July 21 2008 by admin.

The 2008 MyFoxPhily Hot List polls are open, and IM=X Pilates Studio Blue Bell wants your love.

Go to MyFoxPhilly to vote for the best pilates studio in town, IM=X Pilates Blue Bell! Scroll down to Health and Fitness, choose Pilates Studio, and give us your vote. Get your friends into the studio for a free Intro session so they can add their votes, too. Tell your kids and their friends that IM=X Pilates Blue Bell is offering students discounted classes for the summer- $20 each or 5 for $90 with a valid student I.D., and they can vote too!

Let’s spread the word around Blue Bell, Gwynned Valley, Ambler, North Wales, Lansdale, Plymouth Meeting, Spring House, Lafayette Hill, Oreland, and King of Prussia- you enjoy your pilates sessions here so much that IM=X Blue Bell belongs on the MyFoxPhilly 2008 Hot List! Don’t forget, when you refer a new client to IM=X Pilates Blue Bell you’ll receive a referral bonus that can be applied to your next payment, so keep talking about your favorite workouts all summer long.

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July 9 2008 by admin.

As your pilates instructor, looking out for your health, I ask you: Have you been trying to increase the fresh fruits and veggies in your diet? Are you overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of varieties in your local produce section? Look no further than the CDC’s Fruit and Vegetable of the Month list!

Showcased for the month of July, meet the sweet nectarine and the bold garlic. With information on their selection, storage, preparation and availability, as well as nutritional information and recipies, you have all the facts and figures you’ll need to purchase and enjoy some familiar and some unique foods- cactus (August) or persimmons (October), anyone?

By this time of the summer, you can find great quality fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses and other fare from small farms in the area. LocalHarvest lists farmers markets in Norristown, North Wales, North Hills/Oreland, Conshohocken, Chestnut Hill, Glenside, Skippack and Jenkintown.

Recipies exist all over the internet, from all sorts of sources. One regular site is The Food Network. You should also try the magazine Eating Well, and the more focused Cook’s Illustrated. They each have tasty and different takes on all eating styles.

Your own favorites and experiences are always welcome, both here on the IM=X Pilates Blue Bell blog and at the IM=X Pilates Blue Bell studio. Enjoy!

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July 7 2008 by admin.

We’ve had a few discussions in the IM=X Pilates studio about water bottles, both plastic and metal. I’ve done some digging (mostly at idealbite.com) and here are concise answers to some of your plastics questions:

What is the best plastic bottle to reuse?  #2 plastic- HDPE plastic, soft and opaque. Think “The ants go marching two by two, the little one stopped to tie his shoe…”, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Two Pina Coladas- you get the idea.

What are better choices? Glass and stainless steel.  (Aluminum needs a coating over it.) Sigg bottles, or leftover glass juice bottles are in this category.

What is unsafe? Copied directly from Ideal Bite:

Note: Nalgene does now carry an Everyday brand bottle made without bisphenol-A.

What about recycling? Here is a list, again from Ideal Bite, of plastic numbers and recycling:

Usually recyclable:
1. PET - 2-liter and mouthwash bottles, boil-in-bag pouches.
2. HDPE - milk jugs, trash bags, detergent bottles, some yogurt cups.
Sometimes recyclable:
4. LDPE - grocery bags, produce bags, food wrap.

5. PP - diapers, straws, yogurt containers.

6. PS - CD cases, egg cartons, Styrofoam.
Not so much…
3. PVC - cooking-oil bottles, meat packaging, office binders.

7. Other - other types of plastic, plus things made from more than one type of plastic (see below).
Bioplastics (7, and marked as either compostable or biodegradable):
7. Compostable Plastic - is nontoxic and breaks down as fast as paper in compost.
7. Biodegradable Plastic - may contain toxins, so you have to send it to a special composting facility (enter compost and your zip at Earth911, see below).
Commonly questioned items:
Container Caps - typically different plastics than the container; take ‘em off, check the # inside, and either recycle or throw them away.
Grocery Bags - reuse them first! You usually can’t recycle them curbside, but some supermarkets have bins in-store.
Earth911 - find out if you can recycle specific items in your area.

 So, here’s a summary: we like glass or stainless steel for sipping during your brief pilates breaks, #2 plastic is also ok, and you can recycle most stuff.

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