t given me a concrete plan to follow, and I’m one of those people who needs to be told what to do—I don’t want to have to think about it or make choices about what workout I am going to do. Seeing a calendar of 28 workouts gave me peace of mind and motivated me a bit. (I was determined to do each one so I could unlock the next until I finished the 28-day program.)
One thing that was new for me was Pilates. Created by Joseph Pilates, the training method is based on the tenets of breath, concentration, centering, control, precision, and flow. It was originally developed for those who were frail, but in the first part of the last century, it became the complementary exercise routine of ballet dancers. I grew up ballet dancing, so a workout that was similar to my first real fitness foyer appealed to me.
My first BetterMe Wall Pilates workout was 13 minutes long. I’m not going to lie: It wasn’t too hard, but it was just the amount of intensity that I needed, at just the difficulty I needed. I didn’t feel like I was exhausted at the end, and felt like I could do it the next day—just right. As the first week progressed, that just-right feeling started to get a little harder. This wasn’t necessarily because the workouts got harder, but because my body was like, Wait a minute. What are you doing to me? I didn’t experience any true soreness, but something like muscle fatigue and shakiness. Still, while my muscles were tired, at no time did I want to quit.
Those first seven days of the Wall Pilates program were the hardest. As the program continued, the amount of time for each workout ranged between 13 and 19 minutes. Each was focused either on certain body parts—back, core, glutes, legs, or even full body—or on mobility. Illustrations as part of the workout summary in the app helped me see which muscles I was working and that I was working my body in a balanced manner.
Over time, I felt myself enjoying the exercises that I had found difficult to do in the beginning (I’m looking at you, alternating pike leg lift). And I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to complete a 18-minute ab workout without wanting to stop in the middle. I am not sure if it was the versions to the bicycle crunches (i.e., supported by the wall or the ones done standing) that helped me perform over a minute of my most-hated core exercise and still left me with enough strength for the rest of the workout.
Feeling my body change made me look forward to my daily workouts. It also made me want to take other steps in bettering my health. The BetterMe Health Coaching Program, also part of the app, educated me on how to choose better behaviors, provided suggestions on eating more healthfully with meal plans and recipes, and gave me ways to keep track of the amount of water I drank daily.
Perhaps the greatest testament to how I felt: After finishing the 28-day BetterMe Wall Pilates program, I started again. I now feel like I am back to being my more-active self—not necessarily my pre-pregnancy self, or even my pre-surgery self, but that person who works out and eats well regularly, and who is trying to be healthy again.
Take a 1-minute quiz to get a Wall Pilates Plan.
