It’s our first try at being snowbirds! Mike just retired on October 1 — so this is the first year we’ve been “free” to try and get away from winter for a month or two! We packed up the kids (dogs) 2 weeks ago, loaded up the 5th wheel and headed south. The first few days were full of travel, and getting organized in the trailer, but now we’re settling in. We hear the news and weather from home that Iowa has had a record 9 days of snow in a row since we left which makes us even more comfortable with the weather here!!
- FaceTime Pilates is a workout. I don’t know why I expected that FaceTime Pilates would be easier than Pilates is in the studio — but just like in the studio, my teacher makes corrections, queues me with tips to make the exercises especially effective and yes, I work up a sweat!
- Preparation is key. We have been doing iPad-to-iPad for FaceTIme. While i’m sure you could make phones work as well, i think the tablet size view is a plus! I set my iPad on the puppy’s kennel, and prop it so it angles down to the floor so Carey can see me. After fiddling with placement the first time we tried this, now I “prepare” for Pilates time by putting a quilt on the floor to lay on, and bringing up FaceTime on my iPad and figure out where to put the iPad so Carey can watch most of me. Then when it’s time for Pilates, I just have to answer her call to start the session. Once she calls me – I see her on FaceTime when i look at the tablet — and the view of me is like a “picture in the picture” in the corner of my screen. The key is that before she calls when i bring up FaceTime – I can see the view from my iPad’s camera in full screen – so I can be prepared.
- We’ve had some issues with the wireless here in the campground, so before Carey calls, I connect my iPad to the wifi hotspot on my iPhone. That seems to be the easiest and most consistent connection. The other day when I was sick, my friend did Pilates, and the iPad was hooked to campground wifi – and there were numerous times when there were “can you hear me now?” moments going on. Today, when I used my hotspot, there was only 1 iffy moment in our 1 hour connection.
- I brought my foam roller and theraband with me, so I have a couple of props – but there is still room for creativity. Carey uses the furniture in our camper as props, so I have done shoulder bridges with my feet on a chair and I have lined up along the couch for side leg kicks to stabilize my upper body and hips!!
The down side of this? I have to be a little more disciplined than I usually am in the campground. Somehow when you’re retired – it gets hard to figure out what day it is. I thought it was just me, but my friend that was here last week said she struggles with this too! So, on days when I have Pilates, I arrange my work day around my Pilates time, the same way I do when I’m at home! If you have any questions from the teacher side of this, I’m sure Carey has lessons to share as well!
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