Film producer Roselle Monteverde starts her day with an adrenaline rush from exercise. She pumps iron at the gym and dances up a sweat at a choreographed class. For total body conditioning, she goes for circuit training at Options Studio.
A circuit is a series of strength and cardio exercises repeated two or three times, with a brief rest or no rest at all between sets. Because the individual moves on to different muscle groups with hardly any breather, the heart rate increases more in a circuit than in a conventional gym program. Hence, one burns more calories.
Instead of weights and aerobic machines, Monteverde uses Pilates apparatuses such as the Reformer, the Wunda Chair, the Barrel, the Tower and the suspension trainer.
“In circuit training, you do a number of reps on a piece of equipment, and then you transfer to another right away, switch to other props including bodyweight exercises, after which, you start from the top,” explains fitness guru and Options Studio owner Ole Eugenio. “It challenges strength and endurance at a faster pace while improving flexibility.”
Overworked
“Roselle wants to be strong inside and out,” says Eugenio. “Her muscles were overworked from the gym. Circuit training is good because it promotes muscular balance. At the gym, you work out the big muscles. Here, the apparatuses force her to fire the smaller muscles. Her program involves a dynamic warm-up, toning of the hips, upper body strength, explosive movements, squats, bicep curls and deadlifts using the apparatuses.”
The circuit program ends with suspension training, in which the client hangs in an inverted position for relaxation and improvement of blood circulation.
“We need to rejuvenate the cells. This is good for anti-aging,” says Eugenio. “Roselle is so strong, she’s foxy at 51.”
Monteverde likes the sweat from circuit training: “It builds my stamina and strength. I’m more alert at work…”
At this writing, Monteverde has been organizing Regal Films projects such as “The Prenup” starring Jennylyn Mercado and Sam Milby; José Javier Reyes’ “No Boyfriend Since Birth” with Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez; and “Haunted Mansion” with Janella Salvador, the daughter of Jenine Desiderio.
As women over 40 tend to lose muscle mass due to aging, Monteverde still engages in daily weight resistance training to build muscles that pad her joints and protect her from osteoporosis. She had been doing Pilates at another studio for over a decade and saw the benefits in a more taut and sleek appearance. However, her muscles had adapted to the repetitive Pilates program, so she reached a plateau.
When she went to Options, Monteverde’s Pilates-based circuit training program removed the boredom of exercise.
“I wanted something new,” she says. “There was no variety in my former program. This studio has stuff that is new to my body. I like the challenge.”
Injured
Her trainer Alain Buenaventura recalls that when he first met Monteverde, she had been injured from another program. “The gym workout normally focuses on the chest, shoulders and front and back of the thighs. She became more aware of engaging the smaller muscles, like the inner thighs. She values the importance of stretching before a workout to elevate the heart rate, and to stretch after the session for muscle recovery.”
Monteverde sees the difference. She points out that while the gym focuses on crunching particular muscle groups, the Pilates-based training enables her to engage all the muscle groups simultaneously.
“You get faster results,” says Eugenio. “When you stop lifting weights at the gym for a few days, you feel bloated due to water retention. With circuit training, the results of muscle tone last for days.”
Monteverde adds: “People who develop a strong core from Pilates easily regain their balance when they trip. Hindi sila sumusubsob. When we travel and there’s no one to help in getting the 70-lb suitcase from the carousel, I activate my core. I’m able to carry it.”
Her trainer also modifies the exercises when her back is out of alignment. “The instructors know their anatomy,” she says. “When I came with a back problem, they gave me exercises that released the tight muscles. There was no massage involved.”
The Regal scion hopes to bring her celebrity mother, Lily Monteverde, to Options. At 76, Mother Lily likes to join her daughter in the latter’s private boxing class or keep up with her grandchildren. Mother Lily enjoys brisk walking and easily outpaces her younger companions.
Still, the younger Monteverde believes that the Pilates exercises will oil her mom’s joints.
Options Studio, Salcedo Village, tel. nos. 5533314/0917-8746888; The Fort: 403-7154 /0917-5420460; Greenhills: 6238449/0917-890-3229; The Podium: 6953263/ 0917-5293307; and Quezon City: 0917-7716549/9310579).