Suzanne Bowen

Owner, Seren Motus Studios in Franklin, TN
Creator and Star, 10 Minute Solution: Pilates Perfect Body

Before there was Jazzercise, Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons, there was Lotte Berk. It was the original fitness craze: If you were a New York City socialite in the early ’70s, the Lotte Berk Method was a must, thanks to its unusual (for the time) technique—and its rapid, body-changing results. So in 2001, when Suzanne Bowen applied for a receptionist job at the Lotte Berk studio, she was intimidated. She didn’t need to be: after seeing Suzanne’s impressive resume, the studio invited her to audition for a teaching position. Five auditions later, Suzanne got the gig, and spent the next two years learning the unique fitness regime, a blend of Pilates, modern and classical dance and yoga. “I was just pinching myself!” says Suzanne. “Here I was, this girl from the Deep South on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in one of the most elite studios in the world. And now, almost all the Barre techniques that are taking the country by storm right now are spinoffs of the Lotte Berk Method.” Including Suzanne’s; in 2003, Suzanne left New York for Franklin, Tennessee, where she developed Barre Sculpt, a Berk-based fitness routine using isometric holds, small, controlled movements and deep stretching. Currently an international Pilates instructor and owner of Seren Motus Fitness Studios, Suzanne recently sat down with lucy to talk about Barre workouts, why core strength is so important and her favorite lucy pant.

What are the benefits of a barre-based workout?

Barre Sculpt is really challenging, because the movements are very intense. But no one seems to dread this class. No one says “ugh, I have to go workout.” It’s more like, “I get to go workout.” Your body definitely changes: You get longer, leaner muscles, because most resistance (except for light hand weights) is from your body, so it’s appropriate for your body structure. And then after deep intense work, deep stretches lengthen out the muscles. I was quite thin with no shape, and after learning this method, all of a sudden, the muscles just moved and shifted in the right places for me. It was amazing; I got really defined arms and abdominal wall, but the biggest change was in my “seat” area. I actually had a butt for the first time in my life. It was pretty amazing.

As far as mental benefits…well, when you’re doing this class, form is key. The exercises just have so much to do with form—so when you spend your time thinking about where your hip is, where your abdominal wall is, where your spine is, you forget your issues. You come in there worrying about your bills, or your fight with your husband, and then you leave there and realize you’ve had a break from worrying. You think, “Oh. I can handle this.” Plus, at the very end of class, you go through this whole ten-minute of relaxation stretch, where you really bring your stress levels down. Most of my clients say they leave feeling like they’ve just had a massage.

Why is the core so important?

A weak core can really affect your posture. Maybe you experience neck or hip pain. So many people have a weak abdominal area or weak lower back, and once they start incorporating core training, and really thinking about the spinal alignment, all of a sudden the body starts to fall into place and you start to rehabilitate other parts of your body.

As a Pilates and Barre Sculpt instructor, what do you think of lucy’s Perfect Core Pant?

The lucy Perfect Core Pant is perfect. I love it. I love how high it is, and that makes me remember to lift my abdominal wall in and up. Not suck in, but just lift up and be aware of my core. On a side note, after having my babies, I’m very aware of my clothing. Much more so than before I had my babies. These pants lift me up in all the right places. They just feel so good, and they’re not too tight and they’re not pulling in at the wrong places. They look great too—it really helps flatten my tummy.