Pilates - is the truth out there? (Pilates)

Member Name: Motley

Product:	Pilates
Date:	04/03/01 (3142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Better posture, muscle tone, flexibility and strength. And eventually a scooped stomach.

Disadvantages: It's difficult to master and you have to concentrate and practise quite hard.

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 was that they had. He noticed that there was a very definite side-effect of these exercises (which had only ever been a form of muscle regeneration to stop the soldiers getting lazy) and that was to speed up general recovery and result in a perfectly toned body. The Pilates classes we have today are a watered-down version of these original exercises, given that we now know some of the back exercises he instructed are actually bad for discs.

Pilates is a type of exercise that focusses on building up the stregth and stamina of the core muscles (stomach, abdominals and lower back). The theory being that once these muscles are strong and flexible, you can use that inner strength to exercise all the other muscles in the body.

The breathing technique is very important in Pilates. Before every exercise you must take a preperation breath. That is, breathe in deeply whilst expanding the chest and stomach (trying to look as if you are pregnant) and then breathing out slowly but deeply, pulling the stomach in as you do. This should achieve the perfect 'scooped stomach' effect that everyone is after. Just holding the stomach in this position exercises the abdominal muscles.

Once the breathing techniques are mastered, and this can take up to 10 sessions according to my
instructor, you go on to perform very controlled stretching exercises which tone, elongate and allow the blood to refresh and cleanse, several different muscle groups in the body. All these exercises are done with the stomach pulled in and the posture upright.

I have learnt a couple of exercises so far:

The Push-up - Standing up straight, take a preparation breath and then start to bend over forwards. It is important to start bending from the neck and not from the waist. If you bend from the waist then you miss out on exercising the whole upper spine. Dropping the chin to the chest, continue bending forward by hunching the shoulders forward and then finally bending at the waist. Think of unstacking your spinal vertebrae as you perform this bend. Once your nose is level with your toes, walk forward on your hands until you are in an upside down V shape. Sink to your knees to be on all fours. Lift the ankles behind you and cross them over. Bend forwards and take the nose to the floor. Push upwards and perform the same exercise backwards to return to a standing position. This exercise must be performed slowly, with the stomach sucked in all the way through and the breathing normal.

The 100 - Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. With your arms on either side of you, lift them 4 inches from the floor. Take deep cleansing breaths in and out to the count of 5 and bounce your arms by your sides to the same count. Do this until your counting reaches 100. The next difficulty level is to perform this exercise witht he head lifted off the ground 3 inches and the face upturned towards the ceiling (not looking forwards but upwards).

Pilates is very good for posture as it builds up the muscles in the lower back which support the upper body. The stronger these muscles are, the straighter the spine and the better the posture.

I find Pilates very good for relaxation as well. With a focus on bre
athing and lots of small cleansing exercises, I always feel refreshed and as if I have gone through some kind of cleansing ritual. Anyone who finds Pilates easy must be doing it wrong because after everymovement I did, my muscles were shaky and wobbly which proved to me that I had worked them even though I had not felt much at the time. The following day I was a little stiff and sore but nothing too bad.

Pilates needs to be done along with other cardio-vascular exercise such as aerobics, cycling or gym work (up to 3 times per week) and as always, a sensible diet will help.

My instructor did a coaching course with the Michael King school of pilates and has a general qualification in fitness class coaching. The class was done to soft instumental music and was all based on floor mats.

I would recommned this as a non-impact, relaxing, muscle toning class to anyone. I have MS and this type of muscle toning is great for my balance.

But seriously, can anyone tell me the definitive...... was he a doctor or a clown?

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