Pilates (on equipment), anyone?

I'm 5'6 and 240 pounds. Has anyone here tried pilates at a similar weight? Is it possible for someone like me? I am starting personal training tomorrow and have a goal of rewarding myself with some pilates training after I've stuck with the regular exercise for a while. I find yoga really BORING, so that's out. I've done pilates (equipment-style, not on the mat) before, but at a lower weight, and liked it. I will be asking my gym too, but I like the opinions here more

hey! you have a picture up! umm i am not a fan myself - i did a few private lessons after i had lost the majority of my weight and i really didn't like it that the teacher would touch my loose belly skin. but i'm weird like that. anyway, my point is my mom does pilates training 3 times a week. she is 5'3 or so and 2something. not sure of her weight exactly (not something we really discuss!) but she is at least a size 20. she LOVES it and has been doing it for several years. i'm sure that isn't much help, but just to let you know that it is definitely possible for you to do and i don't think you should let your weight stop you from doing something you enjoy....go for it! that is a great non-food reward. 

Yep, I crawled out from under the question mark...even though I HATE pictures. It felt a little weird. I'm very happy in this one...took it a while back in my hotel room in Japan! Thanks for the insight Andy. That's good to know about your mom. I'm a size 20 too, so it sounds like it will work. I'll have to see about the tummy-touching though!

hi Sonora, There is a class at my gym called Will Power and Grace which is a pilates class.  I HATE that class, LOL.  They want me to do things that my body is frankly incapable of doing.  Now, this is after losing my weight (not all but almost) and working out consistently since October of 2005.  I just cannot do this class!!!  Yet, there are hundreds (okay the room isn't that big) of people taking this class at a time.  And it's like 75 minutes long.  Egads!!!!   I tried it twice.  The first time the insides of my thighs hurt like I had cut at them with razors for like 3 whole days.  The second time I made an excuse to leave early.  hehe Oh, darn it, I was supposed to be supporting your wish to do pilates.   Pilates rock, you go girl!!!! Let us know how it goes.  LOL Seriously!!!! Donna

I took pilates reformer (machines) for 8 weeks at my gym - LOVED it!  I weighed about 290 at the time.  I was afraid I would break the machines or feel uncomfortable surrounded by skinny people.  I was lucky, and ended up in a class that was just me - sometimes there were one or two others.  The best thing for me was that with the machines its easier to be sure you are "doing it right".  I wouls take it continuosly if I could afford it!!

Ah, so that's what the machines are called! That's great to hear. I thought...man, if I break the equipment, I will NEVER recover! Now I can look forward to trying it out, if i can stick with my regular routine as well. I'm almost excited...almost!

Well, it's finally done with. I had my first personal training session this morning. It's the first real workout I've done in years (yes, YEARS) minus some very recent attempts at walking. I was scared as hell, but also excited. I'm trying out a new gym that's further away than the Y, but also has really nice facilities. I can opt out of membership easily after 5 training sessions if they don't meet my expectations. The good news is that I'm 99% sure I will end up joining, because my trainer is a doll. I'm guessing she's only a few years older than I am -- 25 maybe? A big issue for me with picking up exercise again was that I was so attached to me previous trainer, who moved away when she had a baby. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to replace that, but this new girl is very sweet, and I can see us getting along. I did some very BASIC circuit training, including the dreaded squats and lunges. I never forgot my burning hatred of those. Besides that, I'm actually excited to see how I'll feel on Friday, after a week of really treating my body better than I have in a long time. I'm coming off of a major slip-up/string of binges, and was so depressed about it. Now I know I can recover, especially if I start each day with a nice workout. It makes me want to eat well for the rest of the day. WHEW!