What Is Pilates With Sara Colquhoun?

Sweat Community, you asked, and we listened — Pilates has now arrived at Sweat!

Pilates with Sara Colquhoun is a 16-week program that blends traditional and contemporary Pilates with elements of functional movement training. The classes are dynamic, will train your full body, and challenge you!

Sara Colquhoun is a Pilates instructor based in Melbourne, Australia, and has created a program that will make you feel strong, athletic, and powerful — while working out at home!

What to expect from Pilates with Sara

Pilates with Sara is designed to help you develop core strength, balance and definition, improve your posture, improve technique, and help you to develop a strong foundation for better mobility — which can benefit you in all areas of life. 

Pilates with Sara is suitable for women of any fitness level. If you’re new to Pilates, there are four foundation weeks to get you familiar with this style of training. 

Your weekly workout schedule

Throughout the program, your weekly schedule will be:

• 3-4 resistance classes

• 2 cardio (LISS) sessions

• 1 recovery day

• 1 rest day 

Each class follows a list of sequences to make up a 30-50 minute session. There are also shorter Express resistance workouts you can swap into your schedule for the days you’re short on time, and these are between 10-20 minutes. 

All the full-length Pilates workouts are full-body, but each has a different focus. The workouts are challenging and aim to fatigue specific muscle groups through time under tension — which helps to improve muscle definition and strength. 

The full-length resistance training sessions are either Strength & Conditioning, which focus on controlled movement, or High-Intensity Interval Pilates (HIIP), which will get your heart rate up. 

The range of Express resistance classes includes upper-body, lower-body and full-body workout options.

A warm-up and cool-down are included in each resistance class.

Recovery sessions are Mindful Movement classes, which promote blood flow to your muscles through gentle stretches, using the breath to connect your mind to your movement, and aid recovery.

What is High-Intensity Interval Pilates (HIIP)?

HIIP classes are a unique element of the Pilates with Sara program, and will challenge you — get ready to feel the burn!

HIIP sessions include high-intensity movements to elevate your heart rate and challenge your coordination.

The movements in the class aim to integrate the upper and lower body through developing a stronger core, giving you an effective, full-body workout.

These sessions consist of three sequences ranging from 4-17 minutes, to make up a 30-minute class. 

What equipment is needed for Pilates with Sara?

Pilates with Sara requires minimal equipment and can be completed in the comfort of your home.

You will need:

• Yoga mat

• Dumbbells or hand weights

• Resistance band

• Chair

• Small towel or slider

• Towel

• Skipping rope

• Ankle weights (optional)

You should choose dumbbells or hand weights that feel comfortable for you to use during the exercises. A 1.5kg (3lb) weight is a good option to start with — if you struggle to perform the exercises with correct form, you should switch to a lower weight. 

If you don’t have access to the equipment, you can swap dumbbells for two safe, heavy objects can be used, such as bags of food, water bottles, or other household items — get creative! 

You can omit the resistance band altogether or swap for a recovery tube as these two items are interchangeable. 

If you don’t have a skipping rope, you can complete “air skips” instead

Any flat, stable surface will be suitable as a chair substitute, such as a park bench, or sturdy box.

When selecting equipment alternatives, it’s important to ensure that they are both safe and secure prior to starting your workout. 

How to start Pilates with Sara

Pilates with Sara is available exclusively in the Sweat app. You can access this program by tapping on your profile and then tapping “Manage My Program” and “Select Program”. 

If you’re already doing another Sweat program and want to try Pilates with Sara, you can do an on-demand Pilates workout. There are eight to choose from, ranging from 15-40 minutes. You can use on-demand classes to give you a taste of the program or to complement your main training program.

To access these classes, go to the On Demand tab on your dashboard, and scroll down to the “Pilates & Barre” section, and choose your class — there are options for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

Pilates with Sara is ready for you now! 

If you’re new to Sweat, download the Sweat app from the App Store or Google Play. You can also sign up via our website to get started! 

If you want to increase your core strength and stability, as well as improve muscle definition without using heavy weights, Pilates could be a great option for you!