Stamford Pilates & DanceFit Classes – Page 4 – Pilates and DanceFit Classes in Stamford, Rutland and the surrounding villages

Are you ready for classes to restart?! I so am!

Sep 072021

Hello everyone, gosh I have missed you all – here is some darn good news!

So get your trainers, lycra leotard (mmm perhaps not!) and water bottle at the ready because…….classes are restarting on Monday 11th October! (I’m not sure the amount of exclamation marks that I am using here is showing how excited I am!) It has been far too long since we were in all class and I cannot wait to catch up with you all and really just have a gorgeous time in keeping fit and healthy. I have missed our really fun times, our really hard plank sessions (!) and our singing along to music in Dancefit.

Some things have changed here, we have two little boys who are just divine, the most fun little poppets ever – Harry is obsessed, as am I, with Starlight Express the musical so I’m trying to incorporate some show tunes into our classes….I’m sure you will all be so pleased with this news!

Another thing that has changed is that our Monday morning class at 930am will now be held at Carlby Village Hall – I just felt that we needed a hall that was big enough to give us space in case we needed a bit more than pre-covid and Carlby Village Hall is ideal – its beautifully maintained, so clean and really importantly is a big hall.

The other thing to have changed is our classes on a Wednesday at Ketton Congregational Hall – we are now starting with our Pilates class at 915am and then Dancefit at 1030am. This is something that we tried at Empingham Audit Hall between the two lockdowns. The idea was that during Dancefit we do get rather hot and sweaty so therefore may be more of a risk regarding Covid, with this class coming after Pilates it will give a chance for the hall to be really cleaned afterwards without another class starting straight afterwards. This may not be forever but I just think that we still ought to be sensible as we can and deal with the situation that we are in, safely for everyone.

With regard to Covid, I will still provide hand sanitiser for when you enter and exit the venue and also I will bring along cleaning materials that can be used if needed. Just for the moment I am going to ask you to book onto the classes, just so that numbers can be monitored. Please may you email me if you would like to book onto the first 5 week’s classes so that is everything from Monday 11th October until Friday 12th November, our new exciting timetable looks like this:

Monday 930am Pilates at Carlby Village Hall
615pm Pilates at Casterton Church Hall

Wednesday 915am Pilates at Ketton Congregational Hall
1030am Dancefit at Ketton Congregational Hall

Friday 915am Dancefit at Empingham Audit Hall

So that means our 5 week packages are restarting, woohoo, can this get any more exciting? There are no price changes for classes but please follow this link for a reminder of package and class prices

Class Timetable and Prices

Finally onto my 1-1 Pilates sessions which I have so so missed, I have missed being able to give you a fully personalised class and I have missed the glasses of Ribena that were kindly given to me! I have got to know many of you so well through these sessions and I think they are just a brilliant way to get what you want out of a session, if that is a stronger core, stretching of the hamstrings or building up strength generally. It may even be something you are interested in as a beginner to Pilates or even as a reminder for those who haven’t done regular Pilates sessions over these last 18 months. If you are interested in restarting your 1-1 Pilates sessions or would like to try a one off session to get your Pilates groove, regrooving please get in touch via email louise@stamfordpilates.co.uk or call me on 07827 665916.

So as I said this is all so exciting and I am so blooming looking forward to restarting classes – however on a personal level, please excuse any baby sick that you may see on my clothes or any Gruffalo stickers that have been stuck there! I also keep having dreams that I turn up to class and I have forgotten the boom box, so may someone remind me the night before we restart to pack the boom box as I have images of us having to sing along to music in classes and no one needs to hear my singing!!

Toodle pip for now but see you very soon, let me know if you have any questions or queries or just to say hello!
Louise

Pilates and Zumba Instructor

Classes will be restarting in October!

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Jun 072021

Well what a year this has been so far! I just wanted to let you all know that classes will be restarting on Monday 4th October 2021 after coming back from my maternity leave.

I will keep you up to date with more information in the next few months, it will be so lovely to be back!

You have a week off!

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Sep 252020

Enjoy your week off and see you on Monday 5th October!

Welcome back to Dancefit!

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Sep 152020

Stamford Pilates Newsletter

Shake your bam bam, bee bop de boo, woohoo…..anyway you like to dance and sing, this is your week because Dancefit is starting in real time, at Empingham, yippee do dah! We are meeting on Wednesdays at 1035am and Fridays at 915am – there are a few places for tomorrow’s class but this Friday is fully booked – subsequent classes are becoming booked too so if you do fancy coming along please contact me on 07827 665916 to book your place!

