Tone, Balance and Strengthen
with
Pilates
Fit in a Year - Week
10
By: Ann-Marie
Giglio
Co-Publisher,
On the
Gay Horizon
If you haven't already
begun adding activity to your schedule, consider adding a
pilates class. Exactly what is Pilates? Pilates
with a capital P is a core-based exercise developed 100 years
ago by a man named Joseph Pilates. Anyone certified by a
company associated with his original studio is a Pilates
instructor with a capital P. Everyone else teaches a
pilates derivative.
This can be a problem. Once the practice moved from its
niche into the general fitness instructor pool, it
changed. Which is good and bad. Some creative
instructors have taken the elements of Pilates and adapted
them, with precision, to a wider variety of body types.
This is good. But others, have taken the ideas and tried
to apply them to calisthenics, missing the subtly and
especially the centering and alignment and 30% isometric
principles of Pilates entirely.
The basic idea is that you align your spine with its natural
curves within your ribs and you engage your inner core muscles
to stabilize this alignment. That's their job.
Stabilizers are closest to the spine, are shorter, and need to
work for longer periods. They need endurance, since
they only work at 20-30% of their maximum capacity. So in
Pilates, we work this stabilizing group gently, but for
anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Holding this 20-30%
contraction, you then challenge your stability by moving
your legs and/or arms. This makes the core work an
isometric exercise--which means you are only using muscle, no
joints. Generally, this is safe for everyone. You
can do these exercises on a mat, which is very challenging, or
you can use what is called an apparatus--a reformer, which
looks like a twin bed, or a Pilates chair, or a barre, all of
which provide some assistance and make the exercises easier to
accomplish. But these are usually private or semi-private
sessions, so they are more expensive.
The point is that with a good instructor, you can safely tone
your core and provide the balance and strength you need on a
daily basis. Think rapid recovery from whatever life--or
the sidewalk--throws at you. This is not cardio
work. But it's not easy, either. If you only have 5
minutes to do crunches, I recommend 8 perfect Pilates crunches
over 28 of the other kind.
The other benefit to this kind of work-out is mental. You
must pay attention to your body in a good pilates or Pilates
session. And you know what? Thinking about one
thing for a period of time is meditation. So you leave a
class feeling, as I say in my studio, toned up and calmed
down. What's not to
like?
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