Two dogs. One bike.
Call it a way to walk and roll to fitness.
Kim Vehslage employs those exercise tools on days she’s not in Center Studio of Columbus’ Pilates classes. She takes her pooches for strolls morning and night. And she cycles besides.
The Pilates serves as “just a great way to relieve some stress of everyday life and take yourself away from the electronics that we are all stuck next to all day, every day,” she said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“It’s an hour that I know I will not be interrupted by a phone call or a text message or even feel like I need to check social media.
“It’s real ‘me’ time, which I feel like everybody needs a little of.”
» Describe your Pilates mat class.
Each week the workout is a little different. The goal of Pilates is to create balance and strength in the body. Each workout has exercises that both stretch and strengthen your entire body.
There is an emphasis on posture, breathing and control during the workout. With each exercise, depending on your abilities, there are possible modifications to allow you to still get the benefit of the exercise without hurting yourself.
» What inspired you to begin a regular fitness routine?
I have always been an active person. When I was 7, I started taking ballet at Dancers Studio Inc. in Columbus. From then until I was graduating from high school, I was either in a dance class or at a rehearsal four to five times a week.
Each class or rehearsal was at least an hour to an hour and a half. Whenever I came home from college on breaks, I would feel like I needed to do something more than just hang out around the house. And at that time, Lorraine Vacketta, owner of Center Studio, was teaching Pilates classes at Dancers Studio. It was a great way to get active again and something I decided that I wanted to do regularly once I moved back after college.
» Why is it something you have stuck with?
Pilates increases my core strength, improves my flexibility and increases my energy level. I have stuck with it because it makes me feel good. When I start the day off with a Pilates class, I feel energized for the rest of my day. Even when I get home and am sore from the new exercises Lorraine has decided to use that day, it is worth it because I feel better after.
» How do you make time to work out?
I am lucky because at Dancers Studio we don’t open until the afternoon, since all of our classes are after the kids are done at school and my schedule is very flexible, so before I go to work I am able to use the morning to go to Pilates, ride my bike and/or walk with my dogs.
» Do you follow any special diet or eating plan? If so, describe briefly. Do you “cheat” much?
I don’t really have a diet, but I do try to eat as much fresh food as possible, and mostly I just watch my portion sizes. I love chocolate and salty things like chips, and it’s so easy to just eat a lot of that at once. I try to make sure that I just watch the quantity of all of the food I eat.
» Do you have a favorite fitness moment, such as when you reached a certain goal or overcame a plateau?
It is always exciting when some exercises within a class become a little easier. It shows me that I really am strengthening my body and helping myself to stay healthy in the future.
» What do you do to motivate yourself when you just don’t want to work out?
If I am really struggling to get motivated, I think about the fact that each time afterwards I feel better. I also think about the fact that my mom, who is 62, takes at least two Pilates classes a week — and if she can get up to be at a class at 8:15 a.m., surely I can get moving, too.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Kim Vehslage” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Age: 23
City: Seymour
Occupation: Administrative Assistant at Dancers Studio, Inc.
Where you work out: Center Studio in Columbus.
Hours per week: One to two at Center Studio, three to four at home.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