So I do hope that our Dancefit classes will still be a bundle of fun and joy and you will work out really hard but there will be some changes because of Covid 19 so I just wanted to let you know what these changes will be and also what you need to bring to class:

* on Wednesdays there will be a Pilates class before Dancefit so please can you try and get to class not too early and not to wait in the hall itself- the fewer people we have in the hall the better! Of course there is the entrance hall and outside to wait in but to make sure there is reduced cross over of people the better. This will also give me to time to antibac any public surfaces such as door handles.
* there will be an entrance and exit for all classes at Empingham to reduce cross over of people – so the main entrance will be the ….entrance and the fire exit will be the ….exit…this is good!
* Empingham Audit Hall have outshone in the antibac stakes – there is anti bac handwipes, sprays and wipes so please anti bac your hands before you enter and exit the hall.
* class numbers have been reduced to ensure social distancing.
* please sign in to classes using the register and please leave your contact details – this way if I am advised if any client has developed Covid 19 symptoms and were recently in class I will contact all other clients and the Public Health Authority to discuss the class, identify people who have been in contact with them and I will take advice on any actions or precautions that should be taken.
* you are all such sensible people but I just need to say that if you are displaying Covid 19 symptoms such as a new continuous cough, loss of smell and/or fever/high temperature please do not attend class. See the NHS and Government’s websites for guidance.
* it would be great if you could pay via bank transfer, if not I am still taking cash and cheques

We will still have lots of fun and laughter but I just wanted to let you know how seriously I am taking the guidance from the Government – we have worked so hard to get to this point and I’m going to make sure we do all in our power to continue with our classes safely and effectively.

Week 21 and some Pilates classes are restarting!

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Aug 102020

Hello lovely people and what a fine day it is today – are you keeping cool? I’m so not, I just keep harrumphing and saying I’m hot!!

Anyway back to the case in hand, this week is such a special week for us as the first of our Pilates classes are restarting, woohoo!! There is one space left on Wednesday’s class if anyone would like to book this last place, please contact me on 07827 665916.

The classes will be the same format as before with lots of sweating, grunting and laughing but obviously with some restrictions in place, so here is a little list of how the sessions will work out:

The main entrance into Empingham Audit Hall will be the entrance and the fire door will be the exit so that we have a little organisation in the hall regarding the passing of people.
There is such a fab sanitising station at the entrance of the hall – the committee has thought of everything so if you could sanitise your hands as you come into the hall and leave the hall that would be great. There is antibacterial spray and wipes just in case you need to wash anything down.
The hall is thoroughly cleaned by the committee and has had a massive deep clean over lockdown.
My technical team and I – that is Tim, Harry and myself! have measured the hall to see how many people can attend the class with social distancing and we have worked out that with a 2 meter gap between us all that works out to be 8 people plus me. So there will be plenty of space for everyone to social distance themselves.
This may make some people’s year, nay millennium but we aren’t using the Pilates rings! However as before please can you bring your own mat and maybe a couple of weights – that could be your actual dumbells, tins of beans or big books – there is no judgement, bring whatever is safe and you can lift!!
The kitchen in the hall will be locked so please make sure that you bring enough water for the whole session as it will be a sweatfest as we have MONTHS to catch up on….that will work out as 15 minute plank if thats ok?!
All of the toilets will be open with hand sanitiser…..thank goodness!
You are so welcome to wear a face mask – I won’t be wearing one as I want you to be able to hear what I say – there will be plenty of ventilation too. I won’t have the music on too loud so that I don’t have to shout……well unless we don’t smash the 15 minute plank!!
You can either pay me on the day with cash or pay me via BACS with the details that can be found below.
I will be so excited to see you all that there will be lots of air/socially distanced welcome backs, you may have to just calm me down! Apart from that it will still be the same happy, relaxed class that it always has been – if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

So I shall see you at the following times this week:

Wednesday 12th August 9.15am, Pilates at Empingham Audit Hall

Friday 14th August 915am Pilates at Empingham Audit Hall.

Places are being booked up for the following weeks, in fact some weeks only have 2/3 spaces left so please do contact me if you would like to book your place!I

Some fabulous news in Week 17!

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Jul 132020

Well just when you think that everything is going on as normal, last week the Government announced changes to the way that gyms and more importantly for us, exercise classes can open. As you can imagine in the Mackrill household there was much excitement! Obviously this is an exciting development but all of our safety is paramount to me and I will not proceed if I have any concerns about this. As a community we have come to far during this pandemic that it would be silly, no irresponsible to ruin all of the hard work everyone has made.

