Pilates Works Studio

Enroll for 2010-2011

As of today you can enroll for the new mat classes for 2010-2011 (see schedule)

Because the number of spots is limited, if you enroll in a MAT1 or MAT intro class your enrollment will only be considered valid after payment of the class or a 10 class card. Our bank account number is 363–0758654–57 for Pilates Works bvba. Please refer to your name and the class you're enrolling for should you make a payment via bank transfer.

You can always call us at 03/226.82.19 or mail to check availability of a given mat class.

Summer 2010

With the summer holidays rapidly approaching we’ll be making some changes to the studio’s schedule for July and August.

• The current mat class schedule ends on Wednesday June 30th.
• The studio’s summer schedule runs from Thursday July 1st until Saturday September 4th.
• During July and August all mat classes will be open level (ZOMERMAT). We'll adapt the excercises to the ability of those present in class. A min. of 3 participants is required for any class.
• As far as private, duet and trio sessions are concerned everything remains the same for the entire July-August period. You can book a session as you would throughout the rest of the year.

New! Mat classes in Sint-Katelijne-Waver

In June we'll be ending our activities in Mechelen.
Marijke however will still be teaching a weekly mat class in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, at Kine-osteopraktijk De Ryck, Liersesteenweg 226.

During July-August Marijke will be teaching a ZOMERMAT on Monday, starting July 19th until August 30th at 19:30h. Starting September this expands to 2 mat classes on Thursday at 19:00h and 20:00h.
For any info or to enroll please contact Marijke directly at or phone 0486/510.860.

We at Pilates Works wish you all a great summer and hope to see all of you back again in September at the start of a new course year.

Pilates summer workshops

We're keeping busy throughout the summer this year: Miek will be teaching Pilates from July 3d until July 10th 2010 at the annual dance workshop of dance studio Arabesque, Ann on the other hand will be teaching from van August 21 through August 25 at the summer dance workshop organised by dé Kunsthumaniora - Dans.

Everyone who's up for some extra Pilates classes this summer is hereby invited to join in!

Pilates for men: 2 books reviewed

Even though Joseph Pilates himself, as most of his early clientele, was a man (well, duh!) nowadays we can truly speak of a Pilates gender gap. Most studios seem to be run by women for a mostly female clientele and it doesn't really help that the only high profile Pilates magazine on the stands, Pilates Style, bears more than a passing resemblance to Cosmopolitan magazine.

Men, however, do get Pilates. Pilates as an exercise programme can be tailored to men's specific needs and is also a great addition for men already doing other sports, be it tennis, running, weight lifting or golf.

We've read through 2 recent publications aiming to bring Pilates to the male population, here's what we found:

The complete book of Pilates for men is a well-organized book: every exercise is explained in great detail, with clear illustrations of every part of each move. There's also a lot of attention to the mind aspect of every exercise and ways of adapting the exercises to your specific needs (an injury, for example). The book includes exercise plans for beginner, intermediate and advanced mat and reformer on the mat routines. Completing the book is a chapter on how to adapt the exercises for a weak or injured neck, shoulder or back. While no book can replace training with a certified instructor The comple book of Pilates for men is a good starting point for newcomers and can double up as a reference book for more experienced Pilates men. Highly recommended.

The complete book of Pilates for men, Daniel Lyon
ISBN-13: 978-0060820770

Pilates for men takes a slightly less purist approach and mixes up Pilates with more classic gym exercises, including weights. One example exercise combines, for example, the scissors (a part of the classic Pilates Stomach Series) with a bench press using dumbells. Purists will balk at this aproach but we can see how men would enjoy this kind of combination. The book includes several exercise routines, has clear explanations of each exercise using photographs but glosses over (or completely ignores) other vital aspects of Pilates such as body-mind connection and proper breathing. In short, while not a bad book, Pilates for men is more of an exercise book than a true Pilates reference.

Pilates for Men, E. McNergney & Andrew Flach
ISBN-13: 978-1578261871