• Ilaria on Live

    Ilaria and Forza

    They learn how to use the sword

    March 2010

    See the Clip

  • Martha Stewart

    Ilaria and Forza

    Martha learns FORZA

    Jan 2010

    Read about it.   See the Clip

  • Reuters

    ILARIA - Forza the Way of the Stick

    Forza, the name is Italian for strength......

    Dec 2009

    Read the article

  • Examiner - NY Fitness Trends

    Cherie Lilly does FORZA

    I felt like a warrior with a pumping....

    Dec 2009

    Read the article

  • Newstimes

    Kim does FORZA

    Squat. Lunge. Strike!......

    Dec 2009

    Read the article

  • mizzFit

    Liz does IMPACT

    One of my fitness crushes is........

    Dec 2009

    Read the article

  • Dr OZ

    Burn Fat with FORZA

    Nov 2009

    Watch the Video

  • International Fitness Forum

    Ilaria is presenting to the UK market for the first time - FORZA, ATLETICA and BODYSTRIKES.

    London, England - October 10-11, 2009

  • CBS Morning Show

    FORZA is a great way to burn calories and work out your arms.

    March 2009

    Watch the Video

  • The Tyra Banks Show

    Ilaria and Team on the "TYRA BANK Show" Demonstrating Powerstrike and Forza

    February 6, 2009

    Watch the Video

  • TBS - Movie and a Makeover

    February 6, 2009

    If your New Year's resolution is to get in shape, then don't sweat it. Join us this weekend as we team up with lifestyle expert Amy Goodman to bring you this year's hottest fitness trends. Yes, fitness can be FUN AGAIN!

    Watch the Video

  • New York Times

    Experience Necessary

    Strike a Pose, at Full Exposure
    By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

    February 3rd, 2009

    How a nude model stays in shape: Iíll do my Forza. That is a sword class taught by Ilaria Montagnani. It trains you to diminish the ego. She takes it from the Japanese principle of sword fighting, to be accurate with the cut. Everyone thinks you cut with your arms but you use your entire body to initiate a cut. Then I take her kick-boxing class. We follow her wherever she teaches.

  • American Fitness

    The Way of the Samurai

    Forza the sword-fighting workout

    January-February 2009

  • Everwell TV

    FORZA at Reebok Club, New York

    Diversions - Samurai Workout

    Summer 2008

    See the Video at Everwell

  • The New York Sun

    New Yorkers Discover Way of the Samurai

    Fit To Be Tried By GABRIELLE BIRKNER, Special to the Sun

    August 18, 2008

    On any given day, New Yorkers seeking a challenging aerobic and upper-body workout crowd into city exercise studios to spend the better part of an hour making broad slashing and skewering movements, all the while wielding 2- to 3-foot swords. The battle-worthy sequences are the core of the popular group fitness phenomenon called Forza, in which a weapon of the ancient Japanese warrior class doubles as a fitness prop. Read the article at The Sun

  • Self Magazine

    Secret agent slim-down
    June 2008

    Your target: fat. Your weapons: a wooden stick and Forza, a turbocharged sweat session based on samurai-sword fighting that slashes calories, fends off flab and sculpts sexy muscles. Follow Chuck's kick-butt CIA operative, actress Yvonne Strahovski, to get in fighting form fast. See the video at Self.com Learn the moves.

  • Fitness Challenge:

    Elyssa's Blog
    March 2008

    Today we did a group workout at Reebok Sports Club with Ilaria Montagnani...she is in incredible shape and from the looks of her I think its best to keep her on my good side!  She taught us a class called Power Strike.  I remember when my sister would have to sign in hours before Ilaria's class just to get a spot (when she worked at a different gym). She is very popular. We punched and kicked our way through the hour long workout.

  • Best of New York 2008

    Health & Self
    Published Mar 3, 2008

    You Won’t Even Know You’re Sweating Classes that keep the mind occupied while the heart rate soars. FORZA Reebok Sports Club 160 Columbus Ave., at 67th St.(212)362-6800 Using a long wooden sword as a prop, Ilaria Montagnani (who looks like a cross between Gabrielle Reese and Arnold Schwarzenegger), teaches traditional samurai-sword-training moves. teaches traditional samurai-sword-training moves. Montagnani (who looks like a cross between Gabrielle Reese and Arnold Schwarzenegger) Class begins with “half cuts” (raise your sword over your head so the “blade” points behind you, then slice down to neck level) and “full cuts” (same thing, except the slice ends at the navel) then proceeds rapidly to combinations. Keeping step with Montagnani without maiming fellow fighters requires intense concentration and core stability.
    Arrive early to sign up.

  • POWERSTRIKE MUSIC CD

    January 2008

  • Nike - Project Classified

    Ilaria and team present Forza
    January 2008

    Read article below from W Magazine.

