Studio Body Logic

I’ve been a student here for almost nine months, and the experience gets better each time. I had researched several other options for both group and private sessions, but no other venue comes close to the level of professionalism and expertise as SBL. I’ve had sessions with advanced instructors (Ellen & Ann Marie), intermediate experts (Rachel) and new teachers (Tara). All are exceptional. I highly recommend Studio Body Logic for those of all ages with physical injury, or who simply want to get in great shape. I am in my 3^rd trimester of pregnancy and look (and feel!) far better now than I did before I started my pilates classes. Studio Body Logic is THE best in the DC/​MD/​VA area! Don’t miss it.

Men, pilates is not just for women. Though, I would suggest this studio change their logo to something a bit more gender neutral to bring in more dudes.
My wife and I tried a private lesson with Tara on the equipment, and all I can say is do NOT watch stand up comedy after going here, cuz your abs will feel it.
As a beginner, I appreciated that she explained all the exercises and made adjustments to the equipment (or my posture) to make sure I was getting the full workout and not risking injury.
She often told me to look at my abs (to get the right posture). I can’t see them yet, but with enough sessions, I might start to! We’ll definitely be back.

This is a great place. I work one on one w/​Rachel. I have many physical limitations and I’ve been able to feel stronger after each session. Each session is always different too, never bored. The studio is small but efficient, it’s perfect for everything they do there.

Review for the Barre Body class:
I visited this studio using my ClassPass and had a really great experience. The Barre studio is nice, well equipped, clean and large enough to move without feeling crowded. The instructor was very energetic and kept the class moving and motivated. She corrected movements and gave tips along the way. The class was challenging but not so tough to be frustrated by it. It would also be good for beginners as the instructor demonstrated and spelled out everything.
The Studio is located INSIDE Randolph Towers — you need to use the main building entrance off 9^th Street, turn right, then left, keep going left, and then you’ll find SBL.
SBL also offers other types of Pilates but I have only done the Barre Body class.

I’ve only been here for barre classes, although it looks like they have some serious pilates equipment. If you blink you can miss this place since it’s in the first floor of a highrise apartment building lost in a sea of highrises in Ballston. But once you’re in the studio you forget all that. This is a serious studio with great classes. They teach the barre body classes. Classes follow a pretty typical barre format – warm up, arms with leg warmup on the mat, barre series including legs and glutes on the barre, ab series on the mat. Unlike some other places, the classes are planned with musicality in mind and teach some traditional ballet moves, which are fun elements for me. Tons of fun!

I found this studio via Unilocal (thanks, other Unilocalers!) and have been attending for about two months now. After getting really, really sick of my overpriced gym that kept taking away my favorite classes & instructors, I needed to find a new pilates studio. This place was rated very highly on Unilocal and figured I’d give it a go! I’m now a regular in Ellen’s intermediate class and finding it to be the perfect level of challenging for me. This is not your «fluffy» pilates that you see at some places — we go through the sequence exactly, there’s no music, and I love that we integrate props such as bands, the magic circle, and springs. One thing that I hated about a former pilates studio that I attended was sometimes we wouldn’t get through the entire sequence for one reason or another — never an issue here, we move quickly enough through the exercises that we finish the entire sequence and always have time at the end for arm work, ensuring a total body pilates workout. Like any other standalone studio, it’s not cheap, but I think it is 100% worth it.

I’ve been coming here for about 5 months now. I had only taken a few pilates classes at a couple other gyms and probably more than 3 years ago. So I started out with an intro to apparatus class here since I had heard good things about using the apparatus in pilates. They only have 3 – 4 people in the class which is nice since the instructors can pay attention to what you are doing. I definitely enjoyed it and the workout was tough. In my previous pilates mat classes at other places, they never really corrected my form or made sure I was doing the exercises correctly. Our apparatus group has continued on with the apparatus and it definitely help you isolate the movements a bit more than with the mat classes.
I started taking the mat classes with them also since I had such a good experience with the apparatus class. Each mat class is not that big so the teachers can pay attention to everyone. As others have mentioned they also walk around and correct you which is nice. If you are unable to make a class, you do have the ability to attend another class to make up your missed class. Each instructor is really good and they all have different things they focus on so it sometimes is nice to go to a different person.
I did take a barre body class for one of my makeups. I would have to say that was the class I felt the most burn in! It’s almost a mix of aerobics, dance, and pilates.
The upfront payment for the mat classes can seem steep but it’s definitely worth every penny. With the apparatus class, after the intro to apparatus class is finished and you want to continue to take a class, you pay for each one you take. The price per class does depend on how many people are in the class.

