Member story: Anouk's first six months

Anouk joined in February, mostly because her sister would not stop mentioning it. Six months in, she comes twice a week and has opinions about which reformer is hers. We asked her what actually changed.

Before

"I work in front of a screen and I had got to the point where standing up after a long day was a whole production. Not painful exactly, just stiff and old feeling, and I am thirty four. I had tried the gym twice and both times I lasted about three weeks. I did not dislike it, I just never thought about it between visits."

The first class

"Honestly, confusing. There are straps and a bar and the thing slides, and I spent most of it half a second behind everyone else. But Mara came over about four times and moved my feet or my ribs, and each time whatever we were doing suddenly made sense. I was sore for two days in my sides, which I did not expect at all."

"I booked the next one on the way out, which I think is the only reason I came back. If I had left it until Sunday I would have talked myself out of it."

The first month

"Nothing dramatic. I kept turning up on Tuesdays and Thursdays and mostly I was still counting the exercises. Somewhere around week four I noticed I had stopped bracing myself before getting out of the car. That is such a small thing to report but it was the first time I thought, all right, something is different."

Six months

"The stiffness is mostly gone. I sleep better on the days I come in, which everyone says and I assumed was nonsense. I can do a full teaser now, which I could not do in month one and could not have described in month zero."

"The unexpected part is that it became the thing I do rather than the thing I should do. Tuesday morning is booked. I plan around it. My sister is unbearable about having been right."

Advice for someone thinking about it

"Two things. Book the second class before you leave the first one, because the first one is not representative of anything. And tell the teacher what is going on with you. I did not mention my shoulder for about a month out of some idea that I would be making a fuss, and the week I finally said it, half the exercises got adjusted and everything felt better. They cannot read your mind."

Anouk trains on the Unlimited membership and can usually be found on the reformer nearest the window on Tuesday mornings. If you would like to start where she started, your first class is free.