Pilates Studio at the San Francisco Bay Club

I traveled all the way from Michigan to meet and take classes from Elizabeth Larkham, who is the director of the Pilates studio at the Bay Club and trained my current pilates mentor and professor.
I give 5 stars not just for Elizabeth’s amazing instruction and excellence/​expertise with her years of experience in the field but for the wonderful facility the Bay Club provides for the Mind and Body Studio.
The membership services were amazing and gave me a guest pass for a week so I can meet and train with Elizabeth and I took mat classes and observed her reformer classes (which are done on Balanced Body Allegro reformers) which were all in a clean, comfortable, and professional atmosphere. In the mat classes all equipment was provided: mat, padded mats, yoga blocks, yoga straps, OPTP rollers, rings, blankets, and more. All the best equipment in the industry today.
Facilities were quite impressive as well and didn’t look like a normal gym. No giant windows for all to see in, equipment and machines were all in a nice open layout, and separate studios for group fitness, pool use, and also for stretching and training. I was also impressed they had TRX Suspension Trainers, which I hoped on to cross train a bit after my pilates sessions. Locker rooms and café is also nice and clean as well.

The Studio is great, but the instructor Elizabeth Larkam wasn’t that amazing as the other reviews seemingly suggest. She maybe qualified and experienced, and yet I don’t like her instruction style– lack of enthusiasm and rather soft spoken, not too effective in teaching 20 – 30 ppl class. She doesn’t take time to explain the effects and function of each excercise.

Apple really could not have said it any better. One of the key services that pursuaded me to join the Bay Club, after five wonderful years at the Pacific Athletic Club, is the exceptionally professional Body/​Mind studio, run by Elizabeth Larkam. If you ever have the opportunity, check out her bio on the Bay Club web site.
One of the instructors I would like to mention is Jennifer Hubbard, who teaches both Pilates Mat and Pilates Allegro for Athletes. I was impressed from the start when I joined her Tuesday/​Thursday mornings mat class. Her approach is disciplined, but gentle and observant. She seems like an athletic coach, but isn’t demanding or judgemental and she genuinely understands what she is instructing us to do — she has command of her craft. Each of her classes always offers something new and the practice never gets easy — but, I always finish the hour with a great sense of accomplishment. If you’ve ever stayed away from Pilates for whatever reason, Jennifer’s class will definitely change your perception for the good and you’ll be hooked.

I have already reviewed the Bay Club, but the Pilates Studio deserves its own review. After trying every physical therapy place in the city, the Pilates program here brought me back to life. Elizabeth Larkham, the Pilates director, is extremely talented, well informed, experienced, warm, caring, and a true advocate for her field. Her attention to detail is amazing. She has over thirty years of experience in rehab and is an authority worldwide in the Pilates community.
The Pilates Studio is top notch with several Allegro machines, as well the original Joseph Pilates equipment, reformer, trapeze table, chair. This is also a gyrotonics studio with two gyrotonics machines.
The program here offers classes as well as private instruction. I have worked with a few of the instructors here and they are great. Everyone is very professional and well versed on the Pilates repertoire and philosophy. There is a strong focus on correct technique and breathing, and core training.
If you are looking to begin a Pilates program, I strongly recommend the Pilates Studio. You will be treated to the best of the best, incredibly professional instructors in a world class studio.