  • W Magazine

    Editors Blog - Flash Mob Fitness
    January 2008

    For workout fiends in New York, the hottest invitation around is to Nike's Project Classified. Since October 2006, Project Classified classes have popped up every few months, always held in secret, unorthodox locations. Loyal exercisers (whose names are given to Nike by the city's top instructors) receive their mysterious invitations a mere two or three days before the event, usually with little more info than a date, time and address (the type of class often remains unknown). I snagged an invite to the most recent event—at 583 Ballroom—and decided to go see what the fuss was about. Read all about it on W.

  • Men's Fitness

    THE FORZA WORKOUT
    by Brandon Guarneri

    You probably think that swinging a blade around like Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is going to leave you missing a limb. But don’t worry—the only thing you’ll lose doing a Forza workout is fat. A core workout based on samurai swordship, Forza doesn’t require actual blades. Rather, you can use a broomstick or wiffleball bat to mimic a katana blade and activate your core and shoulder muscles in a new way, burning calories and increasing endurance. Try the beginner’s routine from Illaria Montagnini, a Forza instructor in TK, to build a Bushido-ready physique. Read on to channel your inner warrior AT MEN'S FITNESS.COM.

  • Black Belt Magazine

    October 2007

    While spreading the word about Forza, Montagnani warns that prospective students shouldnít expect mere ìbubblegum kickboxingî with a wooden sword: ìForza is very intense and provides a tremendous workout.

  • New York Times Style Magazine THE FACE

    Diet By the Sword MARY TANNEN SLASHES HER WAY TO FITNESS
    Photo by Andrew Bettles
    Published: August 26, 2007

    I am trying not to think what Freud would say about this roomful of mostly women brandishing big sticks. At Equinox on Broadway and 19th Street, we stand in rows facing a mirror, eyes trained on our wooden swords as well as on our leader, Ilaria Montagnani. Moving to the beat of music that sounds like rhythmic jackhammering, we squat, lunge, slice and slash. The class is called Forza. The footwork is simple, and there are only 13 sword moves. The difficulty comes in making each cut precise, putting the whole body behind the swing and controlling the stick.
    Read the entire article at the NY Times

  • Jane magazine, USA

    Samurais are Ripped
    February 2007

  • Shape magazine, USA

    Shape magazine votes Ilaria's Powerstrike Best DVD
    February 2007

  • Beauty.it Web Site, USA

    Staying Fit with Powerstrike
    September 2006

  • Fitness RX magazine, USA

    Get Fit with Forza
    August 2006

  • Health Network magazine, Japan

  • Spa magazine, USA

    Warrior Workout
    August 2006

  • Firenze Metropoli, Italy

    Fiorentina la Star del Fitness USA
    July 2006

  • Men's Health magazine, Italy

    Born in the USA
    July 2006

  • Sport Week magazine, Italy

    Padrona di New York, Ilaria Montagnani
    June 2006

  • Fitness magazine, USA

    Punch Up your Workout
    June 2006

  • Wall Street Journal, USA

    Making the Most of Your 15 Minutes
    May 2006

  • Conde Nast Traveler magazine, USA

    A Cut Above
    May 20066

  • Il Giornale, Italy

    Fitness, pugni e spada; ecco come un'Italiana
    tiene in forma l'America
    May 2006
  • NBC logo ilaria tv interview

    NBC Today Show, USA

    Ilaria teaches the FORZA workout routine to Ann Curry
    April 2006

  • Fitness magazine, Sweden

    Nva Passet Forza ger dig Styrka
    April 2006

  • Health magazine, USA

    Health magazine votes Ilaria's Powerstrike Best DVD
    March 2006

  • Outside magazine, USA

    Forza: Who says swordplay can't be fun?

  • Fight Life magazine, Sweden

    FORZA Med Kansla av Sann Samuraj
    February 2006

  • Fitness magazine, Sweden

    Ilaria Montagnani - Krutdunk Med Svart Balte
    May 2005

  • Allure magazine

    Body Trend - Killer Workout
    February 1st, 2005

    We can't decide which was more impressive: Uma Thurman's swordplay in Kill Bill or her lean, sculpted body. Now an exercise class called Forza, at Equinox Fitness Club and Reebok Sports Club/LA in New York City, is taking a stab at both. Created by martial-arts expert Ilaria Montagnani, the one-hour class's Japanese samurai movements incorporate a light plastic or wood sword and lunges, squats, and turns. Besides the cardiovascular benefits, the sword strokes tone the shoulders, chest, and back. Reebok's class has become wildly popular. "Something happens when you get a sword in your hands that doesn't happen on the StairMaster -- suddenly you don't mind working your butt off," Montagnani says. "And it doesn't hurt that you look cool doing it." Bottom Line: The 60 minutes of strikes and cuts left our arms incredibly sore -- but our adrenaline levels soaring. -- CATHERINE PIERCY .

  • Fashion magazine, Canada

    Fashion: Kick It
    January 2005

  • Marie Claire magazine, USA

    Kick Butt, Get Buff
    April 2004

  • Fitness RX magazine, USA

    The Kill Bill Workout
    February 2004

  • ABC Eyewitness News Boston, USA
    ABC Good Morning America

    Powerstrike
    June 2004

    ABC The Rosie O'Donnell Show

    Powerstrike
    March 2002