Anyone for pilates with penguins? Or muscle stretching with meerkats? Gayle Ritchie tries out a new fitness craze that’s set to take Courier Country by storm.
As I balance precariously on one foot, a crowd gathers round to watch. The look on each face is a mix of confusion and curiosity. But this is no ordinary audience the members consist of a waddle of penguins.
I’ve come to St Andrews Aquarium for a session of pilates under the watchful eye of instructor Sam Leyton. It’s pilates with a difference. Pilates with penguins, to be precise.
Sam, 35, opened a boutique fitness studio at the aquarium in May offering pilates, ballet fit, yoga and Nordic walking classes. With breathtaking sea views, it’s the most magical setting for a workout.
Taking inspiration from a studio in Vancouver that offers yoga classes next to a tank of Beluga whales, Sam thought long and hard about whether she could pioneer something similar with animals in Scotland. Her partner John Mace is the aquarium’s general manager and the two teamed up to offer a unique experience to clients.
Sam is giving me a taster session a combination of pilates and ballet-fit with penguins and muscle-stretching with meerkats.
Before I enter the penguin enclosure, the keeper advises me to heed some warnings. These include trying not to look the seabirds directly in the eye (this would be deemed confrontational) and to move away quickly if they aim their rears towards me (which could result in being sprayed with guano). He also warns me I could have my eyes gouged out if I get too close, although it’s highly unlikely. Whatever the case, I tell myself he’s just winding me up.
Despite the warnings, it’s a fantastic albeit unusual experience. While Sam teaches me some tricky ballet moves, the Humboldt penguins waddle, slide and jump about, their beady eyes watching me in amazement.
When we squeeze gym balls between our thighs and squat, one penguin comes right up to me, boldly gazes into my face and then grabs a fish from between my feet. Another appears to be imitating my feeble attempt at the Arabesque move.
Our next stop is the meerkat enclosure. Again, the warnings come thick and fast and all thoughts of fluffy baby Oleg meerkat toys are banished. Apparently these creatures could scratch at our legs in their excitement, run up on to our shoulders and possibly even bite if they feel threatened so we need to stay calm.
They scarper as we enter, hiding under a tree trunk and peering out surreptitiously. It’s only when the keeper throws them a heady feast of live maggots and melons that their confidence grows and soon enough, a group has gathered to scratch and claw at my feet.
Again, Sam takes me through a host of complex stretches, which look simple but involve a great deal of focus, strength and flexibility. I can feel my core muscles shaking almost uncontrollably and my heart rate rising as I hold what’s known as the “plie” a ballet move in which your knees are bent while your back is held poker straight.
We leave the meerkats to enjoy their wriggling lunch and try some “barre work”, ballet exercises with weights against the glass outside the corral.
It’s worth saying that you don’t need to enter the enclosures to become fully immersed in the experience; it’s just as much fun exercising next to the animals but Sam is offering the more intimate experience to anyone who requests it.
It’s a fascinating experience and one I’d recommend for animal lovers and anyone needing a bit of an incentive to get off their backside and do a workout with a difference. I went the whole hog and got as close as I could to the animals but there’s no pressure to do so.
Those who go along for a session with Sam can rest assured they’re in capable hands. She was the studio manager at Realistic Pilates in Edinburgh before setting up her own studio in St Andrews in January.
She also has an extensive background in dance and other sports such as skiing, sailing and tennis and practices pilates, yoga and ballet to keep her posture at its best and to support her performance in other activities.
“The potential for developing a space at the aquarium in St Andrews was fantastic,” she says. “It’s a magical setting. I thought it would be a nice idea to offer pilates and ballet-fit in front of meerkats and penguins. It’s another attraction, a unique experience.
“Classes can be on a one-to-one basis, depending on where they’re taking place, but it’s most likely that people would be outside the enclosures with the animals looking on as they stretch. For those wanting to work out next to penguins, they could do this on the decking right next to them, or from the gallery above. But for anyone who wants to go inside the enclosures with the animals, we can make that happen, probably on a one-to-one basis.”
Group classes will be kept quite small, with no more than 10 per session although, of course, that’s not including the animals who will be watching your every move. But don’t worry, they’re not judging you . . . or are they?