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Just in time for the busiest months of the year, APOGEE is adding more classes to our White Plains and Bedford Hills wellness center schedules. You’ll find more options during the day and evening, including classes on new equipment that expand our Classical Pilates offerings. Here’s what’s new:

Tower classes: Six Towers have been installed on the walls at each location. The Towers have a system of springs that add assistance and resistance to each exercise, allowing you to challenge yourself safely with more intensity. Tower work will deepen your connection to your Powerhouse to strengthen and lengthen your entire body and enrich your mat work. Sign up for intro level if you are currently taking beginner mat classes; sign up for open level if you have Tower experience. Please note: Tower classes are included in some membership packages as specialty classes.

Cardio Circuit: This class uses all of the cardio equipment on the second floor of the White Plains studio in a circuit fashion. Come prepared to sweat and burn calories! An open class for every level.

Intermediate/Advanced Mat: The ultimate Pilates experience is an advanced mat class that requires the utmost in attention and execution. Are you ready? This class is new at APOGEE Bedford Hills. Sign up if you’ve been practicing Pilates consistently for one year and have the ability to roll overhead.

Early morning and evening: White Plains members asked for classes in the early morning and more evening options, so 6:00 am Pilates classes are now on the schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with additional 7:30 pm evening classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Teen Classes: Teens ages 14-16 now have their own beginner mat class on Saturdays in White Plains.

Perhaps you’ve noticed APOGEE’s offer for 20%-off three private Pilates sessions* and wondered how one-on-one instruction would help you. We asked Lesly Levy, APOGEE’s new director of Pilates and Pilates programming, how private Pilates sessions benefit students who are currently in mat classes. “Private sessions help students connect to the method in a deeper way than in a class situation,” says Levy.

Levy, a senior-level teacher trainer for Power Pilates, says that working one-on-one with a certified instructor will allow you to build a proper foundation with no chance of error or misinterpretation of the instructor’s cues.  “Because Pilates trains the body through interpretation of the mind, for safe and effective advancement it is crucial that the student perform the method correctly,” says Levy.  “During a private session, the teacher will closely monitor your understanding and ability to internalize the important, often subtle, cues that transform the exercises into an experience, a practice.”

Each student brings unique physical strengths and weaknesses to the studio, says Levy. During a private session, the instructor will also assess your personal needs and use all of Joseph Pilates’ apparatus, including the mat and Tower, to help you progress. “Working with springs and against the pull of gravity in a number of different ways will deepen the effect of the method and allow for transformation of the body,” she says.

*Offer expires Oct. 31, 2009. New private Pilates training clients only. One-time use. Some restrictions apply. Sessions must be activated by 12/31/09 and completed within 30 days of activation.

By Jennifer Vagios, RD, APOGEE’s Dietitian

Many APOGEE members ask me how to include more vegetables in their diet. Here’s one way: I make a quick and nutritious dinner using spaghetti squash instead of pasta.

In local farmer’s markets right now you’ll find a colorful spectrum of winter squash, including spaghetti squash. Yellow, smooth, and cylindrical, it’s what’s on the inside that makes this squash so versatile: When cooked, the flesh separates into long, tender strands, perfect for topping with your favorite traditional pasta sauce.

How to prepare spaghetti squash: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds out, then place both halves cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the squash. When done, flip it over and pull out the strands with a fork.

I top the cooked squash with my favorite tomato sauce and, for protein, vegetarian meatballs. Like grain-based pasta, spaghetti squash is a good source of carbohydrates, but because it’s a veggie, it also contains fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium, and Vitamin C.

Westchester County has many good farmer’s markets; this site may list one near you.

By Deborah Slade, APOGEE Pilates Instructor

You may have heard that there are “different kinds” of Pilates out there. It’s true that you will experience various approaches from studio to studio. As Pilates has moved into the fitness mainstream, Joe Pilates’ original vision has been infused with different styles and philosophies. While there is value in other interpretations of the method, few would argue the importance of continuing to teach and promote the “classical” Pilates tradition, which advocates performing the exercises in the exact manner and sequence prescribed by the master himself, which is how we teach at APOGEE.

What are the fundamental principles of Pilates that define the classical approach?  Pilates is, above all else, a vigorous workout. The main focus is always movement, although it can be modified to complement physical therapy or address chronic illness. It is also holistic. The exercises were designed to be part of a larger system—performed in a progressive sequence without any extraneous motions and with very few repetitions. Each exercise has its own rhythm, details and dynamic and requires tremendous concentration to execute, which is why you’ll rarely hear music in a classical Pilates studio.

Flow is a central element of the original method. The transitions within and between exercises should be seamless and, when done properly, have an artistic, almost choreographic quality. Also, since Joe Pilates designed and redesigned the various apparatus to suit his exercises, teachers of classical Pilates believe it should only be practiced on equipment that honors his original blueprints.

To those who might be concerned that the spirit and vocabulary of Joe Pilates will be forgotten, Dr. Howard Sichel, founder Power Pilates, a classical Pilates training company, and executive vice president of APOGEE Life Style, offers reassurance: “Classical Pilates is so rich in layers and so successful in changing people’s lives that, just like Shakespeare, it will continue to be discovered and embraced by each new generation.”

By Jennifer Vagios, RD, APOGEE’s Dietitian

Food is all around us—gigantic muffins at the coffee shop, neverending office snacks, tempting commercials during your favorite TV programs. It’s no wonder that we often eat when we’re not truly “hungry.” But research has shown that “intuitive eating”—tuning into your hunger cues rather than things like emotions, food availability, social environment and eating in front of the television—is better than dieting when it comes to losing and maintaining weight.

Do you eat when you’re truly hungry? Here are some some tips to help you start eating intuitively:

·    Keep a log of when, what and how you feel when you eat (don’t forget the piece of chocolate at 3 pm because you were “bored!”). Start rating your hunger level on a scale of 1 to 10. If you typically eat when the numbers are low then that is a sign that you may not be eating when you’re actually hungry.

·    If you often find yourself munching on something while watching television, take note of that action and behavior and replace it with something else; for example, only allow yourself to eat while at the table, and not “out of a bag!”

·    When co-workers bring donuts/sweets/fast food to the office and you’ve already eaten a meal within a few hours, it’s likely you’re not hungry. To avoid this situation you can either have a pre-planned healthy snack available such as yogurt with fruit, and/or find a way to avoid the food and situation all together.

·    Keeping “trigger” foods out of the house is one easy step to avoiding eating when you’re emotional, stressed and/or bored. Once you’ve taken notice of your own personal eating style you will be more able to handle these situations. If you typically eat when you’re emotional, find an alternative other than food such as yoga, going for a walk, reading a book, calling a friend!

·    Think long-term: Every healthful choice you make contributes to a healthy future. It’s like a bank account. Along the way, you’re bound to make some choices that aren’t so great, but don’t judge yourself harshly. Part of being healthy is keeping things, including food, in perspective.