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Toned muscles, a strong core; cardiovascular fitness for health, stress relief or endurance for sports and recreation: Whatever your reason for working out, it’s results you want. If you exercise regularly and maintain the habit, you’ll begin to see and feel results in weeks. Here’s how.

Strength Training, Including Pilates:

If you’re a beginner: For the most rapid change, beginners should do Pilates twice a week.  “Pilates is a new physical language that you have to learn,” says Susan Moran, senior vice president of Power Pilates, an APOGEE Wellness company. Beginners will get results if they practice twice a week for an hour. “Just two hours a week—it will change your life!” says Susan.

Beginners can also strength train—with weights or other types of resistance—twice a week, says Jane Nielsen, APOGEE’s Fitness Manager. “It just takes 20 minutes,” says Jane. “You don’t need hours and hours.”

If you’re already active: Schedule in three weekly Pilates sessions and increase the frequency of your strength training to three or four times a week, says Jane. To allow your muscles a day to recover, don’t do the same exercises two days in a row, she says. “You might do lunges one day and work on inner and outer thighs the next,” says Jane. Ask an APOGEE trainer to create a list of exercises that challenge different muscles, reducing your risk of injury while working all of your muscle groups.

The exception: “You can work your abs every day,” says Jane.

Cardiovascular Training

Running, walking, cycling, striding on the elliptical, and indoor rowing build cardiovascular fitness, ease stress, reduce risk of chronic disease and help you maintain or lose weight.

If you’re a beginner: Schedule 30 to 45 minutes of cardio three to five times a week, says Jane.  Start with a goal that you are sure to accomplish; it’s better to be conservative and meet your goal than be ambitious and set yourself up for failure. “People say they want to workout six or seven days a week but that’s almost impossible,” says Jane.  Both APOGEE White Plains and Bedford Hills have a wide selection of group cardio classes to motivate you.

If you’re already active: Maintain a habit of 45 minutes of cardio five times a week. Ask an APOGEE trainer about making one or two of your workouts longer or more intense. Try a Spinning or Indo-Row class; there are challenges built into every session!

“Do cardio, Pilates and strength training every week and eat a healthy diet and you’ll look great,” says Jane. “Why wouldn’t you?”

There’s something new in our White Plains studio—perhaps you’ve seen a cluster of exercise machines, each with a long rail, a sliding seat and a round water tank. They’re our new rowing machines for Indo-Row®, APOGEE’s unique take on indoor rowing.

Update: We’ll be holding free daily Indo-Row demo classes for APOGEE  members only in White Plains starting Monday, August 31! Click here for schedule.

Rowing is one of the best routes to total fitness—not only is it an extraordinary cardiovascular workout, but it is a true total-body workout, activating your legs, core, back, shoulders and arms. With so much muscle mass recruited for each stroke, rowing is a huge calorie burner—up to 700 calories an hour. But because you’re seated, there’s no pounding stress on joints. And you can row easily or all-out—you decide how much effort to put into each stroke.

Indo-Row is the perfect complement to Pilates. The stroke is easy to learn, but as with Pilates, the more you concentrate on flowing movement, the greater your results. Your core acts as a link between your upper and lower body as you row; the stronger your core, the more powerful your stroke. “Indo-Row allows our clients to complement their Pilates experience with an exhilarating aerobic workout,” says Dr. Howard Sichel, executive vice president of APOGEE Wellness and founder of Power Pilates. “Our instructors ensure each class is high-energy, fun and challenging.”

Three things make APOGEE’s Indo-Row class stand out.

It’s Motivating
First, Indo-Row is a group fitness class, and APOGEE instructors use group dynamics for motivation—that’s where the team competitions come in. Instructors create short relay races to up the intensity. You also get support from the group. Because everyone is rowing at the same pace, it’s easy to keep the rhythm—even the sound of the rowing machines acts as a cue. “The greatest part of Indo-Row is the sense of community in the class,” says Sichel.

There’s Constant Feedback
APOGEE Indo-Row classes utilize the newest innovation in indoor rowing equipment. Indo-Rowers have a sealed water flywheel that provides smooth, constant resistance during each stroke. The exact resistance varies depending on how intensely you row. “What’s great about the Indo-Row machine is that an elite athlete can row next to a beginner at the same pace, and they will both get a great workout,” says Sichel. The water also creates a wave-like sound that is soothing, realistic and almost meditative. Each machine has a simple electronic read-out that gives you instant feedback on your effort.

You’ll Incorporate Pilates Moves
Most importantly, APOGEE instructors break up the 45-minutes of rowing with three Pilates-based interludes of strength, stretch and recovery exercises that keep you connected to your core and ensure your back, legs and shoulders stay supple, strong and healthy.

Let the rowing begin!

