Fitness

Pilates: A New Way to Exercise

by Lisa Reale-Pazienza

Tired of running, walking or spinning your wheels? Or, just looking for a new way to exercise and round out your fitness regime? Consider trying Pilates and you’ll be amazed at how energized, strong and centered you’ll feel.

In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in 20 you will see the difference, and in 30 you will have a new body. Those are Joseph Pilates’ words of encouragement for the method he developed. And if you talk to any Pilates devotee you will hear them say it’s true.

Pilates (pronounced “puh-LAH-teez”) is an exercise program that benefits people of all ages and fitness levels. Joseph Hubertus Pilates developed the Pilates Method at the turn of the century. He was a German body-builder, gymnast and boxer, among others, whose lifelong passion for physical fitness stemmed from being a sickly child in the 1880s. During World War I he began experimenting with bedsprings by attaching them to hospital beds in effort to rehabilitate injured soldiers and from there developed a whole series of exercises called the Pilates Method.

All of the Pilates exercises build long, supple muscles and improve posture. Rather than lots of reps, each exercise is performed only a few times but with intense concentration on form and precision. It requires individuals to connect breathing to movement, stretching the spine and lengthening ligaments and muscles to improve balance, correct posture and provide a better sense of well-being. Pilates is performed on spring-based apparatus such as the reformer, the Cadillac and the wunda chair to name a few. There are also many group classes where a series of Pilates exercises are performed on a mat.

These days, Pilates is synonymous with core training. Various exercises used in Pilates strengthen the muscles in the abdomen, back, upper legs and buttocks, which are termed “the powerhouse.” You engage your powerhouse by drawing your abdominals in toward the spine and lifting them up towards your rib cage, all while breathing and executing the Pilates move. This method encourages increased flexibility, joint mobility and range of motion and will literally build up your strength from the inside out and improve alignment. However, Pilates is not all about bulking up or how you look in your jeans, it’s more about the good feeling you have after a session, the improved posture and most importantly, having no pain! It’s a great system for injury prevention and is revolutionizing sports medicine.

What is extraordinary about Pilates is its broad appeal. Professional dancers do it to maintain flexibility and stay fit, football players to enhance performance and reduce injury and golfers to improve their swing. And unlike high impact exercises that put undue strain on weight-bearing joints, such as running or aerobics, Pilates is good for the elderly, people with injuries and even pregnant women.

Benefits of Pilates

• Increased stability and better posture — by strengthening the inner muscles that surround the spine, Pilates develops core stability, increases strength, elongates the muscles and improves posture.
  
  
• Greater coordination and balance — by treating the body as the integrated whole you avoid inefficient exercises that isolate certain body parts while neglecting others. Pilates restores the balance by realigning the body and encouraging natural, normal movement patterns.
  
  
• Injury rehabilitation — by using gravity to strengthen and tone the muscles, as well as kinetic movement, Pilates is helpful in rehabilitating injuries. Pilates helps you gain body awareness where you aim to make the right muscles do the work and discourages over-using muscles.

The philosophy of Pilates focuses on training the mind and body to work together towards fitness goals. Pilates exercises seem endless and can be performed in standing, sitting, kneeling and supine positions. While a number of excellent instructional books and DVDs are available, the best way for beginners to learn proper form and positioning is to attend a Pilates class led by a trained instructor either in a small group setting or a private session.

Keep these two things in mind:

1) A private session is usually done on specially designed Pilates apparatus in a personal setting. As you become familiar with the Pilates method, some studios offer duets and semi-private sessions up to four people. This format has the advantage of receiving individualized feedback from the instructor and learning to practice the movements correctly.

2) A mat class requires no equipment and is less expensive than one-on-one training with the apparatus. While you do not receive individualized attention, you do receive feedback from the instructor and learn to practice the movements correctly.

For best results, Pilates should be practiced two to three times weekly. Check out a few moves from the Pilates matwork program that you can try at home.

• The Hundred — Lie on your back and draw your knees into your chest. Engage your powerhouse by drawing your abdominals in toward the spine and lifting them up towards your rib cage. Bring your head up to look at your belly and reach your arms long by your sides with fingers toward the toes. Lift your legs straight up to the ceiling (or to a 45-degree angle for more of a challenge) and squeeze together with long legs. Begin pumping your arms, vigorously, up and down as if you were slapping water with straight arms. Inhale for five and exhale for five (counts as one set) as you continue the arm movement. The goal is to work up to ten sets.

• The Roll Up — Lie on your back with legs straight on the mat, feet flexed through heels and arms overhead. Squeeze your legs together, engaging your buttocks and inner thigh muscles. Inhale as you extend your arms to the ceiling, lifting your chin and peeling the upper, middle, then lower back off the mat. Exhale as your reach your fingers for your toes, keeping your powerhouse engaged. Inhale and begin rolling back down vertebra by vertebra and start to exhale as you stretch your arms overhead. Three to five repetitions are recommended.

• Rolling Like a Ball — Balance on your tailbone with your knees hugged into your chest. Hands are under your kneecaps — or holding ankles for more of a challenge — with heels close to your buttocks. Inhale and roll back, no farther than your shoulder blades, and then exhale to come back up to a balanced position. Do not use momentum to roll back and forth, instead engage your powerhouse to control your rolling from start to finish. Five to ten repetitions are recommended.

It’s never too late to start exercising and Pilates is an excellent way to begin. And if you think you won’t be challenged by this low impact workout, think again. Challenge yourself with Pilates and see how this new way of exercising will get you hooked!

Lisa Reale-Pazienza is a certified Pilates instructor, aerobics instructor and personal trainer. As owner of Downward Dog Fitness, she offers private Pilates instruction as well as group mat classes in Clifton Park.

©2000-2005 Adirondack Sports & Fitness. All rights reserved.