This new boutique Pilates studio is coming to Highside Market in Columbus in late summer
HWH Lifestyles, Inc., a local health and wellness company, is opening a new boutique Pilates studio in Highside Market late this summer.
Club Pilates, a brand by Xponential Fitness, will open on the second floor of Highside Market and bring about 20 jobs to Columbus, according to a news release by The Cotton Companies.
The brand was founded in San Diego in 2007 and is the nation’s largest premium boutique Pilates brand. With more than 800 locations in North America, the brand is one of the largest providers of a comprehensive Pilates teacher training program in the world, according to the news release.
HWH Lifestyles currently owns and operates Uptown Exclusives, Plug & Play Namaste as well as another Xponential Fitness boutique studio in the Columbus area.
Leaders in HWH, including co-owner Adam Garrett and Darlene Stephens, director of business development, were familiar with the Club Pilates brand because they have worked out on a Pilates reformer before, Stephens said. A reformer is a piece of Pilates equipment that provides more exercise options and support for users.
One of the classes that will be offered by Club Pilates is the Reformer Flow, which provides a contemporary approach on reformer-based pilates. Stephens and Garrett’s experience showed them how beneficial Pilates can be for someone’s lifestyle, Stephens told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Pilates can boost the immune system, strengthen a person’s core and better individuals’ overall wellness and energy, Stephens said.
“There’s nothing in Columbus like (Club Pilates),” she said. “And to be able to bring it downtown is an even bigger bonus.”
The class sizes will be small with only 12 students, said Brooke Wesley, co-owner of HWH and director of operations for the Highside Market location. There will be between 60 and 70 classes per week, seven days a week, Stephens said. Classes will begin at 6 a.m. and run until 7 p.m., she said, except for Saturdays, which will have shorter hours.
In celebration of the studio’s opening, the first 50 people who sign up as “founding members” will receive 20% off of the lifetime of their membership, Stephens said.
“We’re huge on customer service and making everyone feel at home and like family,” Wesley said. “We’ll have this (atmosphere) in our studio, and just be there to help someone grow and help with their wellness journey.”
When the studio first opens, there will be a lot of beginner classes, Stephens said, since they recognize that there hasn’t been a studio like this in the area before. People at all fitness levels should be able to participate, and the beginner classes will help familiarize them with reformer-based Pilates.
The workouts are very flexible depending on the individual’s personal goal and needs, Stephens said. People often find that Pilates isn’t “that bad” once they try it. When people experience the ambiance provided by the relaxing music and blue lights, she said, it will feel as though they’re in a spa.
Garrett, who utilized Pilates in his weight loss journey, said the workout gave him confidence in his own abilities. When he began, Garrett was unable to hold a plank for more than a few seconds, but now he’s able to hold it for four minutes.
Once he began to gain confidence, he was encouraged to participate in other types of exercise classes he hadn’t considered before, such as yoga.
“I lost 93 pounds in Pilates,” Garrett said. “So, it’s something that I believe in. I know that it works if you stick to it.”
