Pilates

OK, Pilates (as in 'pill-art-ease' as oppose to 'pilots') has nothing to do with flying, except for its unfortunately similar incorrect pronunciation. Pilates is actually a form of exercise for the body, mind and spirit. Kind of similar to Yoga if you will. Pilates was developed in the 1920s by one Joseph H. Pilates, with its intention being to improve the inner strength of the body without 'bulking up'. And what is more, they have started offering Pilates classes at my gym. In the name of DooYoo, if not for my Ibiza-grown beer belly, I needed to try it out! The class was quite large (around 20 people) and ...  Read the complete review

Not many people I know have heard of Pilates, let alone tried it out. I first came across it a few months ago at my local gym when an "introduction to pilates" class was advertised. I though I would try it out as I had heard that it was good for building muscles and quite relaxing. I assumed it would be quite similar to the Yoga class I had recently attended and enjoyed so I decided to sign up for the class and give it a go. As I had never even seen Pilates being performed in my life I decided to dress in comfy clothing and it was a good job I did. The lady who took the class introduced herself as Miranda and told us she was a dancer. However this ...  Read the complete review

I've never been that sporty or into excercise. I used to get awful grades for Sport at school, but when I started at University, I felt the need to do something as sitting at my desk for hours and carrying bags of books around over my shoulder left me with constant neck and back muscle pains and tension that rolling my shoulders around and trying to stretch myself out would not fix. I chose pilates as I am not very flexible. I knew I would not be able to do yoga and I did not want to be bouncing around like a 1980s aerobic gym goddess doing "keep fit" and sweating and running on the spot or doing star jumps. Going to the gym was also not for me (too ...  Read the complete review

If you've read my Kundalini yoga review, you'll know I'm on a mission to find an easy and cheap way to exercise of a cold winter evening. After yoga I decided to try Pilates, despite my high school's best attempts to put me off several years ago! Don't get me wrong, I love yoga as a form of exercise, but I was looking for something a bit more strenuous and upbeat to go alongside it. After doing a short 40 minute Pilates workout several days over the past few weeks, it's surprising how much muscle I've built up in my arms and legs. Last year when I saw a nutritionist she said it can take years to put a decent amount of muscle mass on, so ...  Read the complete review

I have just started a Pilates class at my local gym. The first 1/2 hour of my first session involved the instructor telling us about herself, her credentials and the origin of Pilates. I was very interested to read the Dooyoo origin of Pilates in this category as it is completely different to what I was told. Here is the story I was given: During the World War I there was a Dutch army physician called Joseph Pilates. He was tasked with treating injured soldiers and returning them to full health. He put them through a specific exercise technique to improve the strength and flexibility of the body whilst the soldiers were recuperating from whatever it ...  Read the complete review