Pilates On Pico

A great private studio where no one walks in, talks loud to disturb you while teaching or trying to listen to your teacher, because the whole studio is just for you! 2 private parking spaces, a/​c, mirrored wall, balanced body, allegro, 3 reformers, a Cadillac and a wunda with handles. Windows all around and nice lighting. I’m a big fan of this cute studio! :-)

I really like this place right down the street and Lea is the best instructor ever. They have parking next-​door and a great introductory class.

Very nice instructors who know their pilates. I do a lot of Pilates and was impressed with their wide range of Pilates equipment. I told them what I was looking for and they catered the session to my needs and injuries. Will definitely be going back. And Ruby the scheduler is so easy to work with.

Short review: Marni is the best personal trainer I have ever had.
I’ve been active all my life and have even trained recently with competitive professional athletes. Over the past few years I had lost touch with the nuance of core muscle control and coordination opting for the aesthetic results of a bodybuilders workout. When chronic injuries resurfaced with a vengeance sidelining every activity and making my life miserable, I turned to Pilates as a rehabilitative exercise regimen. Little did I know how much work I had to do.
In the past 8 months of training twice a week, I’ve made real progress. It started from scratch by being forced to learn how to fully breath, then breathing through movement and finally being shown how to properly activate the parts of my body that I had essentially «let go» on autopilot all these years. Everything from my toes, feet, knees, thighs, glutes, hips, the various muscles 360 degrees for my abdomen, and even my shoulders and neck were just doing whatever the hell they wanted (which was terrible) but now I give them specific directions and purpose with my new awareness. Marni was so supportive that when I couldn’t perform the exercises she is accustomed to working on with her clients she actually did her own research into the specific exercises that could ameliorate my knee, hip, and shoulder instability and incorporated them into my workouts. She keeps a file on the exercises that work best so we are making the best use of the time in the gym quickly moving from exercise to exercise and adding or removing them as my abilities or needs progress. Most importantly, she is constantly attentive on every minor detail so that I do not relapse into old patterns of movement. I have found this to be rare compared to many trainers I’ve seen who are comfortable multitasking while leaving the trainee in compromising scenarios.
I give Marni all the credit in the world for the support and guidance she has shown me. I never hesitate to recommend her to anyone interested in gaining the benefits of Pilates exercise principles from a committed, knowledgeable and supportive instructor.

I noticed Pilates on Pico perched on the second floor over Pico Bl at Main Street purely by accident. February 2012 I decided at the age of 42 — to begin exercising. I had quit smoking heavily the prior year. The only prerequisite for my new exercise regimen was to be able to walk to it from home. That left few choices. I started out in a private gym nearby. With a one-​on-​one trainer, and nearly killing myself each work out. I had no experience to compare my gym work outs to — but at the time it made sense to me that it should hurt, A LOT — I mean 42 years of not exercising should catch up with one at some point! And I was determined to develop the best body possible so I really threw myself into it– I had GOALS! I wanted to look fabulous, for me it wasn’t about health at that time.
About 8 months after embarking on my journey to looking fabulous, In December of 2012, I had my first Pilates session ever with Marni Greer at the Pilates on Pico Studio. I had spied the studio, randomly called and spoke with Marni who got me in on a trial 2 sessions for 99 $ deal. I was curious. I had heard many things about Pilates — that it was developed for bedridden people and therefore wasn’t challenging enough for the upright — That it was for ballerinas, that it could lengthen one’s muscles etc.
My first few sessions, in comparison to the gym, were RELAXING. I was skeptical that I was actually even doing anything that would affect my physique. I learned to breath, I learned what every muscle was supposed to be doing during each movement — completely different from my gym experience where I was struggling to perform each exercise and get through the reps any way possible even if it meant holding my breath and gritting my teeth gripping my toes and clenching my shoulders until I accidentally developed a neck like a freaking cobra! (Yes. In spite of always using a personal trainer). I did get some amazing benefits from the gym in those initial 8 months. I converted 5 pounds of body mass from fat to muscle without a change in weight — for example. And my boyfriend commented that in the dark I FELT like a different person — he found that to be very exciting!
By May 2013 I quit using the gym completely, and since then exclusively work out one on one with Marni, 5 days a week when I can. (Tiny bit of home work with free weights).
I am achieving better results with Marni without pain, without soreness. I look forward to going, I am challenged but I am safe I am not developing big muscles in weird places any more (I had a muscle on the FRONT of my shin when I was in the gym, –not very feminine!)
I am far stronger than I was at the gym — at the gym I was doing 90+ various crunches per day (reverse, inclined etc) — but incorrectly muscling through it with my ab muscles protruding, and falling back on my hips to do most of the work, pulling with my neck. Now I do less than half as many core-​centric motions in the Pilates studio but with flattened abs, no hips, no straining with my neck. My figure is proportionate, feminine and strong. I have had such a great experience with Marni. She watches every move touches parts that a disobeying so I can connect my attention to the area and fix the motion. She is genuinely concerned about holistically strengthening her clients– we talk about nutrition, fixed my flat footedness, repaired a shoulder problem I sustained in the gym.
Marni has enabled me to meet my goals. I turned 44 yesterday and possibly look my best ever — certainly I feel my best ever.

Marni Greer, Certified Instructor and owner of Pilates on Pico is fabulous. She really puts me through a fabulous workout. She is without a doubt the best pilates instructor I have ever worked with. I walk out of her studio feeling younger, happier, taller… love her work. Have made pilates part of my bi-​weekly routine!!!