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Zara Scribner had been a Pilates student for six years and loved everything about it: She felt taller and more focused than in the years before. The positive changes from Pilates made Zara wonder what would happen if she added strength work and  cardio to her regular Pilates workouts. The results, she says, are worth the extra work.

Zara had tried strength training once before and was a bit dismayed by the results. “I had worked with a trainer in high school and gotten really bulky,” Zara says. “I didn’t want that again.” This time, she asked for a recommendation from her APOGEE Pilates instructor and began personal training with Jane Nielsen at APOGEE Bedford Hills.

Jane started Zara with weight training and ab work based on Pilates moves. “I was kind of cocky going in,” Zara remembers. “But I could hardly lift the weights!” she says. Zara is now working out six days a week, mixing three or four different activities: Each week she sees Jane for personal training once, attends three Pilates classes, and Spins or runs once or twice. Zara works her abs daily.

The daily workouts are remodeling Zara’s physique. “Jane knows how to train women,” says Zara. “My muscles aren’t bulky and I’m getting the definition I wanted.” She also has more energy for daily tasks.

Zara needs mental and physical energy: She’s just starting her second year of law school. “I have long lectures, and even exams last four hours,” she says. Zara credits Pilates with helping her focus. “I need to be consistent and persistent and set tangible goals,” Zara says. “I’ve definitely learned that through Pilates.” Pilates even helps with the stress of sitting while studying—“I don’t cramp up from being in one position for so long,” says the Armonk resident.

Now, Pilates, cardio and strength training are part of Zara’s life—she’s even training to become a certified Pilates instructor. And while her newly defined muscles are nice, Zara says the benefits of her new exercise habit go deeper. “I’m healthier and happier because I’m working out,” she says.

Save up to 30 percent on private Pilates and personal training through August 31. Learn more about this special offer!

Rye resident Patti Whalen is successful in many ways: She’s raised two kids, works at a job she loves, is active in the community, and has a happy marriage. But until recently, she’d forgotten one thing: Fitness. “I had not done any exercise since the birth of my daughter, who is now 19,” Patti says.

Patti had made some attempts to deal with the 30 pounds she’d put on over 20 years. “I tried Jenny Craig and lost weight but gained it all back,” she says. She went on Weight Watchers, joined the Y and started walking. “Nothing worked,” she says. Weight became more of a struggle when Patti was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer 10 years ago: She retained a lot of fluid due to the chemo.

Then in late 2009, Patti’s cousin, Dr. Howard Sichel, made a comment. “He told me, ‘Movement heals,’” she says, “and that rang the bell.” The statement made sense for Patti: It was motivating without being punitive, and it was about the process, not a pie-in-the-sky end result. Howard told her about APOGEE and suggested she start private Pilates sessions with Dorothy Polanowska.

In January, Patti walked into her first class. “I told myself, ‘I don’t know where I’ve been for 20 years, but now it’s time to take care of me,’” she recalls. She began Intro to Mat classes with Dorothy, then added Intro to Tower with Lisa Klasner and Beginner Mat with Deborah Slade. When Patti balked at trying a cardio class, Dorothy walked her to the Cardio Circuit class and rode on the bike next to her. Patti tried her first Pilates group class during the Open House in March. “It was helpful because I broke out of my safety zone and did a group class on the Tower and the Reformer. I had only done those privately. I now know that I am capable,” she says. “It was a whole new level for me!” Now Patti is taking three or four Pilates classes a week and fitting in at least one cardio session.

Pilates makes Patti feel “taller, stronger, thinner and more toned,” she says. “I’m more grounded on my feet; I feel more symmetrical.” In March, Patti slipped on some ice but didn’t fall—with her strong core, she was able to regain her balance quickly. “When I walk outside I feel lighter, I don’t have that exhausting feeling,” she says. Emotionally, she’s healthier, too. “I feel more relaxed,” she says. “Maybe it’s because I’m doing something for myself.”

By early May, Patti had lost 11 pounds—“without dieting!” she says. “I’m just making better choices.” Upon joining APOGEE, Patti met with APOGEE nutritionist Jennifer Vagios, who gave her a handout detailing high-energy snacks such as nuts and yogurt. Patti has also learned a lot from the APOGEE Café: she now drinks lemon water and green tea at home. “I take my cues from APOGEE,” she says. “It’s such a peaceful place, it even smells good. It’s like a spa!”

Patti feels as if she’s reclaimed her body and her life. She’s introduced her daughter to Pilates and they’re both “addicted,” she says. She hopes to be a model for others who have gotten in a rut. “I felt sad,” she says. “I hope I can inspire someone who felt sad like I did.” Her own inspirational phrase might just work: “No matter what you do, keep moving!”

At 26 years old and a professional horseback rider, you’d think the last thing Jennifer Bliss would need is a workout—after all, on most days she’s training horses, carrying saddles and gear, teaching lessons and running Harris Hill Farm in North Salem, NY. It would seem her daily life is rigorous enough to keep her fit.

