Review: Pulse Pilates at Outram Park

Bukit Pasoh brings back so many good memories. The first place I rented for my business was at 13A Bukit Pasoh Road. I used to be a member at Straits Clan, and I learnt so much from the people I’ve met there. When I heard that a new pilates studio had opened at Bukit Pasoh Road, I wanted to check it out.

Pulse Pilates at Outram Park

Pulse Pilates is a small boutique pilates studio that is just minutes away from Outram Park MRT. The founder Clovern Chua opened the studio after quitting her job as a pharmaceutical sales manager.

Located at the first floor of a shophouse, the studio is very well curated. There is a private space for private pilate session. Behind a fluted glass feature, there is a studio with six reformer with pilates tower for group classes. At the back of the studio, there is also communal space with coffee table and chairs under a beautiful skylight for members to interact after classes.

Introduction to pilates 101

After a tour of the gorgeous studio, it was time to start my class with Clovern. With almost a hundred five-star reviews on Google within two months of opening, I know I was in good hands.

The session started with a brief assessment, warm up and stretches. The warm ups were honestly an exercise in itself, and was more tiring than expected. The plan for the day was to experience all the pilates equipment and get an overview of what pilates is like.

Hip rolls on the reformer

For the first exercise, we did hip rolls on the reformer. The exercise started fairly easily with a two leg bridge movement, but with emphasis on the spinal segmental articulation. It is always nice to work on the spinal mobility. It is probably something most of us don’t do in our day to day life.

I also appreciated Clovern’s guidance. Very often when we do exercises on our own, we only have our perspective to work with. The plus side of having a private session with a pilates instructor is that you get more cues and suggestions on what you can do better.

The most challenging part at this stage was not the muscular exertion of the exercise. It was the breathing. Pilates do emphasise breathing in with the nose and breathing out through the mouth. It was not intuitive for me as I have a higher tendency to breathe through the nose only during slow, controlled exercises.

It was also challenging to relax the body parts that I was not using. Sometimes without realising it, we tend to shrug our shoulders unnecessarily. That was certainly the case for me. I also had a tendency to grip on the carriage with my hands instead of keeping them relaxed.

Isometric work of the hamstrings

After a couple of reps, the challenge begin. The intensity of  the springs were reduced (I think), and I had to hold the carriage of the reformer myself with my hamstrings. It didn’t seem much at the start but with every rep, I exponentially felt more burn at the hamstrings.

You know the struggle is real when you start to cut back on range. My bridges started to get lower! Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Clovern’s attentiveness did not let this slide. She made every effort to make sure I was going all the way up to a neutral spine before coming down again. All in the best technique I could possibly muster.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I had to perform knee extensions at the top of the bridge! The hamstrings were dying as is. To have to hold the top position and perform knee extensions was 100% challenging for both my hamstring and glutes.

My hamstrings were trembling and I could only manage a couple of reps. Despite the seemingly low volume of work done, my hamstrings were aching for a couple of days after. It was 100% a good lower body workout.

Mid back series on the cadillac

The cadillac is one of those equipment I don’t really get. They look weird and the push through bar always feels slightly weird for my shoulders. Later, Clovern explained that Joseph Pilates rehabilitation work started during World War I. He adapted hospital beds with springs and other accessories to help patients regain muscle strength and control.

It suddenly made more sense. The cadillac does indeed look like a hospital bed with some fancy attachments!

One of the strength of Clovern’s coaching is that she is very engaged with her client. She was responsive to how I was feeling and was very quick at responding to my feedback. Her cues were both prompt and timely so I don’t really need to use my brain too much.

The downside of her expert guidance is that I don’t really remember much about the cadillac. Perhaps I was in a true flow state? I definitely remember working my lats and teres major. And I don’t think I have stretched my upper thoracic and ribs this much in my entire life!

Side bend on the ladder barrel

Lying sideways over the curved barrel is always a fun one. I think side bends on the ladder barrel is probably my favourite exercise of the day. There is something very therapeutic about working on your obliques on the ladder barrel.

I honestly think the ladder barrel is ergonomically very well designed for lateral movements of the spine. It is very different from using the roman chair or back extension machines.

For the roman chair, foot placement cannot be adjusted but the ladder of the ladder barrel has multiple height options. The ladder barrel can also be adjusted to fit your torso length (?). The end result is a very comfortable position.

The barrel’s curve supported my spine while challenging my obliques in a way that felt completely different from traditional core work. No burning sensation, no gasping for air. Just deep, controlled movement that required total body awareness.

While I did ravish in the exercise, my very underworked obliques did not allow me to progress to the more advanced movements. At one point, Clovern passed me a small light ball only to have me returned to her within seconds. I could not do a single rep with the additional light weight!

Forward step up on the stability chair

The stability chair looks innocent enough. Two pedals, some springs, a small platform. How hard could it be?

Very hard, as it turns out.

Standing behind the chair, one foot on a pedal, the other on the ground. The goal: step up onto the chair while maintaining perfect posture and control.

“This is single-leg work,” Clovern explained. “Your standing leg has to stabilise while your stepping leg does the work. No bouncing, no momentum.”

My first attempt was embarrassing. I immediately felt my knee caving inward, my torso shifting to compensate. The pedal wanted to slam down, but the springs required me to control the entire movement.

By the third repetition, I was starting to understand. This wasn’t just a leg exercise. It was teaching my entire body how to work as a unit. Balance, coordination, strength, and control all in one movement.