I’ve been taking Pilates here for about two years now, and I can’t say enough wonderful things about Studio Body Logic. I started with a beginner Mat class and have since moved up to Intermediate mat as well as a weekly apparatus session — all the instructors I’ve had are knowledgeable, friendly, and patient, and they’re (gently) hands-​on with correction if you’re not doing the moves right. As a couple others have said, I was initially leery of the upfront payment system, but it definitely keeps me honest, since it’s a lot harder to justify skipping out on a week when you know you’ve already paid for it. The workouts are tough if you really pay attention and scoop the abs, and after two years I am taller, stronger, and sleeker. I particularly recommend Ellen for mat and Rachel Merga for, well, anything you can get with her. She’s amazing!

I’ve been coming here since this past summer and wanted to wait until I had some solid time in before putting up a review. I had only taken a handful of Pilates classes with a former dance instructor who encouraged me to keep it up to help deal with my lower back issues. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about having a weekly class as an upfront cash commitment for a set number of weeks instead of just doing drop-​ins like at other studios. While it can sometimes be a challenge to fit it into my schedule (or there’s just a week when life is crazy and you just don’t have it in you after a long day at work), you can make up as many classes as you need to within the semester.
So, yeah, the upfront payout can be a bit disconcerting, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s worth it. It’s one day of the week when I have to try and NOT make excuses. You have to want to keep the commitment and not waste your money. Your instructor gets to know you, your body, and any tendencies you have in your body because of this weekly interaction. I’ve taken most of my classes with Ellen and I think she’s absolutely wonderful. Her instruction is concise, specific, and she always gives little reminders about form. As others have said, the teachers don’t do the exercises themselves. Rather, they walk around and actually watch the students and give helpful (always constructive) corrections that really I think help the student get a sense of how the Pilates works in their own body. I feel like this also means they really have to know how to do the exercises correctly in order to be able to give only verbal instruction.
Parking can be an issue because it’s in Ballston, but it’s also only about 2 blocks from the metro.

I went to Studio Body Logic as I hold a Mat I certification from Power Pilates and was looking for a studio in the area whose instructors were trained in the Power Pilates method. I also wanted to go as I saw Karen was a former dancer and I myself am a former dancer (classical ballet). During the time I was dancing, we were also required to take Pilates to build upon our training. I know my body well and understand how a dancer needs to use Pilates. I must say, I was not impressed by my instructor and she did not seem to understand why my body needed to do things a certain way. I found her way of correcting to be an almost condescending, I know best sort of way. Grant it, she was the instructor, but I have years of dance training under my belt. If anyone knows their body and what it needs, it is a dancer. For example, she kept wanting me to keep my heels together when my feet were turned out. What she failed to take notice of was that my legs have hyperextension and it would be seemingly impossible for me to keep my heels together without compromising other aspects of my form to do so. I stopped going after a few classes and have since moved on to another studio.

I learned about Pilates a number of years ago while on vacation at a place that provided free classes. When I returned to the area, I had a hard time finding a place that taught Authentic Pilates. This is the place! They have private, semi-​private and group reformer classes as well as mat classes that are all great. The pricing depends on the experience of the teacher for reformer. And they talk with you a lot before suggesting the class or group you should take. The schedule is accommodating and the people are wonderful!

