Category Archives: Pilates

Fitness Finesse: Q & A with Peggy Levine

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by Ann Votaw, C.H.E.S.

At the end of her modern dance career, Peggy Levine rode the aerobics craze into the developing field of fitness. While colleagues emphasized “sweat,” Peggy concentrated on body alignment. She opened her own studio in 1983. When the business closed in 2004, students demanded her return. “They wouldn’t let me retire,” Peggy said.

Today, Peggy teaches at Bridge for Dance Studio, Columbia University, and as a Master Trainer through Pilates Institute of America. Her style reflects shifts in her own life: Peggy has stayed fit through college years, the birth of her daughter, and menopause.

Ann Votaw: What is your philosophy on teaching fitness?

Peggy Levine: I think my philosophy on fitness is that it makes you a stronger person, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. A lot of women think they can’t do something, and it can be can’t lift their arms or can’t make enough money. I think my class teaches people to be comfortable in their bodies, so they can feel like they can. My philosophy is to make women stronger, so they can get through the next phase of their lives, not just physically, but to give them the feeling that they can conquer their fears. It’s empowering.

AV: In addition to instructing senior and pre-natal populations, you teach at the university level. What is that like?

PL: I’m tickled pink when I get positive evaluations from the kids. It validates me.  I love it when I get returning students. When you teach the same classes over and over, you wonder if you have any value. I learn from the students.

AV: What recommendations do you have for people entering the field of fitness?

PL: You have to really want this because the competition is fierce. There’s more than just being good at it yourself. You have to really want to impart knowledge to other people. You have to really want to help other people learn how to take care of themselves.

Product Alert: Avoid CorePlus Reformer

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When I returned GAIAM’s® CorePlus Reformer, I had words for the sales person.

“This is a giant piece of crap.”

He just smiled and returned my $29.99.

Of course, I should know better. As a Pilates instructor, I know that most people dislike the softness of their tummies. Most people–including me–will buy anything entitled “core.”

Unfortunately, “core” is one of the industry’s buzz words, sometimes one of its biggest lies.

This core product comes in a boxed kit that includes a 45-minute video and the CorePlus Reformer, two connected stretch bands meant to mimic leg straps on a Pilates reformer.

It sounded so promising, but GAIAM® made a lazy mistake: the one-size-fits-all straps cannot accommodate anyone taller than Mari Windsor, the video’s petite and engaging host.

While my cat watched, I arranged my 5’ 10’’ body into the four-looped CorePlus Reformer. Once my arms and legs were inside, I tried to follow Mari and her assistants in moves like double leg stretch. The girls sailed through the exercise, but I remained in traction, much like Han Solo in Return of the Jedi.

Although the product has potential, the straps are not long enough, nor do they stretch enough to allow shoulder or leg movement. I had the most success with rollbacks, which felt wonderful and kept me scooping my abdominals instead of slumping. The back strengthening exercises made sufficient use of the bands, but I could have gotten the same results from regular stretch bands.

After humiliating myself in my own home, on my own rug, I promised my cat that I wouldn’t buy useless crap.