Back in March I discovered a new piece of workout equipment I fell so in love with them I bought three!  I’ve incorporated these contraptions, called CoreAlign ™, into my Boston Pilates studio and I couldn’t be happier that I have them.

It’s basically an 8′ tall ladder and a base with two slide-y carts on them.  You use rubber tubing to hook the carts up from either the front or the back of the base and you’re ready to go.  The mechanism is incredibly smooth, they’re easy to work with and the results are amazing.

Why It Works So Well

With good instruction these machines force you to use the right muscles.  Yes, you can cheat, but once you get the hang of the movement you’re locked into the proper muscle group  and you’ll feel changes immediately.  After my first session on the CoreAlign I walked away with better posture and an improved gait.  I was engaging my hamstrings and glutes more naturally and totally change the way I walk for the better.

This is a full body workout and includes tons of upper body, lower body and core.  Even though I regularly train Pilates and have a pretty darned good core I was still challenged to do the exercises and felt some muscle soreness after my first few sessions on the machines.  I also felt great, destressed, toned and as if I could float out of my studio.  It really is that awesome.

It’s Got a Cardio Component

This machine is resistance training through and through and you will definitely feel your muscles getting stronger with regular workouts, but there is a cardio component as well.  By your third session (if not before) you’ll be moving with fluidity and bumping up into your cardiovascular zones.  So not only are you doing strength work but you get cardio as well.  What we call in the fitness industry a two-fer!

It’s Safe

About five years of research went into developing this machine.  The creator, Jonathan Hoffman, is a physical therapist in Israel who needed equipment to work with soldiers who had been injured.  You can imagine the types of injuries he was dealing with!  The entire repertoire has been developed by both Hoffman and a few elite Pilates Instructors and is very well grounded in anatomy, kinesiology and post-rehab principles.  So you’re working hard but you’re always working safe.

I have to admit my Pilates instructors were skeptical when I brought it into the studio but after our initial training with the Balanced Body folks it was widely embraced and our bookings for CoreAlign are going through the roof.

If you’d like to find a studio with CoreAlign near you please Google your town and CoreAlign to see if you can find a nearby location.  They have been rolling these out for the past year and they are catching on quickly.  If you’re in Boston and you’d like to try out CoreAlign, feel free to check out more info at CoreAlignBoston.com.

Let me know what you think about this workout.  Would you like to try it?  Do you think it looks fun?

Cheers,

Lisa