Pilates

Consistency with exercise is the only way to ensure you get good results and the only way to make those results last.  Unfortunately for most of us, consistency is also the hardest thign to maintain wen it comes to exercise.  I have certainly struggled with this over time.  There are 3 simple tools that I use to help me stay consistent with my workouts.

Breathing is a fundamental of the Pilates Method.  Unfortunately, the breathing also seems to be one of the things that many people find the hardest to do well when they workout.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?

• When you concentrate on the movements you stop breathing
• If you think about your breathing you stop moving
• You have trouble coordinating your breathing with the exercises
• You can’t pull your powerhouse in and breathe

When I start working with people for the first time I tend not to focus too much on their breathing.  This is how I was taught, and through experience, I have seen this approach work very well.  One reason for this is that you will eventually remember to breathe.  I haven’t seen anyone pass out because they were thinking about their powerhouse so much they forgot to breath.  I have, however, had people think so much about their breathing that they completely forget about their powerhouse!  Another reason is that when you are worried about your breathing you stop thinking about everything else.  That is why focusing on the breathe is a tool used in meditation.  So if the breathing is one of many things that you are struggling with, drop it in the beginning.  Focus on your powerhouse, then pick up your breathing.   
 
When you first start learning to move your body with control and precision, thinking too much about your breathing can get in the way.  But once you have started to gain control, using your breathing will lift your workouts to a high level of beautifully balanced, functional control, that will feel free and strong.  
 
When you first start working with the Pilates Method, I highly recommend that you don’t worry too much about your breathing.  When you start to get comfortable with the movements you can then start paying attention to what feels natural.  You will start to feel a rhythm to the way your body is moving and when it feels right to inhale and exhale throughout the exercises. 
 
The next step you will find useful is to pay attention to the dead spots.  Be aware of all the places in your movements where you stop breathing and are holding your breath.  Try to get rid of them.
 
Once you can comfortably be aware of your breathing and keep moving, there are a couple of general principles that will help.

1. Breath in and out through your nose. 

A great anecdote I once heard from Romana Kryzanowska was that Joseph Pilates used to say the nose was for breathing and the mouth was for eating and kissing!  Your nose is for breathing, and being able to maintain exercise without opening your mouth is an indicator of your fitness level.  The better your stamina, the more workload your body can sustain without needing to gasp for air.

2. Inhale at the point of exertion
 
This can be a tricky one to understand in terms of practical application.  Often it may feel like the wrong thing to do.  But you will find that as you move through the Pilates Method and your strength, flexibility and control improve, what felt like the point of exertion to begin with will change.  This is something that I suggest you play with.  Just remember that your breathing should flow with the exercises.
 
3. Exhale when your chest contracts, inhale when your chest expands.
 
The movement of the rib cage will effect how much air you can get into, and out of your lungs.  The movements of Pilates are designed to assist the functionality of the body, so when you roll forward, exhale, when you lift up tall, inhale.  Allow the flow of air in and out of your lungs to correspond with the natural movement of your body.
 
 
In your everyday activities, just remember that when you are slouching you can’t breath well.  Sitting tall with an open chest allows a good flow of oxygen through your body, and will help with your levels of vitality.
 
So take a deep breath, smile, and breathe again!

This exercise is brilliant.  It works your abdominal muscles, your breathing, your co-ordination, your back and leg strength and your upper back flexibility.  It engages your whole body, and when done correctly is good for your whole body.  If you aren’t familiar with The Hundred click here for some pictures and a description on how to perform the exercise.

The ideal position for The Hundred is to start with your body completely flat on the floor, then raise your legs 2 inches off the ground and lift your head so you are looking at your toes, keeping your back flat on the ground
 
There are a couple of ways to approach The Hundred.  In his book, Joseph Pilates says to begin, in the ideal position, with 20 movements and gradually increase this until you can do 100 movements.  I was taught to start with the full 100 movements but to modify the position with those who lacked the strength for that ideal position, or carried injuries.  I think there is benefit in both approaches, and unless you have an injury it is good to try both.  If you are doing a modified version of the exercise it can be very easy to get comfortable with it and not challenge yourself to improve when you should.
 
Today, the usual approach to The Hundred is to your head up and you legs straight in the air, held at or above a 45 degree angle.  If you have any kind of injury, if you lack strength, or if you are very stiff, you may have various modifications.  The most common ones are bending the legs bent and/or keeping the head down. 
 
There are many tips that will help you improve your position and I recommend you take a look at the section on The Hundred in my ebook on the Basic Pilates Mat for those.  But there is one thing that will help you improve the results you get out of The Hundred every time, regardless of whether you need to modify the exercise or not. 
 
