If there is one studio you’re most likely to spot a Victoria’s Secret Model, it’s P.volve, located in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. P.volve takes a “prehab” approach to fitness with low-impact workout classes that models (like Romee Strijd) and non-models alike flock to in NYC. P.volve also has an online streaming platform for those outside of NYC or on the go who want to stream the classes anywhere.
The P.volve method was developed by Stephen Pasterino, who has a background in fitness and started P.volve after completing a year-long intensive program in functional movement and physical therapy. His approach? Pain does not equal gain, and the best way to approach fitness is with a pre-hab mindset, i.e. to workout and strengthen the body in a low-impact setting that focuses on functional movement and alignment first.
“What P.volve really is, is taking all of those techniques and all of those therapy exercises and blending them into a fitness class,” says Pasterino. “The big discovery with me and P.volve and what I’ve discovered over the years, is by establishing the health of the joints and creating the balance in the muscles and using these very foundational physical therapy exercises it was put there to make them healthy and really strong.”
So what can you expect in a P.volve class? First off, don’t plan on doing burpees, jump squats or anything with heavy weights or that is high-impact or cardio-heavy. The class will work your entire body, but in a way that will feel totally new to you at first. Think: spending the first part of the class warming up the body and opening up the hips so you can access the right muscles. You’ll do small movements, and use a few props too.
“My workouts always start slower and progressively get harder, and they’re structured like that for a reason. It’s to activate the butt, get the muscles fired up, get the extension, get the hips open, get rotation in the spine, the ankles, and I usually spend about 20-25 minutes doing that,” Pasterino says. According to Pasterino, this initial segment of the class is so important since so many of his clients spend their days sitting at a desk, and these types of movements counter that and help undo the day. A workout that helps counteract that desk-job life and will get you in top-model shape? Sign me up.
You can try a P.volve class for yourself in NYC at 112 Bowery (between Grand St and Hester St), Floor 3, New York, NY 10013. Or try a class online.
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