Living with Leslie: Life after 50
Types of Personal Training*
Pilates is a form of exercise using control, breath, concentration, centering, precision and flow. Using balance, stability and props Leslie creates and designs effective programs for groups and individuals alike. Using exercises focusing on core, posture and alignment Pilates connects the mind and body fusing the two for a symbiotic relationship during exercise.
Specializing in Stott Pilates Mat 1/2 Advanced Mat, Reformer, Balanced Body Reformer, Tower and Cadillac, Balanced Body Jump Board, Leslie uses these disciplines to design safe and effective programming for all levels. Use your own reformer, cadillac or tower on line as Leslie teaches you live. Or ask for a written program customized to your needs. With over 22 years in the Pilates business, Leslie has taught in group settings, private gyms, public forums and boutique studios. Let her bring the class directly into to your home or place of exercise remotely (or in person upon request location dependent)! Leslie has trained/worked with renowned Elder Lolita San Miguel, Kimberly and Katherine Corps, CC Martin, Carolyn Stuart of C2Body among many other Master Trainers in the pilates field. Most recently, Leslie worked at Barre 44 for Danielle Srb and works for Martha Stechwech of Pilates Hilton Head. If you are in Hilton Head, contact Leslie at PHH.
Barre
Legwarmers and Leotards not required. Sample testimonial from Leslie on the Merrithew STOTT Website
Total Barre® Qualified
After reviewing a number of barre classes and having been a former dancer and gymnast, I was looking for a class that could challenge individuals safely while maintaining the Pilates foundation principles. Total Barre® appeals to the masses while also appealing to former athletes, which is always a tough combination to find.
The Total Barre training through Merrithew is extremely thorough. They have thought out counts, rhythms, basic movements and have provided trainers and instructors with a course that can be taught for years to come. The material is well written and easily explained. Other courses may teach the material, but sometimes you lose the purpose or intent of the class while you are learning. With Total Barre you are always referred back to why we are here, the purpose of the move, why the muscles are moving a certain way and why they will be counter-balanced in another segment.
Barre is just what you need to challenge those small muscle groups while challenging everything you thought you knew about exercise
HIIT Bootcamp
HIIT is the latest fitness craze due to it’s “after burn”. Before you dismiss this as just another gimmicky workout, or something only young kids do with loud music, give it a chance. You don’t have to perform plyometrics to benefit from HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training is just what you need to rock the boat, mix up your routine and keep the pace of a workout moving. The sequence of exercises, timing, duration and muscle group work can be altered in so many ways, no workout will be the same, unless of course you want that:) HIIT will keep you on your toes, raise your HR, and provide such variety time will fly by. Large muscle groups are typically the focus of these workouts, but that’s not to say a pilates ab series can’t be thrown in at the end for dessert!
Running/Speed Agility
For those over 50 year old who have various run goals, Leslie is the coach for you. If you’d like to run your first race, improve speed, run without stopping, want a program to follow for a 5k, 1/2, full, or just to jog and enjoy running again, Leslie can help with all things agility, speed and form related. As a CCFA run coach she trained couch to 13.1 miles and was the first No Boundaries Coach at Fleet Feet West Hartford. Leslie completed several half and full marathons and now runs “for life” versus “to race”.
Combination "Combo"
One of the benefits of being certified in multiple disciplines is that Leslie can tailor the workout according to your wishes and goals. Sessions can include HIIT with Pilates, Barre with Pilates, Running with Strength Training etc. As always contraindications and pre-existing conditions are taken into consideration prior to starting all exercises and used as a guide to design the most desirable session.
*For session pricing, please click on the Pricing and Packages page in the header. Sense of humor is a prerequisite to attending all sessions
Leslie has various philosophies and mantras that provide encouragement during her workouts and also inspire her clients. One is “slow and steady wins the race”. If you rush into a workout to “get it done” you are not optimizing your “why”. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. The motivation she provides is designed to create long term intrinsic motivation which will help transition the mindset of “I need to exercise for an hour because xyz” into “I’m making a lifestyle change with exercise and fitness”. Extrinsic motivation, that which exists outside oneself is fine for a short term fix, to give you a quick start. Someone is cheering you, you have a wedding or an event that is providing your short term goal; an external factor is the impetus for exercise. The issue is, once the event is over, then what? That’s it? You are done? No one is cheering you, do you stop? You need to be your cheerleader. You can believe in both types of motivation and use both to your advantage as long as the lasting effect of health and wellness sticks with you to create that lifestyle change. The desire to continue your journey is that intrinsic motivation. The “it” factor.
Another mantra is that “inner peace deflects outer turmoil”. This is the slogan for Living with Leslie because it is the premise for creating the site. When inner peace exists it almost doesn’t matter what is thrown your way, you can handle it. But if you are an internal mess, even the slightest hiccup can feel like a crisis. This is true mentally and physically. Exercise is the answer for creating peace and for pressing the pause button. This inner peace allows you time to grow, time to create change, and time to ignore external forces that may be deterrents to either happiness or physical fitness. This “happy bubble” isn’t ignorance but rather it’s extreme self-awareness.
Connecting with nature via a walk, a hike, a run, a bike ride can do wonders for the psyche. Don’t downplay the word exercise that seems so overused and common these days. As the ACSM says “Exercise Is Medicine”.
“Setbacks are just pauses”. Meaning the term setback sounds like you literally took a step backward from progress. However, Leslie likes to think of it as progress is paused. If you ate horribly one meal it doesn’t destroy the whole day, just that one meal. Each second is a chance to start over. The defeatist attitude is created when the mistake is seen as a loss. It’s not. Just a pause. Just a pause. Just a pause.
Your mindset is your vehicle for change. Keep moving forward. Keep putting one foot in front of the other physically but also mentally. Keep going. If you flip the switch from “I can’t” or “I don’t want to” to “I can”, Wellness + Health=(W)ealth is created. I can do this. I can challenge my previous physical boundaries. I can heal. I can grow. I can change. I can believe. I can…