New block, latest classes on catch up and a few other bits

Hi everyone.

As we are coming to the end of this block of classes, I thought I would touch base and just share some info to date.

Moving forwards. As you may be aware, at this time there are no guidelines and dates on gyms and studios (and of course, halls that run fitness classes) opening. I have therefor decided to make a decision rather than just running on indefinitely. I will not be returning to teaching in halls before October at the earliest. I know that this is not what some of you want to hear and I do apologise but until I can be sure to deliver my classes in a safe environment, I am sure you will all agree that it just does not make sense. In addition to that, it is simply not financially viable for me to run classes in a hired venue at 50%. capacity. It might sound forever away but I am taking time off in August and some in September and will review nearer to October. One thing I can confirm is that my online classes are here to stay. Thank you for all the requests and I confirm that our live and catch up classes will continue in addition to face to face. I am looking at a multitude of options - "blended" online with face to face, online only, face to face only, membership options that give you catch up's included,

The option of working online is undoubtably convenient and allows me to access those of you further afield and abroad so I will be running through all the options and will see what I can offer to give you the best possible service. It does mean that when you go away for a month at a time or find yourself babysitting or caring for a relative in another part of the country, you can maybe swap from face to face to online and so forth so you still have your weekly classes. I feel that it offers a lot of positives.

When we can, I will be returning to Beaulieu village hall and am currently looking at venues as I intend to also run classes in the Lyndhurst/Ashurst area.

Having said all that, it has been lovely to see some of you in face to face classes in gardens and while the weather allows, I am really happy to teach small groups in large gardens where the "1m plus" rule can be observed so if you wish to put your own group together then do get in touch and we can discuss times and days. Also, maybe you would like to organise your own bespoke online class with some friends. Perhaps you all went to another class that isn't running or you had a class in your office at work and are missing it. You can get a gang of friends/colleagues and I can run a class online just for you. Again, just pick up the phone and we can discuss. I really do see that we have all learned new ways of working and there are definitely some positives and some newfound convenience.

New Timetable. I have taken your reqeusts onboard and have also of course been keeping an eye on what classes seems the most popular. The Tuesday 6pm class is currently quite under subsribed so I will not be continuing this in the July block. I will never say never and if the interest is there, I will reinstate later in the year. I am adding a lunchtime "bitesize" class on Monday and Thursday so I really hope that will give an opportuntity to those of you who are working office hours. The classes will be around 35 mins MAX. to give you time to get your lunch and get back to your desk. The Monday 10.30 class has been a bit quieter so I will be making this "The back care class" with balance and mobilty. So whatever your level, the earlier time of 10am on Monday will be all about exercise and movment designed to support and rehab. grumpy backs but including balance.

After this week's introduction to "The 34 Moves", I am going to be running this as a class every Thursday for the July block.

The new timetable will go up on Friday after we have finished the last class of this week.

Payment - please make payment of £40 for the new block by no later than Friday 2nd July in order to receive the password for the new block. You can either pay online through my webiste or BACS me - Juliet's Pilates (business acct) - acc no 21505734. sortcode 40-30-36. Please be kind enough to email me if you are paying by BACS and PLEASE email me if your banking name isn't the name I know you by. On receipt of payment, I will send you the password for the new block. Please allow 24 hours for reply. £40 will give you access to 40 live classes and around 24 recorded classes on catchup for July.

Latest News. Please remember to check "Latest News" on my website for all information on the upcoming week's classes with regards to what we are doing and what we will need. I post every Friday and do my best to offer suggestions of how to substitute so please be prepared with whatever you may need by checking here. It is also an opportunity for you to see what may take your fancy and I am always happy to take requests. PLEASE also double check your class start time which is displayed on the website when you join the class. If for whatever reason, you join late, can you PLEASE check you are on mute. It is really distracting for the rest of us when you join late and we can hear your background noise - runs alongside coming into my hall late and making a big fuss of sorting your bag and your shoes and your mat and we all know how I feel about that.... so a little courtesy please!!! 20 press ups is my usual punishment...

Recorded classes. I have updated classes today. I have also found a couple of bite sized classes that I recorded about two stones ago, when I had long hair and the Late, Great Jack Russel, Panda the Pilates Wonder dog used to sit on my feet - (do you remember when we were in Moonhills and he used to join in the classes and sit on your mat!).

I have made these downloadable with no password so available to all. A taster of the short bite size classes I will be offering soon.

The library is growing so get in touch if you would like to purchase a class.

Health and Safety. Please read the disclaimer and if you have read it, please read it again. It is your responsibility to advise me of any change to your physical health and well being no matter how trivial you may consider it. I am always on the end of the phone for a chat if you would like to ask/check/query and please do always keep me up to speed on any changes to your health and physical well being that may affect your ability to exercise. There are always a multitude of ways to adapt and modify so I can usually inlcude you but will offer you props to use or alternatives.

So to wrap up.... a very slightly altered timetable which will be posted Friday afternoon, payment by Friday latest (I am not working on the weekends) and plenty of "recordeds" to keep you going. The existing class codes will carry over and I will send out the new class codes on request (Monday 10am, Monday and Thursday lunchtimes) but all the rest will remain the same but will require the new password from Monday.

