My Review of Reformer Pilates at Vive Active
Today I tried out a reformer pilates class at Vive Active - the Australian import that recently arrived at the newly refurbished Tanglin Mall. Vive Active takes pilates to a new and fun place with disco lights and pumping music reminiscent of Soul Cycle. But is it any good…? And what was the class like that I did today?
Before I get into a full report on Vive Active, can I just take a side trip to discuss (read: moan about) Tanglin Mall. In it’s recent makeover they did away with the slightly daggy forest green and beige tiles (no loss there) but they also said farewell to the smorgasbord of random but surprinsgly useful shops that were once peppered throughout the mall. In their place is cafe after cafe and dress / dress + homewares shops on repeat. Fine, but where’s the magic joke fancy-dress shop when it’s book day / halloween / insert here another random dress up occasion for kids?? And don’t get me started on the new “gold class” Cold Storage which is absolutely terrible (mouldy vegetables and fruit and the worst layout ever known to man - plus I have yet to be in there when they are not reorganising the shelves making the narrow aisles all but impossible to navigate and shop). On a positive note, I am liking the bagel place which is handy for after school kids snacks and Little Farms is always good.
OK, rant over. On to my review of Vive Active - which after just one session I am going to put firmly in the ‘positive addition to Tanglin Mall’ category.
Vive Active - Reformer Pilates, but Fun
Vive Active is a fast paced, disco lights, dance music reformer studio from Australia. I clocked it when it opened in Tanglin Mall last year and it has been on my radar to get to a class for months. Today was finally that day.
Why the delay? Well, let me start by saying I am woefully unfit at the moment and honestly, I just struggle to commit to exercise unless it is (a) scheduled and (b) involves someone else - a team, a PT, a friend. Left to my own devices I am able to find every excuse for why I can’t exercise on any given day. All my internal pep talks on a Sunday night where I make flimsy but well intentioned commitments to myself for the exercise I will do in the coming week is for nowt, because come Monday morning, unless it is is in the diary and I’m going to be letting someone else down by not showing up, chances are it’s not going to happen.
So I was very thrilled when a friend of mine mentioned that she had gone to Vive Active, had really enjoyed it and had a credit voucher to share with me so I could go too. Good to her word, she messaged me later that day with a link and the credit voucher so with one click of the button (and some filling out of online forms later) I was in the Vive Active system. First step, achieved.
Vive Active - the online experience
Joining up to Vive Active is pretty easy. The studio booking system is run on an app which is intuitive to use, so once you’ve downloaded that, everything is straightforward. You can view the schedule of classes and sign yourself up to attend. Easy. Don’t be phased by the fact that you are almost always placed on a ‘waitlist’ to attend the class. As soon as today’s class was over, I went into the app to book for next week and was ‘waitlisted’. A week in advance and already a waitlist…? If I didn’t know any better, this might put me off. But it seems like the waitlist system works pretty well. You can see what number on the waitlist you are, and once a place comes up, you have a couple of hours to confirm the booking. If you miss this window, you have to go back on the waitlist. Because I’m a newbie I didn’t realise this and missed my first window to confirm today’s lesson - never mind, I just added myself to the waitlist again and then yesterday I received notification that a spot was free (my friend who goes regularly said you can often get a spot on the day as people cancel at the last minute). So, don’t let the waitlist thing rattle you - chances are you’ll be attending the class you wanted.
So…the app is good from a booking perspective but in comparison, I would say the website is a bit ‘light on’ for information. When I was originally interested in attending Vive Active I went on to their website to learn more. I remember feeling like there wasn’t enough in-depth information on the website which, when you are considering signing up for something new, can be off putting. Given it’s a new concept of reformer pilates class, I wanted to know what the class was really going to be like before deciding if it was for me. It would be good if they had better descriptions of the classes because everything is very general. I think it’s a common error of websites - lots of nicely phrased meaningless sentences and not enough plain speaking nitty gritty details for people to know more. So I feel like they’re missed a trick here.
Vive Active - the class experience
So, I was signed up and ready. My friend was also going to the class so it was a double whammy of commitment that I couldn’t squirm out of. Perfect. When you turn up for the class there is a receptionist with an iPad. You simply scroll to find your name on the list and click to say you’ve turned up. That’s it. On the reception desk you will find folded towels that you can borrow for your class and beside the reception area there are a small bank of lockers which you can use for your personal belongings (no need to bring a key / coin or any of that nonsense). The fit out is all light and bright and there is a lovely shower area (which no one was using) which looked clean and well maintained.
Shoes off, sticky grip socks on and in you go to the disco, sorry, reformer pilates class. When you book, you are assigned a reformer bed and when you head into the room you’ll notice that each reformer has a number on the back of it so you just need to find your number. Because I didn’t really know what I was doing I asked the instructor and she was very helpful and friendly in typical Aussie style and pointed out my reformer for me. The class started promptly at 9am - music up, instructor mic’ed up telling everyone (very quickly) which springs to put on and we were into the ‘warm up’ (after about 10 minutes of intense exercise I was somewhat surprised to learn that we had been “warming up” / refer to earlier comment on my current fitness levels).
