I’m not alone in feeling like my commitment to exercise ebbs and flows. I’m much more active in the summer—going on walks, hitting the gym regularly, and swimming on vacation. But in the cold, dark winter, I find it hard to get out and exercise. My TikTok For You Page has been overrun with Pilates recently, which made me wonder if it could help me stay consistent throughout winter.
I decided I wanted to find a 30-day Pilates challenge that I could do at home, so I settled on Move with Nicole’s November Pilates challenge. Nicole McPherson’s videos are all mat-based and the difficulty increases as the month progresses. I was drawn to the promise of improved posture and strength from low-impact exercise.
The 30-day Pilates challenge
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What I liked
It’s low-impact
Last summer, I injured my shoulder in the gym. After months of physiotherapy, it started to improve, but I still find that it can flare up if I’m not careful. Pilates was lower impact than I expected which allowed me to exercise daily without fearing a recurrence of my injury. I did find that certain exercises, such as side planks, were just too difficult for me to manage, but for the most part, the workouts suited my limitations.
It can be done at home
I loved not needing to get to the gym after a day at work. Fitting a 30-minute video in before dinner was easy and made exercising every day much more straightforward. Some mornings, I would even do Pilates in my pajamas before getting ready for the day.
It’s challenging
I found the videos pushed me to use muscles I otherwise would not be training in the gym. Some of the videos in the challenge are more cardio-focused, and my heart rate and calorie burn went up. However, even the traditional mat Pilates videos really pushed me to my limits by incorporating a mixture of mobility, strength and balance work. By the end of the month, I noticed that I was managing certain exercises better, and felt more flexible and strong in my day-to-day life.
It’s meditative
Because I had to watch the videos to know what to do, I didn’t listen to music or a podcast—my usual go-tos when working out. This forced me to be more present and focused on the workout, which felt grounding and meditative.
Pilates focuses on connecting breath with movement and I was pushed to pay closer attention to my mind-muscle connection and focus on how my body was responding to each exercise. As the challenge drew to a close, I found I was exhaling and inhaling at the right moments without needing to be told, as coordinating my breath with my movement became second nature.
What I didn’t like
I needed more space
I live in a small one-bedroom apartment with my boyfriend. To do these workouts, I had to roll away my living room rug and push the couch back to make space for my yoga mat every time. Even then, I’d sometimes struggle to have enough space with moves that required my legs to move outside the mat. This isn’t a criticism of McPherson, but I felt that I might benefit from performing certain exercises in a gym or studio setting.
The videos get more difficult very quickly
I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with Pilates going into this challenge. I had done Move with Nicole’s workouts in the past, and practice yoga fairly regularly. However, week two of the challenge brought in more intermediate-level videos, which felt like a big jump from the beginner-friendly workouts of week one. I felt the benefits of being challenged in my workouts, but I also found myself taking many more breaks or having to adapt moves to fit my ability. It made me wish that the challenge was spread out over a longer period, like 45 or 60 days, to allow me to get more comfortable and familiar with the moves before progressing to the intermediate content.
Would I recommend this 30-day Pilates challenge?
I loved doing this challenge. I felt more energized, less bloated, stronger and happier for it. Not only was it fun, it was easy to stay consistent even in cold, rainy November. I plan to continue with daily Pilates even though the challenge has ended.
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