Nicholas Nguyen discovers the power of Pilates.
Midtown’s Nicholas Nguyen discovered Pilates and self-confidence
Midtown resident Nicholas Nguyen never considered himself an athlete. He wasn’t even one to work out.
He’d buy a gym membership or try a class for a bit — and then end up not going. Nothing seemed to hold his attention.
It took a new job to change all of that.
Nguyen, a graphic designer, went to work for a magazine called Pilates Style.
“I had heard about Pilates, and I knew it was an exercise,” Nguyen said. “I thought it was like yoga, but I learned more about it.”
At one conference he attended, he was impressed by the teachers — and even more so by the practitioners.
“We worked with an 80-year-old woman, and she was incredible, so inspiring,” Nguyen recalled. “I was in my mid-20s and couldn’t do any of that.”
One of his assignments was to take a class and experience Pilates for himself. So Nguyen signed up at Washington Ave Pilates, 2000 Edwards, with instructor Hilary Opheim.
“I felt so good after doing it,” Nguyen said. “It makes you realize how deep the benefits of getting stronger and more flexible are. I understood what the magazine was preaching.”
He was hooked from the get-go. Now, he goes to WAPilates every week and follows his own fitness routine at home. He even hopes to get certified and maybe teach his own classes.
“I look at it as my personal time,” he said. “It’s about more than the physical benefits. It’s mental health, too. You really get to think and center your body.”
Pilates is not the best exercise for adding muscle bulk, Nguyen said. “It’s more than that,” he said. “If you’re looking to release pain or get stronger internally, Pilates is something that will definitely help you.”
Opheim explained that the exercise form is meant to develop lean muscles, build strength and increase flexibility and balance.
“We don’t create those ripped bodies,” she said. “It’s about longer muscles, not as bulky. Our whole thing is we want people to be mobile the rest of their lives.”
Instead of rapid weight loss and muscle gain, she said, Pilates aims to develop a healthy body with a strong core and to build a lifelong fitness program.
From their first meeting, Opheim noticed that Nguyen had a rounded posture, even for a young man.
“But he looked healthy,” she said. “As time went on, his whole body alignment changed.”
Not only did his strength and ability to move improve, Nguyen also gained the self-assurance to try increasingly difficult exercises.
“Pilates is empowering,” she said. “People are able to set their own challenges, and Nicholas does his homework.”
Before Pilates, Nguyen would experience pains waking up, and an occasional pinched nerve.
“I wasn’t feeling great, and I couldn’t bend and touch my toes,” he said. “Pilates changed all of that for me. I’ve gotten stronger. Now I can do anything Hilary throws at me.”
Most importantly, Nguyen said, his confidence has improved.
“Now I know I can do it,” he said. “It’s given me that mindset. I know that I have strength.”
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