How To Incorporate Other Workouts With Your HPS Classes
I’m just gonna go ahead and say it: HPS is the best pilates in NYC and I’d even go so far as to say on the internet.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I know it can be overwhelming to log on to HPS and see a million classes available and not know where to start, and that can be even more confusing if you're also supplementing with IRL classes elsewhere.
Of course, I've worked hard to curate HPS so that it meets all your needs and prefer to choreograph full body classes that leave you feeling better head to toe afterwards. My pilates classes are anti-diet but they’re also HARD, because I know how powerful of a thing it is to feel your own strength. Because of this, we definitely don’t want to over-workout just for the sake of it or because we feel guilty for taking an off day, as this can lead to overuse injuries, exhaustion, and can make us burn out on fitness to the point that we avoid it all together! At the same time, working out multiple days in a row might be what works for your schedule and you need to fit it in somewhere. We’re all in unique situations/different stages of our relationship with fitness and I want you to feel empowered to make choices that feel great for your body and help you get the best results.
Scroll down for sample schedules to help you blend HPS with your other favorite workout classes and avoid feeling like you’re just throwing different workouts at the wall hoping one of them works.
If You Want To Do HPS Pilates Every Day/Back to Back Days:
There are varying levels of intensity available for my HPS classes (and you can find them easily by utilizing the filters at the top of the library page!) so, if you feel up to working out every day, play around with adjusting the intensity. While it’s unlikely you’ll feel depleted after pilates (I generally feel the opposite!), it may not be a good idea to do 2 days of intense classes in a row if you’re really sore. That soreness might be a signal from your body to focus on a different region of the body (filter by physical focus!) or to go easier/rest. Sometimes it just takes some trial and error to see what works for you! Your week might look like this:
Monday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction
Tuesday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility
Wednesday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Thursday: HPS Full Body Integration
Friday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Saturday: HPS Full Body Integration
Sunday: Rest
OR if you prefer Full Body workouts every day, like me:
Monday: HPS Full Body Integration (Intense)
Tuesday: HPS Full Body Integration (Gentle)
Wednesday: HPS Full Body Integration (Moderate)
Thursday: HPS Full Body Integration (Gentle)
Friday: HPS Full Body Integration (Intense)
Saturday: HPS Full Body Integration (Gentle)
Sunday: HPS Full Body Integration (Gentle)
*You can rearrange the schedule as needed, just avoid doing the same focus every single day back to back.
**Option to add in 1 or 2 days of cardio by tagging on an HPS 15-20 min Quickie HIIT or replacing one of your full body classes with an HPS 30 or 45 min Low Impact Cardio Pilates class. Recommended only if your joints are like Olivia Rodrigo’s ex: happy and healthy, you’re not experiencing extreme stress, and of course, and we don’t talk about this nearly enough: if you LIKE cardio. Life is too short for workouts you hate!
If You Also Take Reformer Pilates/Barre/Sculpt/Athletic Yoga:
Most boutique pilates/barre/sculpt/athletic style yoga (like Vinyasa) workouts are full body. If you are working out all muscle groups in a class, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, the easiest way to avoid overuse/injury/inadequate recovery is to workout on alternating days. This is my preferred way of working out because I like to address the body as an entire system, rather than segmenting. Your week might look like this:
Monday: HPS Full Body Integration OR Reformer Pilates/Barre/Sculpt/Athletic Yoga
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: HPS Full Body Integration OR Reformer Pilates/Barre/Sculpt/Athletic Yoga
Thursday: Rest
Friday: HPS Full Body Integration OR Reformer Pilates/Barre/Sculpt/Athletic Yoga
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: HPS Full Body Integration OR Reformer Pilates/Barre/Sculpt/Athletic Yoga
*Keep in mind if you take a Pilates/Barre/Yoga with specific focus (like and Abs and Arms class, for example) you may need to give it a day or two before working that area again, and choosing another Pilates/Barre/Yoga class with a different focus (like Glutes and Hamstrings, for example) the next day would allow the Day 1 focus to recover!
**If you are going back to back Sunday-Monday, try a more gentle class on one of those days to switch it up.
If You Also Bike/Cycle:
If you do a lower body heavy workout out there in the real world, you’ll want to balance out those classes with upper body and core centric sessions to give your legs, hips, and glutes time to recover and build balance all over. Your week might look like this:
Monday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility OR Biking/Cycling
Tuesday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction
Wednesday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility OR Biking/Cycling
Thursday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Friday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility OR Biking/Cycling
Saturday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Sunday: Rest or Stretch
If You Also Box/Row/Swim:
If you do an upper body heavy workout outside of HPS, the same thinking applies about curating non upper body HPS classes. Keep in mind that all of these workouts can also be construed as full body, so you’ll have to check in with yourself and assess where you felt the most strain. Your week might look like this:
Monday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction OR Boxing/Rowing/Swimming/Upper Body Classes
Tuesday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility
Wednesday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction OR Boxing/Rowing/Swimming/Upper Body Classes
Thursday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Friday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction OR Boxing/Rowing/Swimming/Upper Body Classes
Saturday: HPS Lower Body Strength + Hip Mobility
Sunday: Rest or Stretch
If You Also Long Distance Run/Elliptical, HIIT, or Tabata:
Firstly, kudos to you as cardio is my own personal nemesis. Secondly, I recommend not doing more than 1-2 high intensity cardio classes a week, and I don’t recommend doing them at all if you’re currently in a high stress period of life. As cathartic as an intense sweat sesh can be, if your nervous system is out of whack due to stress, overdoing intense cardio can worsen that feeling and make you feel stuck in “fight or flight”. This is definitely an instance where I want you to be very honest to yourself about what makes you feel your best, and experiment until you know what the best balance for you is! Cardio is often very lower body centric too, so keep that in mind when planning your workouts so that you don’t overuse your lower body and neglect elsewhere. Your week might look like:
Monday: HPS Low Impact Cardio Pilates OR HPS 15-20 min HIIT OR outside Long Distance Run/Elliptical, HIIT, or Tabata
Tuesday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Wednesday: HPS Upper Body Strength + Posture Correction
Thursday: HPS Low Impact Cardio Pilates OR HPS 15-20 min HIIT OR outside Long Distance Run/Elliptical, HIIT, or Tabata
Friday: HPS Full Body Integration
Saturday: HPS Core Strength + Spinal Stability
Sunday: Rest or Stretch
*This will, of course, look different if you are training for an event like a marathon, so I recommend consulting your running coach on how often to cross train without overextending yourself!
Conclusion— IMPORTANT!
I’ve offered up examples of what a week of workouts could look like with your other favorite classes but please remember that while I recc at LEAST one rest day, you definitely can and should take more if that’s what your body needs. Just keep in mind which muscle groups you’re working and pay attention to any signals your body is sending about fatigue. I know from personal experience that it’s easy to get stuck in the “more is more, harder is better” thought loop but it’s often just the opposite. If your body is in active pain, you're dreading working out, you'll feel guilty or "bad" if you take a day off, it might be time to take a rest day or extended break from fitness in general.
Never tried a Helen Phelan Studio Class?
There are 200+ mat pilates classes on Helen Phelan Studio ranging from athletic and invigorating to restorative and chill so you can choose your workout for how you want to feel. You can filter by duration, equipment, intensity, and physical focus to help you reframe your relationship with exercise as a tool in your self-care toolbox— not punishment for food enjoyed. See what it’s all about with the free 10 day trial here!
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