I’ve been doing Pilates here for about four months and I absolutely love it. I started with the four-​week intro to apparatus class, then segued into the beginning mat sessions. I’d recommend this approach if you’ve never done Pilates before (as I hadn’t), since the apparatus sessions incorporate many of the same moves and give you plenty of one-​on-​one time with an instructor in which to master the basics. I’ve taken classes with Ellen, Karen (the owner), Ann, Anne Marie, and Adrienne, and they have all been extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and accommodating of my lower back issues. Although I have to modify some of the moves accordingly, all of the instructors have encouraged me (and all the other students) to move at a comfortable pace, listen to our bodies, etc. I like that the instructors move around the room during the class to keep an eye on the students and correct any mistakes to prevent injuries. They are also quick to offer equipment such as sandbags for the feet, small balls to place between the knees, wedges for under the head, etc. that will help students with injuries or weaknesses. The fall session just began a couple of weeks ago, and the other students in my new class seem to have been together in the same class time for a while, but they’re all very nice and welcoming as well. Pilates is an excellent workout, and Studio Body Logic is a great place to do it!

Great Pilates Studio. What impressed me was that none of the instructors «do the pilates» but are constantly walking around making sure you are doing it correctly. They are very knowledgeable and hands on, which I appreciate. I’ve been to classes at other places, where the instructor does the class herself… it’s more like watching a video. I never know if I’m actually doing the exercises right. I also feel like I’m learning about pilates, the correct names for the exercises and how to improve.

If you are looking for an authentic pilates studio, this is it. I have taken authentic pilates since 2002 in studios in New Orleans and Arlington, VA. [When I travel I try to book a reformer session in the place that I am visiting – so I have a pretty good sense of the options out there.] I take an advanced mat class and a private reformer session once a week – they are both excellent. I especially like that they have hand and leg springs as an option in the mat classes – probably around 12 sets. In the mat classes they also use thera bands, magic circles and weights. The instructors for the private reformer sessions are terrific. There are five reformers, a cadillac, three Wunda chairs, a high chair, a ladder barrel, etc. It is a well equipped studio. The desk staff is friendly, efficient and helpful. I talked my husband, who is a runner and gym guy (with bad posture), into giving pilates a try. He now takes a private reformer session once a week, and has found it has greatly improved his flexibility, posture and loosened up his back.

I signed up for a Pilates class that starts here in a few weeks. I found out that Studio Body Logic was hosting a free pilates class at Lululemon Athletica in Clarendon so I went on Thursday night. The class was led by SBL’s owner, Karen Garcia, a one-​time professional ballet dancer who discovered Pilates after a career-​ending injury. She shared that she was a second-​generation Pilates instructor as her teacher was a student of Joseph Pilates.
I did Pilates for two years, stopping last year when my work schedule began to interfere with a consistent Pilates class schedule. This intro class was a great way to ease me back in. Karen gave a brief history of Pilates and started the class by going through the beginner exercises and movements like The Hundred, The Roll-​Up, Rolling Like a Ball, Single-​Leg and Double-​Leg Stretches, Leg Circles, The Corkscrew, The Saw, Teaser Prep, etc. It was pretty amazing that she could lead a class with a dozen people (half of which have never done Pilates) without demonstrating the exercises herself, she was able to convey the movements and flow with words alone. She and an assistant did walk around the room to correct our form which is a major plus because the slightest correction or modification can make all the difference in the benefit to your body. We finished the class by doing an up tempo series of the exercises that we just learned.
I was so excited at the end of the class — I realized how much I missed Pilates. By no means was I doing the exercises as effortlessly as I was a year ago but it felt great to begin the process of strengthening my abs again. It felt so good to work core muscles that have been dormant.
I’ll write a follow up review in a few months after I finish my session but if this class was any indication, I’ve found a very good studio. You can register for classes online and the summer sessions start the last week of June/​first week of July. Mat classes are $ 18 each with each session lasting 8 weeks. They have a great make-​up policy if you miss a class — you can drop in on any other class that’s in your level at either studio location (the other SBL studio is in Del Ray, Alexandria).