In the Victorian era, people made their cores look tight by wearing corsets, which doubled as bulletproof vests during pistol duels. Strengthen your core until it's naturally impervious to bullets instead with today's Groupon: for $39, you get five mat classes at Fox River Pilates Center in Geneva (an $85 value).
Voted Best Pilates Studio by Kane County Chronicle readers, Fox River Pilates Center's certified instructors oversee a variety of Pilates classes to guide sentient action figures through the core-strengthening art. During group mat class, students park posteriors on thick red pads and hone midsection fortitude by lifting the legs and paddling the arms.
The mat classes, unlike running in place while building a fallout shelter, don't require the use of any bulky equipment, though the helpful instructors do furnish each student with stretchy bands to fasten feet to the mat, allowing students to perform textbook sit-ups. Core builders also use a Pilates rod to twirl the abdominal region into a fortress of torsion and conduct a symphony of muscle twitches.
Stretchy classmates participate in the alignment-focused workouts between off-white walls, while sundry plants stretch their limbs from the ceiling and windows welcome the company of natural light.
Fox River Pilates Center
Perched along the banks of the Fox River in downtown Geneva, Fox River Pilates Center accedes to the picturesque views that flow freely into its state-of-the-art studio. There, Instructors at the FRPC lead students through mat, equipment, and private Pilates sessions, infusing their deep understanding of Pilates' philosophies into every gathering. The fun, yet meaningful aura that the instructors have created complements the studio's earthy décor, which the pair considers another element on the road to inner peace.