How the Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge Changed My Life Forever  by Art Altounian

First let’s set the stage for how Pilates changed my life forever. The time is Summer 2009. The place is Pilates Sports Center in Encino California. See the picture over there on the left of the guy with the belly? That’s me Art, and I was working at a Pilates Studio. Yes, you just read right, fat and working at a Pilates studio. In fact, I had just taken on a greater role at the studio. I was now handling some more of the marketing and support duties and therefore found myself spending more and more time there. The gnawing feeling of, “Darn, I hate being this fat and working at a Pilates studio” was starting to get me down. At the end of one of those getting me down kind of days, my good friend, and absolutely amazing Pilates Trainer, Josh Smith, caught me and said, “Art, get your butt up and let’s work out!” It’s hard to say no to Josh when he’s standing in front of you with a resistance band in one hand and a spine corrector in the other. That fateful day marked session #1 of what became the Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge.

Josh had me doing exercises I’d never seen before. There were variations of the classic Pilates exercises mixed with Josh’s own creative twists that focused not only on core strength, but upper body conditioning as well. It was a brisk workout with very little down time. At the end of the hour, I was covered in sweat and breathing rather heavily. Wow, I thought Pilates really is for men and I bet most guys have no idea that these types of Pilates workouts even exist!

That very next day I brought my video camera to the studio and the Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge officially began. We were going to document Joseph Pilates quote “In ten sessions you’ll feel the difference, in twenty you’ll see the difference, and in thirty you’ll have a new body.”  I had never heard of anyone actually testing this profound theory before other than Joe Pilates himself. Could it actually work? Time would tell.

And so, my journey started along with video documentation of what could be possible doing vigorous and well thought out Pilates exercise and Pilates exercises only! I never lifted a weight, and never ran a lap. In all we documented on video 7 of our 30 sessions and posted them on YouTube. Please stay with us.  Keep reading as we would never let you go without showing you the Finale video! You don’t want to miss it.

Within a short period of time we had thousands of views from all over the world with extremely supportive comments rooting me on. It was cathartic and invigorating. There was no stopping me now! Pilates and proper diet were WORKING!

Whoever said Pilates was just for women? That needed to be changed, and changed right now! How many guys could benefit from this work? The numbers were endless. The men in the world needed to see what was possible, and if I had to be the guinea pig to prove the point, then so be it!

At first I couldn’t do anything well. I could barely touch my shins, forget about getting near my toes. But actually I was the perfect guy for the journey, as I had never been a dancer, and I’m not particularly athletic. About the only thing I had going for me was a determined trainer, and the desire to flatten out my portly pot belly. How many guys like me would see this dramatic transformation and want to give Pilates a try? Well, as it turns out, quite a few. The phone started ringing at the Studio, and more and more men were booking appointments. The landscape from what the Studio looked like in June, almost all women and what it looked like in September was vastly different. Guys of every age,  physical type and ability were signing up to take Pilates private or group classes. After awhile the demand was such that we began offering a ‘Pilates for Men’ class. Classes filled instantly! The old adage “If that guy can do it, then so can I” was beginning to take hold.

On day one of my Pilates journey I tipped the scales at 212 pounds. By session 30 I weighed 193 pounds. The 30 session transformation worked. Joe was right! It was not just weight loss, but gaining strength, muscle tone and an amazing amount of spinal flexibility that I didn’t think would ever be possible for someone like me. But it was! Pilates really did work. Pilates is for men.

After that fantastic summer of 2009, our experience spawned what is now on DVD  Pilates for Men 10-20-30 Challenge that we shot in high definition. We wanted to show men at home how to mix and match different types of Pilates routines. We discovered that indeed, Joe’s quote was more than just a quote, it worked! 30 sessions later and the guy who couldn’t touch his toes had a brand new body. Unbelievable, but true!

If you can’t see this video or to see Art’s entire journey click here

Hopefully you guys out there who thought Pilates was just for women will re consider and visit your local Pilates studio. Sign up for 30 sessions. Trust me; it will be well worth it!

Both Art and I hope you enjoyed his journey. Any of you guys out there already practicing Pilates, we would love to hear from you. Pilates Instructors with males as clients, tell us about it. If Art just inspired you to try Pilates we would love to hear from you too!!

 Follow Art  PilatesForMen on Twitter

 

 

Susan Sommers is a Pilates Instructor for those 50+ NYC 10023