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If tooth-whitening mania has taught us anything, it\u2019s that if others around you are moving forward, beauty-wise, and you do nothing, you\u2019re going backwards. But change is possible, and a couple of months ago, I decided it was time for a Hot Vest Summer. <\/p>\n
I called my longtime exercise partner to see if she was in. Actually, it\u2019s more accurate to say she\u2019s my longtime friend with whom I\u2019ve been mutually engaged in a fruitless, decades-long search for the one exercise that will transform us.<\/p>\n
But as the years pass, and the injuries and physical therapy sessions mount<\/a>, our goal becomes ever more elusive. In credit card terms, we\u2019re people who have fallen so behind on interest payments we can never catch up.<\/p>\n \u201cBut doesn\u2019t your backpack already weigh a ton?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n She was right. As a bunion and plantar fasciitis survivor, I carry every shoe\/sneaker\/sandal I might need with me at all times, and also groceries, plus a bottom layer of detritus.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But: none of this matters, because heavy backpacks aren\u2019t trending now. Weighted vests are. Euphoric over our shot at fitness, my friend identified a vest. \u201cBut it\u2019s $250,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n That\u2019s a hefty price for schlepping. And that wasn\u2019t even an outlier. If you want to be a beast of burden \u2014 and carry an extra 60 pounds \u2014 it\u2019s going to cost you. There are cheaper ones, of course. One friend is being weighed down by a $30, 12-pound vest (that\u2019s not nothing, of course, but also doable for free over the course of an indulgent vacation). <\/p>\n I had just finished a reading about how weighted vests had become the darling of the \u201cmenopause set<\/a>, when Google, the spoilsport, intruded on my reverie.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hidden dangers <\/a>of wearing a weighted vest,\u201d a headline warned. The added weight, I learned, could lead to spinal disc compression, joint stress, knee issues.<\/p>\n What??? Pitched into despair, I read on, about chronic back pain and shoulder injuries \u2014 and OMG, I told my friend, maybe we should go back to pickleball. <\/p>\n True, we\u2019d never once played together, but we spoke regularly about pickleball\u2019s vaunted benefits, and were poised to buy outfits when, alas, reports of serious and numerous injuries <\/a>scared us off.<\/p>\n But you know what they say. When god closes the chain-link fence door of the pickleball court, she opens a window in a Pilates studio. And so it was recently that we found ourselves positioned on reformers, doing our spine twists and shoulder bridges.<\/p>\n All this time, we\u2019d never been able to develop an exercise routine that went beyond strolling, and now, here we were! Pilates people.<\/p>\n Later, back home, I was boasting about my core to my dog when my phone rang. It was my friend. It felt like the beginning of a horror flick.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you looked at the [studio\u2019s] website?\u201d she asked ominously. <\/p>\n We\u2019d been lusting over Pilates for years, our desire increasing with every \u201ccelebrities who swear by Pilates\u201d story. We\u2019d held off only because of the expense. Classes can cost $40 or more per session. <\/p>\n But could it be that even if we were willing to spend our disposable income to lie on a machine and pull ropes, it wasn\u2019t enough? <\/p>\n I navigated to the FAQ section. And there I saw it: \u201cCan Pilates alone provide a comprehensive fitness routine?\u201d the question read<\/p>\n I held my breath and, through terrified, squinted eyes, read the answer: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n There was more to it than that. Whole paragraphs on the limited strength-building and cardiovascular benefits of Pilates, but I\u2019d seen enough. <\/p>\n I put on a light shirt and called my friend. \u201cWant to take a walk?\u201d <\/p>\n Beth Teitell can be reached at beth.teitell@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @bethteitell<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NK3MLEMZC6ZNYLHV3PX5O2FUSQ.jpg\")
A collection of pickleballs at the Cape Ann YMCA in Gloucester.Craig F. Walker\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6RG6IER7OQI6JAQBZIH2VFV4QI.jpg\")
Two women exercising on Pilates reformers.iStock<\/p>\n