HER FITNESS STORY

Hilary Hoffman, our new fitness Spotter, is the founder of SOTO Method, which has become the talk of the town. People are crediting the workout platform for their newly found abs and tone. Here, she shares how she created her program and why even five minutes of exercise can make a difference.

BY HILARY HOFFMAN

As the founder of the fitness platform SOTO Method, I must admit my background is quite unconventional. Rather than bringing a decade of personal-training experience to the table, my expertise lies in situational awareness, a skill that has proved invaluable in shaping SOTO Method’s unique approach.

I understand the struggle of sitting at a desk for 10 hours a day, being so swamped that the only meal option is twominute tortellini, and feeling too drained to exercise during a brief window of free time. While working in finance for more than 10 years at esteemed firms like Goldman Sachs and Oaktree Capital Management, I chased career excellence and nurtured relationships with my boyfriend (now husband) and close friends.

My ideal workout needed to reflect my reality—a sedentary lifestyle, a carb-heavy diet, and priorities that placed my career and personal life first. I yearned for a highly efficient, effective fitness program tailored to those who were time-poor but committed to self-improvement. Unable to find it elsewhere, I took matters into my own hands and created the program I had been searching for.

I devised a method that delivered the efficiency and results I craved. Blending HIIT cardio and Pilates, SOTO was born. What began as a side hustle—filming classes in my garage and teaching weekend sessions under an avocado tree—quickly gained traction and became my full-time job after just eight months. Today, SOTO has blossomed into an app and offers in-person classes in New York City, the Hamptons, and Miami. SOTO tackles the debate between having no time versus enough time for working out. It’s true that some days our schedules are simply too packed. But it’s the belief that whatever time we have isn’t enough to see results that poses a greater challenge.

SOTO stands for 60 on/10 on. Each muscle group is fired up for a 60-second isometric hold, then that burn is sustained through a series of 10 dynamic movements.

SOTO debunks this notion and demonstrates that even five minutes can make a difference. Just last weekend, I experienced this firsthand. With only 30 minutes to spare for exercise, I went to the gym with low energy, telling myself I’d stop if I felt worse after a short cardio session. Instead, those first few minutes transformed into a 26-minute SOTO Sculpt.

Starting can be the hardest part, but SOTO is the spark plug I need to jump-start my motivation and make working out feel achievable, even with limited time. SOTO is designed to be flexible and adaptable to each individual’s lifestyle, ensuring that everyone can reap the benefits of movement, no matter how pressed for time they may be.

Whether we meet in the Hamptons this summer, or you join an NYC class with our newest trainer, Gerard Thelemaque, I’m confident that if SOTO resonates with you as it does with us, you’ve found your perfect workout. So take that first step, trust the process, and embrace the transformative power of SOTO Method. T