Core Values, A world champion dancer uses her cutting-edge fitness studio to help people care for their insides as well as their outsides
Sarah Martz taught dance at age 14, went on to capture a world championship in Latin dancing, and was lead backup dancer in Prince’s 3121 shows before opening her state-of-the-art Coreology Fitness studio in Rolling Hills Estates. But despite the attention to the body that her career path has entailed, she is using Coreology to encourage peaceful, invigorated insides as well as physically fit outsides.
True fitness, it seems, is more than skin deep. Accepting and “making friends with” our bodies, and the rest of ourselves, instills self-confidence, joy, and acceptance of others.
Sarah Martz in her Coreology Fitness studio.
An off-hours visit to the recently-opened studio on Deep Valley Drive reveals cutting-edge training equipment and a timeless feeling of invigorated peacefulness.
Ten SPX Megaformer Pilates tables sit ready to serve as the vehicles of workouts for strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and fat burning, a singular type of streamlined, high-efficiency workouts that have been attracting athletes and celebrities. These super-advanced Pilates devices are found nowhere on the Peninsula except Coreology Fitness.
In a second room, ceiling straps hang ready for TRX power workouts, fitness routines created by a former Navy Seal to squeeze maximum efficiency out of each workout minute. The resistance straps are grabbed by hands or looped on feet to give resistance to a wide variety of movements that burn fat while building and sculpting lean muscle.
Ballet barres and mirrored walls stand ready for cardio workouts with light resistance designed to lean and tone.
The floors are prepared for hour-long cardio classes with agility drills, kickboxing and aerobic intervals, and a boot camp variation with intervals of strength training and cardio, combining various exercises and equipment.
Sitting on a Megaformer table, folding and unfolding her legs with a dancer’s easy flexibility, Martz, 25, explains that the workouts led by her and her six trainers are designed for all fitness levels, with personalized attention that makes it close to one-on-one trainer-client sessions. In addition, the workouts are designed to change and evolve to keep the body responding and the mind from getting bored.
Martz explained her two-part Coreology outlook:
The physical core, a person’s trunk, is at the center of motion and energy, and initiates every move that is made. She believes that corresponds to a mental and emotional core, the center of wishes, dreams, intuitive convictions and “gut instincts.”
So explains the peaceful yet active vibe that pervades the studio. It’s not just from the earth tones and simple, tasteful decoration – it seems to flow from Coreology’s emphases on a welcoming attitude, an eagerness to enjoy health-mindedness, and a firm belief that a workout really must be fun as well as effective.
“I’ve worked hard to make this a positive environment – fun, safe,” Martz said.
Martz, a Redondo Beach native whose great-grandmother was a vaudeville dancer, attended Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, and by age 14 she was teaching dance.
She saw some girls her age develop strained relationships with their own bodies, thinking they weren’t skinny enough or shaped just right. Martz felt for them, and the experience helped her become determined to create a body-friendly environment at Coreology Fitness.
Martz went on to study business, as well as theater and dance, at Chapman University.
“I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, to have my own business,” she said. “I didn’t know what direction that would take.”
She became certified as a physical trainer, continued to “make fitness a lifestyle and not a chore,” and deepened her appreciation of the mind-body connection in physical exercise.
Then she turned pro in Latin dancing, competing across the U.S. and Mexico, winning a world title in salsa.
Her dancing career began taking off, and she became a principal dancer for Silversea Cruise in 2006, backing up rotating guest performers on a vigorous show schedule.
“Those were some of my favorite memories,” she said.
After the shows, when everyone else was having a drink, Martz liked to go to the top of the ship and have a run.
“Everyone probably thought I was crazy,” she said.
One fateful night during her professional dancing career, Martz and some other dancers were spotted by Prince’s personal assistant while they were doing their thing in a club, on a night off from their gigs. They soon became the dancers for Prince’s 3121 shows in Las Vegas.
The shows were long, sometimes four hours, and Martz would “dance on Prince’s arm.” She said little about the experience of being around the privacy-demanding mega-star, but she described him as a kind and caring person with whom to work.
Martz started along the Coreology path about the time she had her daughter, Natalia, who is now 2 and likes doing jumping jacks.
“I have my passion for fitness, and a lot of changes were happening in my body,” she said. “I wanted to get back to my dancer’s body, and I wanted to do it in a healthy way.”
She looked around for the most efficient, creative, refreshing, multidimensional ways to work out and came across Sebastien Lagree and his Megaformer method and equipment. With that, she had her advanced Pilates approach, and added the TRX and other workouts to Coreology Fitness.
The fast-spreading Megaformer method is rare in the South Bay, and cannot be found on the peninsula outside of Martz’ studio, according to Lagree’s website.
Clients of Martz find her workouts revolutionary.
“I was bored with my workout at the gym and was not seeing the results that I wanted. By going to classes at Coreology, I am already feeling stronger and seeing the results of their workouts,” said Stephanie Reisz.
Cathy Hill, a personal trainer in the South Bay, said Coreology “manages to change up the workouts so that your body does not get complacent, and makes me work harder.”
“I have been to other Pilates studios but Coreology is so much better,” Jeff Buller said.
“As an avid runner for years, I was in a major workout rut until I began my love affair with Coreology,” Jennifer Davis said.
“I have been a member of many high-end gyms and have never felt better about a place than Coreology,” Mahsa Mauriello said.
Clients mentioning this article receive 10 percent off their first class purchase, which can be made in blocks of classes if preferred. For more on the studio see Coreologyfitness.com. PEN