The class moves along at quite a clip. If you aren’t familiar with reformer beds and pilates I think you could be pretty lost. On this point - if you haven’t done reformer before Vive Active recommends you attend their 20 minute introductory session. I didn’t go to this because I know reformer pilates - but I would say, definitely book in for this if you feel like you want a good handle on how the equipment works and what kind of positions / straps / balls etc you’ll be using, because once the class starts, its every person for themselves. Which is actually kind of nice. I didn’t mind it. In fact, I think I preferred it. The music is pumping, the lights are discoing and the mirrored ceiling has you viewing your physical abilities in a new light. There’s no comparing how you’re doing against anyone else in the class (one of my least favourite aspects of yoga the good old mantra of “just remember, it’s just you on your mat” - except absolutely everyone is clocking whose stomach is not falling out in some weird crepey pouch in downward facing dog). So top points to Vive Active for creating an enviornment where you can just kind of be in your own zone and not be thinking about anyone else around you. I also liked the pace. No messing around and waiting for everyone to sort themselves out. The instructor kept us on track by giving a countdown on what the next exercise was going to be “you’re not going to be doing this for much longer…in 5, 4, 3, 2 1..” etc.
When the class is coming to an end and the instructor is guiding you in some stretches, she comes around to each reformer bed and provides a wet-wipe so that when the class is over you can wipe down the equipment ready for the next class. I thought this was a really simple and well thought out way to keep everything clean.
What parts of the body did we work and how hard was it?
The class I did was an all round class - upper and lower body plus abs, so a bit of everything. Was it hard? Well that’s subjective. I found the warm up intense but totally doable and all the leg / glute work similarly achievable (but in an intense burning “bloody hell I think my muscle might actually be on fire I hope she says 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 soon”, type way). The abs work was next to impossible for me. I think my core might be made of jelly. It’s probably not anything that a reasonably fit person would struggle with but I don’t think I’ve held a plank since Madonna was top of the pops, so yeah…I was on struggle-street with that side of things. The upper body workout was hard but achievable. The workout is definitely muscle fatiguing and I am well aware of every leg muscle as I sit here and type tonight post-class. Which I love. There is nothing that makes me feel more virtuous than aching muscles. I swear I think I’m already svelte and fit from just one class and I refuse to believe otherwise. Those aching muscles tell me so and I shall relish the coming days when my muscles remind me that I actually went and exercised with intensity. A huge boost to feeling good for the rest of the week.
What is the size of class? What does it cost?
There are 26 pax per class. Today’s crowd was made up of females aged (at a guess) between 30 - 50. The staff were all really easy going and friendly and it didn’t feel awkward to not know my way around the lockers, the reformer bed number etc. The whole experience felt relaxed, fun and easy going (except for the muscle burning bit - that was anything but easy going). When I signed up I chose the Vive First Timer package which cost me $99 with the discount voucher my friend passed on to me and for that I get 5 classes.
Top Marks for…
Fun format
Atmosphere (music / lights etc)
Intensity and format of workout
Friendly encouragement to keep going from instructor
Cleanliness and fit out
Friendliness of staff
Ease of booking
The digital clock at the front of the room that counts down the minutes
Improvements and Caveats
Website could do with more in-depth information so people know what to expect
If you were new to pilates - I think you would say the in-class instruction was too fast paced. In fairness, this is beholden on each participant to do the introductory class first if they are a beginner.
Last thoughts…
I absolutely loved today’s class and I am on the waitlist to go again next week. I think this will become a regular commitment for me now and I’m so pleased I went along today. Whilst I loved it, I would say that if you are recovering from an injury or worried about achieving correct form when doing pilates, then maybe think about whether this is right for you. This class is not about form and slow paced pilates work (which I have also done and sometimes still do with another instructor). Think of this like your HIIT class, reformer style. Finding correct form and knowing when something doesn’t feel right for your body or making modifications to suit your body will be up to you. I didn’t feel any pressure today from the instructor when I modified some of the movements to suit me / or when I simply fatigued and couldn’t keep going. If you are a complete beginner with no experience of reformer, it could be worth going to a slower paced class where correct form is taught - and then when you have some knowledge under your belt, heading to Vive Active. For everyone else, if you know reformer and are looking for a new exercise class to add to the mix, then I think you’ll enjoy it.
(and don’t forget to take a water bottle and you’ll need socks with a grip on the bottom - basically the pilates version of your kid’s Bounce socks). And the good news is, afterwards, you can go and get a much deserved coffee at one of the eleventy hundred and thirty seven cafes in Tanglin Mall. Happy days.