So at the moment my idea is to start to reintroduce Pilates classes first. I know this will be a huge disappoint to those of you who attend Dancefit classes, as it is to me, however there are so many issues with dancing in a hall during Covid 19 that I really couldn’t put you and myself at risk. This is because the government have advised:

* not to restart any classes where shouting/singing is in involved – I’m not sure how I would instruct you guys without shouting directions! As for not singing? Argggh! So this would also mean that loud music couldn’t be played to reduce the risk of shouting….not sure quiet music would work?!
*at the moment I’m not sure how we would social distance in Dancefit what with all of the grapevines, general treading on toes and confusion with lefts and rights! And that is just me!

So that is not to say that Dancefit won’t be happening any time soon, I just need to look at the logistics of it more. It may be that we just run a slightly different class where we move about in the same spot more than moving about the hall so we an adhere to social distancing rules and we may have to run the classes just at Empingham Audit Hall as this is a much bigger hall than Ketton Congregational Hall. It may be a slightly different class to ensure that you guys can hear me without the loud music, now what that class could be, I’m not really quite sure but you can be assured that I have my thinking cap on. Could you put yours on too please and let me know if you have any ideas? I see this whole process as a staggered reintroduction – Pilates first and then closely followed by something like Dancefit, if that makes sense.

Due to the nature of Pilates this is a much easier class to put on to make sure that we are all socially distant away from each other. There would be a few changes, such as having to book onto a class rather than just turning up, reduced numbers in class to socially distance ourselves, more windows and doors open to improve ventilation, no equipment from me, not a bad thing!, and obviously lots of hand sanitiser available. As normal you would bring your own mat.

So at the moment this is what I think our Pilates timetable may look like:

Monday morning – now Tallington Village Hall isn’t opening until September so I am currently looking for another venue, my first port of call is Barnack Village Hall so I will let you know. We obviously need a hall that is large and close by to Tallington.

Monday evening – 615pm, woohoo Great Casterton Church Hall is reopening! A huge deep clean is happening as we speak so I am just waiting to hear when the hall can reopen. The hall is large, ventilation is good and it is a clean hall so that is fabulous news!

Wednesday – now for the time being, I’m not sure if the Congregational Hall will be large enough for us to socially distance ourselves to run a class there, I will just need to check. However we do have other options that I’ve been looking at. Harry and I love Hall Close in Ketton and I have applied to the Parish Council to run some Pilates classes there, how cool would that be! They would be outdoor classes so no facilities and would be weather dependant but we may be able to house more people in the class because we have more space. I am just waiting to hear from the Parish Council if this is ok. Another option would be to run our Wednesday morning sessions from Empingham Audit Hall, just another idea.

Friday morning – so if we can’t run a Dancefit class at Empingham at the moment, what can we do?! We could run a Pilates class there instead! Before lockdown I did talk about starting a new Pilates class at Empingham and I think this would be a perfect time to do so. This is by no means replacing our Dancefit class permanently, no sireeee but it may be a nice alternative for some of you whilst we wait to see how we can proceed with Dancefit.

So this is all I have at the moment and I would LOVE to hear from you – your thoughts on this, any worries you may have, any ideas for Dancefit. Just a yay or a nay would do! In fact these are your classes and I want them to suit you. When all details of classes have been finalised I will contact you with a risk assessment talking about ways that we can safely proceed with the classes.

Obviously not starting Dancefit straight away is a BIG disappointment but just for the moment lets think of something we can adapt to Covid 19 times and then when we can get back to normalish Dancefit will come back stronger and more fun than ever!

The Government is allowing our classes to restart on Monday 27th July so I am working really hard to be able to start on this date – however it is dependant on village halls opening by then and if I hear from people that we can restart, so please bear with me and I will let you know as soon as times, dates and venues are confirmed. You will be the first to know and I may just shout it from the rooftops as I cannot wait to get back to see you all!

I also want to clarify that my online Dancefit and Pilates classes will carry on as normal so if you don’t feel comfortable coming along to a physical class you always have new online classes each week – you can’t escape that easily!!! We also have had so many people join our online classes who live far far away and I want to keep you guys in the Stamford Pilates Community too!

Staying motivated to keep fit during Covid 19

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Apr 272020

Stamford Pilates Newsletter

louise@stamfordpilates.co.uk 07827 665916
Facebook Stamford Pilates and Dancefit
www.stamfordpilates.co.uk

Week 6 – are you into the swing of things yet?!

Some of you have also been telling me how hard you are finding it to keep fit and active during lockdown as we have been thrown off of our fitness routines. So I think that working out at home takes some planning and it’s harder to find motivation. But you know what? Staying active is seriously keeping me healthy and positive. And that is really important for all of us right now.

If you’ve been struggling to find the motivation to workout, here are some tips to help about working out at home:

1. Schedule your home workout!

Pencil. It. In! I really like to physically write everything down, from to-do lists to my paper diary but you can use your phone calendar or whatever schedule you want. No matter what you pick, include your workout on your schedule. Make it part of your routine!