When you train with Pilates instructors at APOGEE White Plains and Bedford Hills or Power Pilates in New York (both APOGEE Wellness companies), you’re experiencing the teaching of Susan Moran. In 1995, Susan and Howard Sichel started Power Pilates, which quickly grew to include teacher education as well as individual and group client training. Now, Power Pilates is the leading educator of classical Pilates in the world. All of the Pilates instructors at APOGEE are trained in Power Pilates; in all, 7,000 Pilates instructors around the world are trained graduates. Susan continues to teach weekly classes in Manhattan, as well as lead workshops and instruct at industry events.

Pilates is a trend that never goes away. Why is it so enduring?

Susan: People begin taking classes because Pilates will give them the flat abs, improved posture and increased flexibility that they want. But they keep coming because of the way Pilates makes them feel: I say 30 days of Pilates will change your life because it heals you from the inside out—from a cellular level. People are happier because they feel better—they have more energy and are healthier. Feeling good will never go out of style!

Pilates is known for developing core strength, so why is the motto at Power Pilates “Movement Heals”?

Susan: Pilates exercises build core strength, yes, but primarily Pilates improves the health of the spine. In my early years of teaching I saw people’s health improve because of Pilates. When I was 23 I had a client with a lung disease. After practicing Pilates she went to the doctor and her lung function had increased 20 to 30 percent. Now I know why: The nerves that enervate the muscles and organ systems come from your spine. When you improve the health of your spine, every body system benefits. People breathe better, have improved digestion, endocrine function and more. It’s just like Joseph Pilates said: We have the power to heal ourselves!

Related articles:
Susan Moran teaches The Hundred (video)
Who Was Joseph Pilates?
The Principles of Pilates: Linking Mind and Body

There’s no getting around it: It’s summer and you’re making appearances in a bathing suit. Whether you’re at the pool, beach, river or lake, there’s no hiding in this hot weather.

We asked APOGEE Bedford Hills Power Pilates instructor Lauren Karr what you can do to look your best when you’re barely dressed. “You want to relax and square your shoulders,“ Lauren says. “Your abs need to support your upper body.” With your head, neck and shoulders in alignment and supported by your abs, you will look taller, more elegant and graceful. The way to do this, says Lauren, is by practicing one basic Pilates move: The Hundred.

If you think you already know this exercise, take a minute to review it and be aware when you’re on the mat. Then, bring that same mental focus to your posture when you’re standing.

Position: Lie flat, arms relaxed at your sides, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Feel where your shoulder blades are on the floor—how far from your ears are your shoulders, for example. As you engage your abs, glide your shoulder blades down your back, “as if you’re tucking them into the back pockets of your jeans,” says Lauren.

Lift: Lift your feet so your knees are over your hips and bent at 90 degrees; extend to 45 degrees. As you lift your head off the floor to look into your core, be certain the lower tips of your shoulder blades remain on the floor and your shoulders are square. “You should be folding up from the bra line,” says Lauren. “Don’t throw your neck off the spine.”

Move: When you begin to pump your arms and breathe, initiate the movement from your back, says Lauren. “Your abs are your powerhouse, but your shoulder blades must work to stabilize your upper torso,” says Lauren. “Your upper back is a secondary powerhouse.” Pump your arms up and down vigorously, inhaling for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts, until you reach 100 counts.

When your upper back and abs are working together, as they are during The Hundred, your trapezius and upper back will relax. Not only will you look taller, but you’ll appear calmer as well. Calm and relaxed? Now that looks good in a bathing suit!

Finding the time, energy and motivation to keep your body fit can be as challenging as completing the workouts themselves. That’s why APOGEE’s new Power Pilates OneShot class is quickly gaining a devoted following: In 55 minutes, you can raise your heart rate, burn off calories and work your core with Pilates moves. “It’s motivating because there’s so much variation,” says APOGEE OneShot instructor LucyAnn Doino.

The OneShot class alternates between Pilates mat work and ropeless jumping—think of a boxer’s workout, with foot shuffles, side-to-side footwork and hopping. The difference: You’re holding just the handles of a jump rope—there’s no actual rope to get tangled or miss. The Jump Snap handles make the noise of a rope so you know your pace. With feet, legs and arms moving, OneShot gives you an exhilarating total-body workout.

“In the 45-minute Intro class, we do a 25-minute Pilates mat warm-up, followed by 5-minute jump routines alternating with 5-minutes of Pilates mat work,” says LucyAnn. The Pilates moves are similar to those in a Beginning Mat class. The jumping routines are easy and anyone can revert to the basic side-to-side move if they need to lower their intensity. “We do 20-, 30- and 60-second jumping intervals,” says LucyAnn. “The choreography is simpler than a Zumba class.”

In the 55-minute Regular OneShot class, the Pilates mat warm-up is 10 minutes long, followed by 10-minute jumping intervals with mat breaks lasting 5 minutes.

“The music is really motivating,” says LucyAnn. “No one is bored!” With music, the snapping sound of the Jump Snaps and just enough footwork to keep you challenged, OneShot is 55-minutes of sweat you’ll look forward to.

OneShot is open to everyone. It is helpful to have taken Intro to Pilates Mat so you understand the instructions during the mat-work portions of the class. Find a  OneShot class in White Plains or Bedford Hills.