From yoga to pilates

Clovern is easily one of the best pilates instructor I have worked with. I was surprised to find out later that pilates was something she only pursued later. Prior to pilates, Clovern was a yogi.

When asked about the difference between yoga and pilates, Clovern highlighted the difference in objectives and pilates’s emphasis on biomechanics. “What I love about pilates is that it’s more about biomechanics. You get a deeper understanding of why you can do some poses better than others, or why certain movements feel challenging,” she explains.

The analytical approach of pilates resonated with Clovern. Over the span of one year, she immersed herself in comprehensive pilates training, completing courses and examinations before beginning to teach. After teaching at two studios, she decided to open Pulse Pilates.

Leaving the corporate rat race

I have mad respect for people who start new business in the current economic uncertainty. Opening a fitness studio or gym is no easy feat. Besides high rentals in Singapore, renovation costs can quickly add up! Starting a fitness business is cash heavy and you often don’t see the financial rewards till much later.

For 14 years, Clovern navigated the demanding world of pharmaceutical sales. But the post-COVID landscape brought new challenges. “Companies were downsizing but expecting more from employees,” she explains. “I was constantly sandwiched between management expectations and the needs of people below me. It was getting increasingly stressful.”

The breaking point came when Clovern realised that her mental health was taking a toll. She decided it was time for a complete change. “Mental health is so important now,” she reflects. “I needed to take a break and see how I could dive into something more meaningful.”

The rewards of teaching

Clovern finds teaching to be an overwhelmingly positive experience. Through pilates, she not only can help people improve their strength or flexibility but also help her clients with their pain.

“I like it because I can really help people understand their body a bit more,” Clovern says about her teaching practice. Clients have reported reduced lower back pain and feeling a better connection to their bodies. “I feel like I can make a real impact. It’s much more rewarding than my previous career.”

Creating the right environment and class size

The choice of Bukit Pasoh wasn’t accidental. It is a quieter, exclusive road that is in a very central area and even walking distance to the CBD. Starting with a bare unit, she renovated the space to match her vision of what a pilates studio should be – a place that fosters both physical practice and community connection.

The studio features a communal space designed for conversations. For a country with land constraints and one of the highest rental in the world, zoning out a space just for community building takes commitment. It is testament to how Clovern has chosen to prioritise people over maximising her returns on every square foot of studio space.

Class sizes are also deliberately kept small. Each group class can fit a maximum of six students to ensure proper supervision and personalised attention.

“If you have too many students, like 20, it can be stressful for instructors and potentially lead to injuries,” Clovern notes. “Those dramatic pilates falls you see on social media can potentially be avoided with more supervision and mindful practice.”

Authentic pilates instructor

One thing I appreciate about Clovern was her authenticity. During our conversation, she mentioned that she also had a short stint with high intensity functional training (e.g., F45, BFT, etc). When asked why did she choose to open a pilates studio, as opposed a functional gym franchise that has a proven profit model, she alluded to personality fit.

Clovern felt pilates suit her better because of her personality. In pilates, you can still feel the burn and the muscle strengthening without the “rah rah” atmosphere. This resonated with me a lot. Like Clovern, I do enjoy a good workout without a rah rah vibe as well. In fact, I prefer to workout in silence – something many friends find bizarre.

It’s rare for a studio owner to not take every opportunity to upsell their services. Many would have perhaps chosen to sell the benefits of pilates, and how pilates is a superior exercise to high intensity functional training.

Personality-exercise fit matters too

Authenticity aside, she did make a good point about exercise-personality fit. It is perhaps something we don’t discuss enough. We mostly talk about exercise selection from a perspective of which is better or which is the best for our objectives (e.g., weight loss). What is more important could be finding an exercise programme that resonates with who we are.

One of my roles as a chiropractor is to get sedentary to people to exercise more. I do explain about the importance of strength training, and people are astutely aware of its benefits. However, participation in muscle strengthening exercises still remain low in Singapore.

Perhaps one of the conversations we need to explore is the exercise-personality fit. Instead of focusing just on what exercises are good for a person, we need to consider the greater beliefs and preferences of an individual in our exercise recommendation and prescription.

The best exercises are the ones you actually do, no?

How often should I do pilates to see results?

We are all about results in Singapore. We want to know what is the least amount of pilates sessions I need to do to see results. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach, Clovern takes a refreshingly realistic view.

“It depends on your goals and lifestyle,” she explains. “Someone with a desk-bound job needs more movement than someone with an active lifestyle.”

If you are already physically active, once or twice of pilates session a week is enough. Those who are more sedentary can benefit introducing more movement in their daily life. This can be from more pilates session or daily walks or even dancing classes.

Rather than rushing to increase frequency, Clovern encourages clients to focus on consistency and body awareness first. Once you’ve built that foundation, you can naturally progress to more frequent sessions if your body calls for it.

Visit Pulse Pilates at Bukit Pasoh Road

Pulse Pilates is at 19 Bukit Pasoh Rd, 089833. It is on a first floor of a shophouse. Street parking is available though lots are limited. The studio is a short three minute walk from Outram Park MRT (Exit 4).

Pulse Pilates classes everyday but booking is necessary to get a slot. Please contact them directly for trainer and class availability.

Pricing

Group trial is available at $99 for three sessions. Their group classes are small, with a maximum of six students per class. Private sessions are also available at $140 per session.