The business of getting fit is booming for one of the Island's newest start-ups, Bermuda Bodyworks Ltd.

The business, owned by Calvin Bean and managed by Jane Christie, is a fitness centre which teaches only the Pilates method, the latest trend in fitness to sweep around the world.

The method was invented by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s and has been a craze that has had fashion models and actors singing its praises for the past few years.

The centres have strange-looking machines, some designed by Pilates as physiotherapy tools for bedridden hospital patients, that help stretch the body and build strength and improve flexibility.

Before Bermuda Bodyworks opened its doors on January 4, the Island had just one Pilates centre, Contrology, which has a long waiting list.

Now Miss Christie, who herself started the exercise programme at the Contrology Centre in Warwick, has taken advantage of the extra demand for the classes and set up her own studio in Paget.

“I started Pilates three and a half years ago and I got passionate about it,” said Miss Christie, a Scot who worked as a midwife in the hospital for 19 years before training to become a Pilates instructor. “It was life-changing. I sometimes wonder whether I would have had the courage to do this (start a new business) before Pilates.”

Miss Christie has always been interested in fitness and is well-known runner and a former May 24 Marathon Derby winner, the main road race on the Island.

“I've tried everything, aerobics, weights, Tae-Bo, and the rest. But they do not engage your mind. Pilates is different. I started at the Contrology Centre and got hooked like never before. I then went the Pilates studio in New York and decided to take it to the next level.”

She trained for 600 hours and did numerous tests and exams to become a Pilates Guild Certified Instructor, training under a woman who was trained by Pilates herself, Romana Kryzanowska and holds the grand title of Master Teacher.

And she came back to the Island and found that there was a need for more Pilates centres, and teamed up with Mr. Bean.

“The response has been tremendous, absolutely tremendous. I knew there was demand out there, but did not know it would be this much,” she said

Miss Christie admits that the classes are expensive - $75 for an introductory class and $550 for a pack of ten sessions - but said it is worth it.

“When I started I was on a nurses salary, and it was important for me to do this. It depends on your priorities. For me it is an investment in your health, and I do not think it is too expensive if you look at it that way. In New York some of the classes I had were $100 an hour. But it is very intense and one-on-one, and after you have done it for a while, you can go onto twos or groups of three, which take it down to about $40 or $30 an hour.”

But this cost does not seem to have put potential customers off.

She said: “I have had so many calls and so many bookings, it has been amazing. I thought it would be a slow build up but it looks like I am going to be in full swing right away.”

And business is doing so well that Miss Christie believes she will need to look for more staff already, saying: “I would like to have one full-time and some part-time staff and then work it out from there.”