pilates

before anything else, allow me to exercise a bit of chutzpa and unabashedly do a plug in!!!

Allez-hop!, which is french for "get moving" is now open!!!! located in the heart of legaspi village sits the first ever boutique wellness center, specifically designed to get people to do just that.. MOVE!! the brain child of ms. francesca ballmer and mr. ervin paunan, Allez-hop! offers a wide range of alternative programs to taut, tone and train even the most stubborn of bodies!

Allez-hop! 's diverse array of services include pilates, for both mat classes and machines. cardio and weight traning, as well as core training programs are also available. for those of the more "violent" kind, try taking up muaythai and get that Contender Asia physique u've been lusting for (or survivor philippines.. whichever).

for them youngens and chikitings, while mom and dad are getting themselves ripped, Allez-hop! also is the exclusive holder for the franchise of "stretch-n- grow", the biggest health and exercise program for kids in the world! .... perfect for those telly-blubby kids. Allez-hop! also has its own ambulatory rehab facility for rehab strengthening as well as pain management, all handled by its team of licensed physiotherapists.

also, Allez hop! is in proud possession of the most advanced body analyzer in the country. not only will it measure body fat (blah.. so what? right?) BUT it also measures bone mineral content, water, and muscle PER BODY PART. information that would make your exercise program more focused and area specific. no more bothersome calipers and miscalculations.... with this machine, in 3 mins, u would have a CLEAR idea of your problem areas and how to solve them!

for inquiries and appointements, visit their website at www.allez-hop.net or click on this LINK.

now that that's over and done with.. on with the blog.


ervin, who is a good friend of mine originally "drafted" me to be their interior designer since i was their choice due to my physical therapy background. i have had experience in designing healthcare spaces before but this studio presented challeges i was not expecting, primarily since the place was quite small and the area rather irregular. thankfully, with a bit of imagination and a lot of inspiration, we were able to come up with a design that works and solves every design and functional problem the space offered. now, months after that eventful first design meeting... Allez hop! is finally set to sail, but not after getting me super hooked with pilates.

been working out at Allez hop! for quite some time now and i am thankful that the trainiers have been very nice to me. despite being a gym rat all these years and having gained strength significantly, i can't really say my core is as strong. for sure i have sucky posture as it has always been a problem. so to chance upon pilates and knowing ppl who teach it and now actually have a place that offers it was simply a god sent!!!

i have done mat classes before at home from watching a DVD from the home shopping network (no one laugh... im sure u guys have done it too before!). at first the positions felt rather daunting since i consider myself to have the flexibility of a steel pole, but after a few runs, i started to notice a difference in my stance. as promised by the girl on the disc, u do end up feeling taller, longer and leaner. however, doing an exercise with the TV eventually gets boring and not long after that, the disc and pilates found its way in the pile of scraped hobbies. i then went back to my same boring gym work out and found that despite all the exercises i do, i never really got that extra something that i did with pilates. now because of Allez-hop! i can now have pilates any time i want, and not only that, have qualified trainiers to do one-on-one instruction that no DVD can ever do! GOD, i am starting to sound like an infomercial na!!!!

but in all honestly, i was really REALLY made a fan. i have subjected myself to the mercy of their pilates machines and i swear, to think that u only deal with minimal resistance, i have felt parts of my body that i have NEVER felt before!!! and the exercises are not easy ha, not at all. there were moments wherein i would find myself flapping around like a fish out of water but the trainiers are patient enuf and skilled enuf to push u to your tolerance. after a few tries, u eventaully get the hang of it and the movements become fun. that's what it is... FUN!!!!

i now integrate pilates to my gym workout. made my time pumping iron now feel more dynamic and less rountinary for sure.