Review: CORE40 – A 40-Minute, Full-Body Workout

When a friend asked me to join her for a CORE40 workout session the Monday before Thanksgiving I thought “what a great way to prepare for all of the feasting that will happen later in the week.” I did Pilates for years, and while I knew this would be a challenge, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a challenge it was!

I attended a Pilates-only session at the Solana Beach location (you can also choose CORECycle or a combo class that combines cycling and Pilates), and loved the room setup, all-natural light streaming in through the windows and the fact that I chose the reformer closest to the water machine – I ended up drinking so much water in 40 minutes!

From the second the class started, the trainer was constantly giving instruction, suggesting resistance levels for the reformer cables, and helping correct form. Developed by Hollywood celebrity trainer Sebastian Lagree, CORE40 classes are designed to strengthen, tighten, and tone the body quickly and safely using their state-of-the-art Megaformer or M3. The class also had a great soundtrack that really helped motivate me in the last half of the session.

The Megaformer provides an incredible, full-body workout.

I’ll be honest, 20 minutes into the class I looked at my friend and mouthed “how do you make it through an entire class?” I was drenched in sweat, and while there are resistance modifications, most of the exercises are designed to engage multiple muscle groups and work them to failure. Luckily, I made it through the entire 40 minutes, but could barely drive home my legs were shaking from such a tough workout. Bonus: The effects lasted for days – my core was so sore, it still hurt to laugh on Thanksgiving!

About 1/2 of the class is spent standing, the other 1/2 in seated or kneeling positions.

Now that I am in wedding prep mode, I’m planning to pop into another session this week led by a different instructor to determine if I want to purchase a monthly membership. Your first class is free, so check out the website to see if there is a location near you!

Note: There are two levels of core workouts: Foundation and Full Body. I took the Full Body, but would probably recommend the Foundation (more beginner level) if this is your first Pilates/reformer experience or if you haven’t taken a class in a while.

 How about you? Is there a fitness class you’ve tried recently that you would recommend?

(Images provided by CORE40)