After working at home raising her children, Club Pilates Bridgewater co-owner, Karen Spidare, was ready to enter back into the workforce. She and her husband, Todd Spidare, have always been passionate about fitness and healthy living, so opening a Club Pilates was a natural fit for them. They opened their first studio in Flemington and quickly followed up with studios in Bridgewater and Princeton. They also have future plans to open a fourth location in Montgomery Township.
Born in San Diego in 2007, Club Pilates has expanded across the nation, bringing Pilates to hundreds of thousands of people. There are over 600 locations across the country — and they’re just getting started.
“Club Pilates is going to become more of a household name. Year over year, there’s dramatically more awareness of the brand,” says Todd.
While Pilates is the basis of every class, Club Pilates offers a ton of variety. There are seven signature group class formats that utilize a variety of equipment, including Reformers, EXO chairs, TRX, Trigger Point, springboard and Barre.
“We create a safe and welcoming environment,” says Karen. There are four class levels, so people of any fitness level can enjoy the workouts.
One of their goals is to dispel the myth that Pilates is just for women. Though men have always been part of the Pilates scene, the surge of popularity that Pilates has enjoyed in recent years has been powered to a large extent by a wave of women participants and instructors, leaving some with the impression that Pilates is primarily for women.
“Some of our most dedicated members are actually men,” says Todd.
Studies have shown that couples who sweat together and support each other during regular workouts, report feeling more satisfied in their relationships.
Married couple Marylu Dibisceglie-Flaig and Christopher Flaig (photographed) regularly attend classes together.
"We work out together on Sunday mornings. It gets us out of bed earlier and gets our endorphins going," says Christopher.
Marylu continues, “Every time I’m here I hear my female classmates say, 'I wish I could get my husband to show up. It’s really nice you work out together.’"
There is nothing specifically different about Pilates training for men. Pilates is founded on healthy movement principles for the human body in general. Men might find that their muscles are a little tighter than women's, especially in the hips and hamstrings, but exercises can be easily modified to allow those areas to stretch out gradually.
Pilates is a body/mind practice where part of the exercise is to bring one's full attention to every movement. Similarly, exacting alignment and core training that goes beyond the superficial muscles require more subtle attention and micro-adjustments than some men are used to finding in an exercise class. There is none of the "just power through" kind of attitude that men experience in big box gyms.
“Men are a little late to the party. Their wives usually join first. Once they try it though, they become huge believers,” says Karen.
Try a free class clubpilates.com/bridgewater