Fitness Unites. As you know, I am delighted to be joining over 20 other presenters to take part in this 2 day fitness event. 25/26 July. For £15 for one day or £25 for both days, you have one code and you can dip in and out and join as many classes as you like with a huge vareity to choose from. Classes include Pilates, Yoga, Bollywood Zumba, Martial Arts, Dance, Barre, HIIT, Stretch and relax, Meditation, Kids Fitness and loads more. If you are on social media please find Fitness Unites and you can see a daily update on each presenter, their experience and what their class will be. I am teaching "Abs Fab Fusion" and really hope to see lots of you there. There really are some amazing teachers and it is a wonderful cause as every penny goes towards The Chicken Shed Theatre Group helping disadvantaged children in the community.

Please visit. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joanna-fernandes

Recorded classes -

Thank you for your humour, energy, support and company. My lounge is now dedicated to a homemade and somewhat precarious tower made up of kitchen chair, boxes and 5 large books for my laptop to sit high up on, furniture piled into one end of the room, cleared space for my mat and the hoover on constant standby. I don't think I have ever worked so hard and I have to confess that you are not the only ones who sometimes just lie on the mat in a heap.... when I close that class, I am often to be found collapsed on my (newly purchased, colour coordinated and non slip) mat!!! But (n.b. dont start a sentence with but) we are having fun aren't we. You have all made my solitary confinement much easier than it may have been and I treasure and love each and every message from you. Feeling a little emotional as this is the second time I have written this as I lost one hour of work when I randomly hit some random key that randomly wiped all my rambling... I think Bertie learned some new words he may not normally be used to.

See you soon x

< Older Post

Newer Post >

So, you ran the London Marathon.... what next?

By juliet • May 7, 2026

In the words of Holly Willoughby, "first of all, "how are YOU?".

The Zanzibar Yoga Festival

By juliet • April 28, 2026

Members news. Week upcoming : Bank Holiday Monday - class running as usual and this coming Wednesday, 2 x 30 min classes. Details in library. As I am away a few days here and there in May/June, I will continue to put in extra classes now and then to keep everyone topped up. It's all about give and take! Following on from requests this week, upcoming we have a Roll over/Control Balance workshop (Thursday 8am), Back care (Thursday 9am) and Body Conditioning, sculpt and tone style (Wed 8am). All updates will always be in your live calendar. We welcome 4 new members this week and can't wait to see you on the screen! We can now add Portugal to our community! That means that currently, we are beaming into the UK from Cornwall to Yorkshire, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Germany and now Portugal! We are so much more than Pilates and our community continues to support in so many ways. While a couple of our treasured members are going through some hefty challenges, I am so pleased that you use our online connection as a form of support and to use the friendship of your fellow members. Don't forget you can log in 15 mins early for a natter before class and on Thursdays, I will leave the meeting open after we finish the 9.45am class for anyone to stay on and have a chat. Grab a coffee and log back in even if you weren't in the class. If you would like to join our "Friends of JP's" what's app group , let me know - we are slowly growing and it is a friendly place for a chat and check in, (and a grumble about how tough the class was!). Have a lovely weekend, Jx

Sitting in Southampton airport and other stuff

By juliet • April 9, 2026

I want to keep it as on point and brief as I can and here are some cold, hard facts. Doing SOMETHING is a lot better than doing NOTHING! Whatever equipment you use and program you follow is far less important than the fact that you show up. Regularly and consistently. Only 30% of adults meet the resistance training guidelines and this drops to as low 10% for older adults. What is required? Training all major muscle groups at least once a week Aiming for 2 - 3 sets per exercises Using a weight that is getting challenging by the end of the set Moving through full range of movement. Now, why this is good news is that this can be acheived in whatever form of exercise takes your fancy and over here on our Pilates mat, we tick a lot of those boxes. Going into the 100 and wishing for the end, sitting tall in your Spine Twist and pushing for JUST ONE MORE rep is meeting this! We go through full range of movement, we use bodyweight as well as small equipment, so even if you are not lifting weights, you are doing your bit. (N.b. provided this is min. 3 times a week and you are pushing yourself to max ability in each of those sessions in one way or another and bringing in bands, small weights etc for additional resistance) WHAT COUNTS BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES AT HOME BANDS, BALLS, BODY WEIGHT, LOOPS A QUICK EXPRESS SET WHEN YOU GET BACK FROM YOUR RUN/WALKING THE DOG 15 MINS IN THE KITCHEN - YOU DON'T NEED TO COMPLICATE IT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE FANCY, STRUCTURED OR ELABORATE. IT JUST NEEDS TO HAPPEN Generally ALL types of resistance training work, as long as they are performed with high efforts which means that you get to a point where you are almost at failure. In other words, choose what you enjoy as you are more likely to stick to it and work harder at ut. CONSISTENCY IS KEY and the BEST exercise programme to do is the one you enjoy and will be more likely to stick at! MEMBERS. We have multiple classes involving strength and resistance every week. NON MEMBERS - I am just putting dates together for another 4 week strength program. Please email me if you are interested. More details to follow (I am delighted to be starting a 4 week strength training session with my local running club so I really am doing my best to share the love! )

Why runners need to lift weights

By juliet • April 8, 2026

Let's start with Improves balance and coordination Improves bone density Boosts metabolism and weight management Enhances mental health Helps with daily activity A few more?! Improves posture by strengthening your core and back muscles Reduces risk of injury by strengthening joints, ligaments, and tendons Helps regulate blood sugar levels and lowers risk of type 2 diabetes Improves sleep quality and helps you fall asleep faster Enhances athletic performance (speed, power, endurance) Slows down age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) The ACSM (American college of Sports Science) is the bible of the fitness world with regards to fitness and exercise prescription and has recently done a huge survey, publishing it’s findings in a new report which has got the fitness world very excited as it is the first survey of it’s kind since 2009.