With additional locations in Singapore and Manila, Options Pilates in Hong Kong is a single-studio space on Wyndham Street in Central, with bright and airy interiors and plenty of natural light. The studio is used for 1-on-1 personal training sessions as well as group classes in pilates, with eight reformer machines in total.

For my class, Barre Body Sculpt, I happened to be the only one so it turned out to be a private lesson with the instructor, Bruno. We started off with some simple squats, plies and pulses by the barre, focusing on form and technique. After that, we moved on to some knee raises while stabilising the hips, again with a lot of focus on form.

Next, we stepped further back from the barre and worked on elongating the legs with full extensions of each leg backwards before curling back into a standing crunch, repeated on both sides of the body. Then, we moved onto hip rotations with the legs elevated to the side and moving them smoothly through the air like a windshield-wiper.

Push-ups at the barre followed, along with a few rolling sit-ups on the reformer machine. While not much of a sweat was broken, Bruno was great at correcting my posture and form throughout the class to make sure that my spine was straight the entire time and that I was isolating the right muscles. Having this 1-on-1 attention was really great as we often fall out of alignment while doing each exercise.

You’ll like this class if: you want to work on your posture, alignment and technique to lengthen your body

You might not like this class if: you are looking for an intense cardio workout

Gym facilities: Small curtained changing area in the studio itself and toilets in the building’s stairs shaft; warm and cold water refilling station; no showers or other facilities, unfortunately

Good to know: There may be other classes going on concurrently during your class at Options Pilates as many independent instructors seem to share the space at any given time.

Options Pilates, 12/F, 16 Wyndham Street, Hong Kong, Central

Disclaimer: This workout was made possible thanks to Switch & Co. but all opinions presented are the author’s own. Learn more about the app and how you can start booking your own activities here