MANILA, Philippines — Linzi Arellano-Co, petite but well-built wife and mother of two, happens to be a board-certified architect, yet instead of designing buildings, her fascination for efficient movement, structure, tension, and stability have been more focused on the human form; the closest to an architectural project she will be involved in next is building a flight of stairs that will lead to a new floor, where she will be expanding her Pilates and TRX training studios.

Bringing Fitness from the Sidelines to the Center 

Arellano-Co has always been an active person, keeping her body toned and her mind focused, and her mood jovial. “I was always into some sport or challenging physical activity. You know what they say about endorphins,” she says with a laugh.

By the time she earned her degree in Architecture from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, she already knew for sure that her passion for “movement, something fitness-related, and anything to do with the efficient physical function of the body” was what she wanted to develop as a career and spend her time with.

In 2000, while still an undergrad, she attended some Pilates classes under her aunt, former ballerina Cecile Sicangco, the only certified Pilates trainer in the country at that time. “I knew this was something I wanted to do more of,” she shares, eventually realizing that apart from the required 75 sessions to qualify, one needed to clock in 600 hours of apprenticeship to be certified.

She left for New York, completed her training under Romana Kryzanowska, protégée of Pilates founder Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara, and in May 2001, came back to the country, a certified instructor.

Arellano-Co then began her career in this field in 2002, first teaching at her aunt’s Integrated Body Arts in Makati, until she was able to open her own studio in Quezon City. She began with a capital of P400,000 in equipment and interiors, and a handful of clients from her aunt’s wait list.

“The biggest investment was definitely in Pilates equipment,” she shares, “but I was already able to save that amount. I only bought the Reformer and the springs for the other equipment from the U.S.; then I had the rest done by my husband’s carpenters and finishers.

I asked Romana’s permission in the U.S. to just measure the equipment in her studio, which were all originally designed by Joseph Pilates so the dimensions were a better fit for the body, (unlike those) supersized machines that are too wide, too soft, too padded.

I was able to build all the remaining equipment here, for less than the cost of shipping alone.” In six months, through word of mouth, she had a full schedule. “I bought more machines when a friend of mine was closing her studio in Singapore so I got them really cheap, even if I had no teachers yet to work on them,” Arellano-Co adds.

Staying on Top and Finding Something New

Always in top form and on top of her game, Arellano-Co regularly renews her certification and updates her skills by attending conventions abroad. It was in one of these conventions in the U.S. that she discovered the TRX suspension training program.

“I wandered around when one of our Pilates sessions was cancelled, and stumbled upon this other session.

I was immediately drawn in with the development techniques and the flexibility and core stability training I saw in the TRX rooms,” she recalls.

Her interest was so enthusiastic, that she found the right people to approach and plowed through the training and qualifying requirements till she became not just certified by January 2010, but certified to train trainers by March of the same year. Linzi is currently TRX Master Instructor for Asia-Pacific. “I taught my first trainer’s course in August 2010, and since then, I’ve been completing nine courses per year,” she shares.

Arellano-Co believes in the TRX program as one of the most thorough and complete workouts for developing strength and balance, and as a good business venture. “It’s an excellent fitness program because it’s for all levels and goals. It works on the core all the time, and you need to stand up to train. Staying vertical and mobile is so important for our bodies,” she enumerates, adding, “and one can always earn from it, too, by getting certified as a trainer.”

Growing, Standing Strong, Vertically

Arellano-Co’s studio, which was originally designed to accommodate all the Pilates equipment for one-onone sessions, was first expanded to include an area for mat classes, then again, to accommodate simultaneous classes.

“Another thing that had just almost accidentally developed is youth group training,” she informs,

“I used to be a gymnast as a kid, and I was out of the gymnastics world for almost 15 years. I started training the members of the women’s junior national training pool for artistic gymnastics. I cross-train them once a week with Pilates and TRX. Soon, young gymnasts started joining our group classes and eventually we formed dedicated classes, where they work on core, balance, stability and flexibility.”

In spite of her studio being a bustling, high-energy fitness center, Arellano-Co is not taking a step back just yet. “I still teach a really full load,” she informs.

Uncompromising

Although she thinks she may not be running the studio to its fullest business potential, she refuses to compromise on the quality of teachers. “The studio has been around for almost 10 years, but up to now it’s just been two of us full time, and two part-time,” shares Arellano- Co.

“I am forever on the lookout for teachers who are intelligent, passionate and constantly looking to learn. If I don’t find them fast, then I will look for years,” she says. With regard to clients, Arellano- Co continues, one cannot ensure every single one comes back after the first visit.

“There are just some people who might not fit into the program you are offering, or have a totally different idea of what it was supposed to be and then come in finding it was not what they wanted.”

“I know it sounds corny,” she adds, “but if you do good work, they will come back. If they believe you are truly trying to address their needs and help them, they will be back. I always ask what their goals are, what their specific injuries or body issues are (scoliosis, pinched nerve, etc), and I try to make sure we address them in the workout. In doing so, they then feel that they are getting a specific prescription their bodies need, a program specifically for them.”

The ratio of clientele Arellano- Co’s studio has now would be 60 percent for Pilates, 30 percent for TRX, and a mix of one-on-ones and group classes. Do the math, and you can figure another reason she is not wishing she chose to practice architecture full time, or at all.

Not Everyone can Teach

“I know a lot of people who are fitness enthusiasts who want to get into the business and seek my advice,” shares Arellano-Co, adding that her advice has always been, before starting anything, to practice teaching something. “Go teach a friend, do it for free, see if you like it first, before you take the plunge and invest in it,” she shares, “You see, doing is so different from teaching.”

And then there would be the typical housewife who wants a second career, says Arellano-Co, “who used to dance recreationally, does not look so fit, but is instantly just an awesome teacher. So again, dabble in it first, flirt with it, make sure it is something you are passionate about,” she shares.

Arellano-Co encourages teachers to keep learning. Education is key.

“Once you think you know everything there is to know you will start fading,” she cautions. “It is also important to share your knowledge—don’t keep it to yourself in fear that someone else will be better than you.

The more you share, the more you learn actually from the people you least expect, and then it makes you a better teacher.”

For more information, contact Linzi Arellano-Co at 0917-5352251 or via the facebook pages Pure Pilates Philippines and TRX Philippines.