Club Pilates

Bios

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  Elisa V Pontone

  Pilates Instructor

  Elisa Pontone, a native Houstonian, developed a love of dance and movement at the early age of five. She carried that love with her through college, where she continued her study of dance at the University of Montana. Like many dancers, Elisa endured various injuries throughout her dance career and during the rehabilitation process was introduced to Pilates. While rehabilitating her knee using the Pilates Reformer, Cadillac and other classical Pilates equipment Elisa discovered the importance of the “mind/body connection”, transforming the way she moved and felt in her body in much the same way dance did when she was younger. She was hooked and was ready to share Pilates with everyone! Inspired by her lifelong passion for movement and her new found passion for Pilates, Elisa decided to make a bold career move away from the corporate world by completing her Peak Pilates certification in 2011. Years later when her husband asked, “If money was no object and you could do absolutely anything in the world, what would you do? What is your dream?” Without hesitation Elisa answered, “I would love to own a Pilates studio to help make people feel as amazing as I do when I do Pilates and I would l love to be successful enough to give back to the charities I believe in.” Elisa's dream of owning her own studio became a reality when she found Club Pilates. Together with her husband and brother, coupled with her business background and 10 years in corporate sales, Elisa opened her own Club Pilates studio in the heart of Memorial Houston and plans are underway to open a second location in Katy, Texas. “I love what I do. Not only are our members empowered and strengthened through their Pilates class, but they also leave feeling amazing because they know that their classes are always affordable and accessible. Our dream is for all our members to feel like they are a part of our family.”

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  Kelsey Broussard

  Kelsey is a certified Pilates instructor through Club Pilates. She embraces a passion for physical activity, health, and wellness. She strives to provide her classes with a balance between comfort and challenge, working to strengthen both the mind and body.   She designs effective, diverse, challenging, and enjoyable classes. With continued education in corrective exercise programming, and a background in dance, she can design a safe and challenging fitness program for you so that you can be in your best shape possible. 

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  Lexi Stinger

  Lexi Stinger, a native Houstonian, received her Pilates Mat and Pilates Apparatus certification in New York through The Lab NYC. She attended Southern Methodist University, receiving a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.A. in Advertising. Upon graduation, she moved to New York City to dance professionally with Graham II, a modern dance company. It was through a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis that Lexi fell in love with Pilates and deepened her passion for fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Pilates provided an outlet to keep moving and challenging the body in a beneficial way that corrected alignment and rebalanced muscles. This personal discovery inspired Lexi to share it with others. She is a caring and passionate instructor who wants to see her clients not only succeed but also exceed in accomplishing their goals. With emphasis on creativity and form, her goal is to empower others to transform into their most strong, powerful, and healthy selves.

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  Kristen Dockter

  Kristen strongly believes that whatever your age or fitness level, Pilates can transform your body like no other exercise. Pilates is a way to connect with your body, learn to self-correct poor posture from extensive sitting and computer use, stretch and rebalance muscles to reduce pain and improve mobility, strengthen stabilizer muscles to improve performance at your sport or just in everyday life. She designs challenging and diverse training tailored to reach your goals, drawing on traditional Pilates exercises, her lifetime of athletic training, problem solving and extensive research. Kristen is a chemical engineer by degree and enjoyed a long career in the oil and gas industry; however, fitness is her lifetime hobby and her passion. For over 30 years, she has been an active runner, bicyclist, karate practitioner, national level bodybuilder and Cross-fit enthusiast. She began practicing Pilates in 2012 to improve flexibility and core strength and loved the challenge and benefits. In 2016, Kristen decided to help others feel great and achieve their fitness goals by obtaining a PMA teaching certificate and NASM personal training certification.

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  Bebe Jamarillo

  Brianna Jaramillo, a native Houstonian, developed a love for dance and fitness as a young child. When Brianna was a teenager she became very ill for over a year. That journey opened up her eyes and heart for the passion to help people become stronger every day. At the age of 18 she moved and studied in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia for over two years. Gaining the education and knowledge of a different culture and the way they heal the body soon became a big recovery process for herself. That love for rehabilitating the body leaded her to Pilates, “The way Pilates constantly challenges the body and mind is incredible, I knew I had to share this with anyone willing to take the challenge. Knowing that I am helping someone’s body whether to have more mobility in their hips or just for a great workout is the best job!” In 2017 she suffered a shoulder and neck injury while prepping for the Texans Cheerleaders tryouts, her body changed completely. Her normal workout routine was causing strain and more injuries, taking this set back she then found her way home to Pilates. In late summer 2018 Brianna Started her 500- hour Teacher Training with Club Pilates and now remains learning and pursing the art of Pilates.

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  Lauren Smith

  Lauren, known to many as Coach L, is an advocate of fit and healthy living. She is no stranger to fitness and well aware of the dedication it takes to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Lauren studied at the University of Houston where she earned her B.S. in Kinesiology, Exercise Science (cum laude) with a double minor in nutrition and business administration. She amplified her knowledge with a list certifications from National Academy of Sports Medicine, Balanced Body and Club Pilates, to U.S.A .Track & Field, and U.S. Track & Field, Cross Country Coaches Association. In addition to her educational knowledge, Lauren has personal experience in various fields. Growing up she loved to dance (…still does) and has over 10 years of formal dance training. Coach L. has coached track & field athletes from high school to college and beyond. She even helped coach some the athletes you saw sprint, jump, and hurdle in the 2016 Olympic Games. Not only is she a coach, she is also a former professional track athlete, who represented the United States globally in the 100 meter hurdles. She is an Olympic trials semi finalists, a Jr. All-American, and a multi-time Conference USA Champion. It was during her off season, in preparation for the 2008 Olympic season, that she fell in love with Pilates. “I was aware of Pilates, but never tried it. I’m glad I did because it was so beneficial to my training regimen,” Lauren claims. Pilates helped strengthen her core, and improve her balance, which is vital to correct running and hurdling form. After continued participation in Pilates and seeing the benefits for herself and others, Lauren decided to become an instructor. She has been a fitness coach for 15+ years and is on her 8th year as a track and field coach. Coach L. is dedicated to helping others improve and maintain their quality of life through health, fitness and athletics; making sure they are having a great time along the way.