2. Lay out your workout clothes the night before

Get your workout clothes and lay it out before you go to bed. When you wake up, you’ll instantly remind yourself about your workout. Maybe you can even go a step further and actually put your workout outfit on as soon as you wake up. Once you’re dressed, you’re committed, right?! Plus – that outfit is going make you feel strong and ready to go go go.

3. Make it part of your routine

First, figure out what time of day you feel BEST working out. I’m a morning person and I need to start my day with some movement. If I workout too late in the day, I just feel sluggish the whole time. Make your workout part of your routine, when you know you’ll be the most motivated.

4. Commit to at least starting

Motivation is like a mind game sometimes. Most of the time if I don’t feel like working out, I know that I’ll feel better if I just start. I think getting started is the hardest part for a lot of us, right?! So commit to doing the warm up, or commit to doing 10 minutes. Once you start moving, you’ll feel energised and ready to complete the rest of your workout.

5. Create a dedicated space to workout at home

Do you have to have a fancy home gym? Not at all, I work out in our dininig room, once I have moved the dining table and Harry’s toys! However you can dedicate a small area as your workout space – I’ve seen pictures of you working out in your conservatory, bedroom, kitchen and even outside! Having your Pilates mat and light weights in sight will make it easier to feel motivated.

Hopefully this helps if you’ve been struggling to find your groove at home! Remember this is temporary and you need to keep moving to take care of yourself! Staying home may be stressful, but exercise will help. What are some other ways you stay motivated to workout at home?

Covid 19 – an update

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Mar 172020

An update on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dear All,

Tim and I sat watching the first televised update on Covid 19 yesterday and felt totally overwhelmed with all of the news and advice that was given. Obviously I was especially concerned about advice concerning group gatherings such as our classes and 1-1 sessions. One of the new key government measures that has been given by Boris Johnson and his advisors is:

Everyone should avoid gatherings and crowded places, such as pubs, clubs and theatres.

So it is with a really rather heavy heart (plus lots of tears) that I have decided to put all of my classes on hold starting from tomorrow, Wednesday 18th March as keeping you all safe and well is my top priority. I realise that so many of you may not be in the vulnerable catagory, however you may live with someone who is and I really do think it is our responsibility to try and limit the affects of this horrible horrible virus. I just want to do my part. Now the next question is when will our classes restart……..and I really don’t know I am so sorry. I will still be closely monitoring the situation and following the advice provided by Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS. In addition, I am following guidelines issued by the industry governing body Fitpro.

For anyone who has a week left on their 5 week package, I would be more than happy to refund you or you can save this credit for when we restart. Please let me know your thoughts on this.

However after this rubbish news……………

There is a silver lining!!!!

So if you heart did a little leap in excitement as you thought you may get a couple of months off torture…..sorry I meant Dancefit and Pilates!…… You are wrong! Through the power of technology and the internet I am so excited to announce that I will be running classes online. Wow, this is so exciting and really makes me smile after the pretty rubbish decision that we have come to regarding classes. A lovely lady called Alison said to me yesterday that it is in times like these that we really need to keep exercising to keep ourselves healthy both physically and mentally. I really agreed with this as I know I will really miss you all and also the exercise aspect as I know how it sometimes helps to keep me sane. I think it is also important if some of you are asked to self isolate – I know I would find this so frustrating not being able to exercise so I really do help this online sessions will help.

Now at the moment the details are a little sketchy because Tim (who is my technical guru) and I are going to have to sit down and see how this will work but at the moment, this is what we are thinking:

* I will record a weekly Dancefit and Pilates class that will be put online somewhere for you to access.
* I am thinking that the classes will be uploaded on the Monday (starting this Monday 23rd March) where you will be able to download them as and when you want to.
* There will be a charge of £5 per week to access the videos as many times as you would like, if this could be paid by bank transfer or even popped through my door that would be great. I am looking at charging a monthly fee as well if you really want to keep the exercise momentum going!

I am slightly nervous with the thought of filming sessions as I will see what I really look like when I dance or do a plank – gosh what faces do I pull! I really want to carry on with the social element of our classes which I, and I know you, do enjoy. So I will be sending out regular newsletter, I will be posting lots on social media and I really want to see pictures of how you are managing to still keep on exercising – will you be doing a cha cha cha to Lizzo in your kitchen or planking in your living room, gosh this will be very exciting.

So as soon as Tim and I have worked out how to film and edit our 1 hour sessions I will be emailing you with lots more information. I would love to hear what you think of this, as I do so value your opinion. I am so so upset to be cancelling our classes but I think we can make something positive out of this and still keep in touch as I will miss you guys lots!

Thanks very much for your support and I do hope to see you very soon!

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