Not so, says Jennifer, a four-time national champion in the pony hunter division who is now wining ribbons in the professional hunter division. “I have a baseline level of fitness, but my body is so used to riding that I feel I don’t get fit from that alone,” she says. Jennifer had a cardio habit, but wondered what a total fitness regimen would do. So five years ago Jennifer began training twice a week with Jane Nielsen, fitness manager of APOGEE Bedford Hills. “Jane has me doing things I never would have thought of,” says Jennifer, “and I work so much harder than I would on my own.” The personal training paid off: Jennifer is stronger and has more energy and less back pain—even after hours in the saddle.

Jennifer’s personal training sessions focus on strength training with weights. In addition, the North Salem resident takes Pilates or Spinning class twice a week, for a total of four weekly visits to APOGEE. Jennifer has found that Pilates especially helps her on horseback. “You use your core muscles so much in riding,” she says. “They help you maintain your position in the saddle.” A rider’s back absorbs the shock of every hoof beat, and the core strength from Pilates has helped alleviate the lower back pain that can result. “It’s definitely not as bad,” Jennifer says.

The personal training has helped Jennifer take on new riding skills, too. “Last summer I started reining—a type of Western riding,” she says. “In English you use your inner thighs, but Western calls on your outer thighs—totally different muscles.” Jane helped Jennifer build the strength she needed, switching to different weight machines. “Jane opened my eyes to how creative you can be during a workout,” Jennifer says. “Adding strength training to my cardio has made a big difference in my day-to-day strength and energy.”

APOGEE instructors can create a personal training program just for you. Take advantage of our special pricing on personal training and private Pilates sessions.

We know that APOGEE members are making wellness a daily habit and improving their health. And while we’re busy planning festivities for APOGEE’s one-year anniversary in Westchester this month,  what we’re really celebrating is our members and what you have accomplished. White Plains member Carolyn Gomez is one shining example of how dedication to wellness for one year can transform you. Congratulations to Carolyn for making healthful changes that count! Here’s her story:

When a friend told Carolyn about a new place to work out that was just a few blocks from the courthouse where they work in White Plains, Carolyn didn’t think much of it. After all, she’d had a gym membership before and it hadn’t made a difference in her life. Still, she was intrigued. “It’s fun,” Meredith Byrne told her.

That conversation was a year ago and now, stronger, straighter and 40 pounds lighter, Carolyn knows that the right place can make a huge difference. “APOGEE isn’t just a gym,” Carolyn says. “It’s a whole wellness center. I was never successful with a straight-on gym.”

With Meredith, Carolyn became an APOGEE member—one of the first at the White Plains location, which opened in March 2009. She started taking a beginner’s Pilates mat class, added more mat classes, then expanded to the MVE Chair and Tower. “There are new classes on the schedule all the time and that makes it fun,” Carolyn says. She recently added a yoga class. 

With her membership, Carolyn received a free consultation with APOGEE dietitian Jennifer Vagios, who advised Carolyn on calorie counts and incorporating more fruits and vegetables. Carolyn often stops at the APOGEE Café for a healthy meal. “It’s easy because the food is there, already prepared,” Carolyn says. “I can grab it and take it back to work.”  Jennifer also recommended that Carolyn add more cardio to her schedule—now she does 30 minutes on the bicycle and treadmills after her evening Pilates or yoga classes.

Everyone at APOGEE contributed to Carolyn’s transformation, she says. “Even in a group class the instructors give individual attention,” she says. “They are very motivating and make the classes fun.”  When Carolyn mentioned to her Tower class instructor Dorothy that she wants to tone her arms for her July wedding, “Dorothy gave me five exercises that I can do right away,” Carolyn says. Just as important are the wellness concierges who know her name and check her in quickly. “That’s so important when I’m coming to class during my lunch hour and don’t have much time,” she says. “And they create a friendly environment.”

Carolyn experiences the change in her body every day, at work and at the wellness center during class. “My core in stronger and my posture is straighter,” Carolyn says.  Now she knows how to achieve true wellness. “I feel a lot stronger and healthier all the time,” Carolyn says, “even just walking down the street!”

When Judith Gerst started training at APOGEE Bedford Hills a year ago, she hoped that regular cardiovascular training and work with weights would help maintain the strength of her bones. Gerst says, “In 1996 I was diagnosed with osteoporosis,”  or dangerously thin bones. Her doctor prescribed a drug, Fosamax, which treats osteoporosis. Doctors also recommend weight-bearing exercise to make her bones more dense.

With her skeleton in mind, Gerst started training three times a week with Lynn Ozzello, a personal trainer at APOGEE Bedford Hills. Now the 67-year-old Gerst has progressed to doing weighted lunges, explosive moves with a heavy medicine ball, squats using the Smith machine and upper-body work on the Gravitron. “I got so much stronger and my balance improved, I no longer experience back pain,” Gerst says. She is able to lift her 4-year-old and 18-month-old grandchildren with ease. “This is functional—it’s not just for looks, it’s for health,” Gerst says. “It’s definitely made a difference in my daily life.”

Of course, Gerst was hoping to slow or even halt her bone loss and a recent visit to her doctor showed something completely unexpected: “The osteoporosis was gone,” Gerst says. Her bone density had improved so much that she was out of that dangerous category altogether and her doctor told her she can take a break from the medication (she will need to test her bone density twice a year). With improved strength and balance from the personal training, Gerst moves with confidence—she knows she’s strong, inside and out.