Iryna Pugachova, a classically trained ballerina, opened Ms Fit – Fit for a Princess in 2014. Her ballet-barre classes became an instant success with Monaco’s female fitness-minded. Now the former Moulin Rouge dancer has taken her workouts beyond the walls of her studio at Montee de la Cremaillere in Beausoleil with the launch of MsFit Live!
“I always wanted to franchise my MsFit business,” Iryna told Monaco Life. “Launching MsFit Live! has been the first step towards globalising but without having to worry about logistics – such as workout spaces, instructors and local management – in different locations.”
The online product was client driven, as her Monaco followers were looking for a workout during the holidays. Iryna explained the methodology and flow of the online classes are the same fast-paced, disciplined, cardio-heavy barre workouts you’d find in the studio, and retain the focus on lean muscle and flexibility training.
“I made the online classes somewhat more compact – around 35 minutes compared to 60 minutes in the studio – to fit busy schedules. And also it’s quite different to maintain client motivation in front of a TV or mobile device where they can only see me and I can’t see them, so I wanted something more dynamic.”
For the moment, the online classes are intermediate but MsFit Live! has reached clients in Monaco, London, Melbourne, LA and Norway.
Reasonable space is required as you need to be able to elongate fully, as well as lift your legs with quite wide range of motion so it’s best to move furniture, pets and kids out of the way for those 35 minutes to prevent bumping into things.
A yoga mat is also recommended for the ab exercises, but “a folded-up beach towel can work as a replacement if you’re travelling”.
“In terms of a barre, I personally use the back of a chair, but you can use the back of a sofa, or a high table to hold on to for that part of the class.”
The MsFit Live! technology is flawless: “I am fortunate that my partner being the CEO and founder of an Apple-backed e-health company, so I was able to use the technology they developed for their client education in 102 countries.”
The scheduling and booking system is the same as the studio classes. Once you book your space you’ll receive a private invitation to the class with a link. There is a countdown until the class starts and when it does, simply press Play and you’re good to go.
“Studio space is hard to come by in Monaco and my classes are usually fully-booked. I even had fights break out by the barre because of the lack of space before I made it mandatory to reserve in advance.
“Luckily, with MsFit Live! clients can take the class wherever they are now and the only catfight they might get themselves into is that with an actual cat if she’s competing for your workout space!”
Article first published October 20, 2017.
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