Every single time you perform this exercise, start in the position that is as close to the ideal as you can get.  Every single time you do The Hundred find the position that challenges you the most.  If you usually have bent legs try holding them straight for as long as you can.  If your legs are straight, feel the place where your back arches off the floor and hold your legs just above that point.  If you can’t hold your head up for the whole exercise, start with your head off the ground and hold it there as long as you can.  Every time you put yourself in The Hundred position, look for the most challenging position.  If you stay there for as long as you can and only modify it if you need to you will find your strength improves rapidly.

A friend of mine went to a Pilates class at a gym the other day and had the interesting experience of being told, a fair way into the class, that she could ‘attempt the Hundred if she wanted to’.  I wanted to write about this because her experience is not uncommon.  There seem to be a lot of Pilates Instructors out there, and consequently a lot of their clients, who are under the impression that a person has to build up to being able to do the Hundred.  If you are being taught this way, or doing workouts yourself this way, you are being seriously cheated out of the great experience that Pilates can offer. 
 
In the Pilates Method the Hundred is an exercise that is done right out of the gate, you don’t mess around, you get straight into it.  In the Mat work it is the first exercise, in the Reformer it is second, right after the footwork series.  The Hundred is such a brilliant exercise for helping you get centered and bringing your focus into your body. 
 
You have to concentrate on your breathing, which is fundamental to any good workout, wake up your abdominal muscles, which is fundamental to any good Pilates workout, and co-ordinate your breathing with your body movements, which is fundamental to good health.
 
A lot of people aren’t strong enough to hold the full position for long, or even at all in the beginning, but that is no reason to not start with it!  There are several very simple modifications that you can do which means the Hundred can be done safely but still makes you work.  You can even do this exercise with your head and feet on the ground!  It has been my experience that most of us underestimate what our bodies are capable of.  This doesn’t mean that we should all go out and try doing back flips (I definitely don’t recommend that), but your body has to be challenged if it is going to improve.  It’s as simple as that.  The Hundred is one of the initial exercises that sets the rhythm for the rest of your workout, so move, breath and enjoy it!
 
Pilates is about strength and freedom of movement, developing grace, control and true health and fitness.  Don’t let yourself miss out on that!  So if you are already enjoying the benefits of starting your workouts with the Hundred good for you, and if you aren’t, ask yourself or your teacher why!

This tip is something I have been doing regularly since I read Joseph Pilates book ‘Your Health’.  He mentions briefly in this book that when you are having a bath or shower, it is a good idea to massage your skin.  He recommends working up to being able to use a hard bristled brush as this really stimulates the skin, but start with something softer as you get used to the pressure.  Massaging the skin this way helps to keep the pores open and clear from sweat, dirt and soap residue.  It increases the blood circulation to the surface of the skin which helps to flush away toxins and cleans away dead skin cells.  If you use a brush with no handle or a very short handle it also helps you to maintain a certain level of general flexibility as you try to reach all parts of your body (particularly your back).  As an added bonus it really helps to minimize ingrown hairs!  So find yourself a brush and next time you have a bath or shower get scrubbing!

I like reading the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ sections on websites and in brochures.  When it comes to your health and fitness though, I think that section should be worded differently.  I think it should read ‘Questions You Should Frequently Ask’.  I say this because it’s your health, your wellbeing and your life.  We are confronted with an overwhelming mass of information today telling us how to think, how to feel, how we should look and what we should do.  It is much easier to know what information is relevant to you if you regularly make the time to think about your health what you want.  So here are some questions that I think we should all frequently ask ourselves.  This not only applies to Pilates, but to all aspects of our health and fitness.   
  
What is the current state of my health?
Is your body fit enough to do the tasks you ask of it?  The best way to answer this is to pay attention to how you feel at the end of each day and first thing in the morning.  Constant aches, pains and exhaustion are a sign that something is out of balance, you are not fit enough for your current level of activity.  If you sleep well and wake up enthusiastic then you are probably on the right track.  Being aware of your current level of fitness means you are much better equipped to make decisions about what you might want to do next.  Don’t let other people make decisions for you about your health.  As I said before, it’s your health, so take the time to frequently ask yourself questions and give yourself honest answers.  
 
Has my level of health & fitness changed?
This is especially important if you are exercising regularly and/or attend classes.  If you are aware of what your level of health and fitness actually is, and you have made a decision that you want to improve it, then pay attention to whether or not it is actually improving.  This sounds obvious enough, but I have met many people who have been taking classes for years and don’t seem to be getting anywhere.  Years is too long to not see any results.  Remember what it is you want to achieve and seek out the people that can help you achieve it.  Even if you are training with a highly qualified instructor, if you aren’t getting results, find someone else.
 
If you aren’t exercising at all then it is still important to be aware if the level of your health and fitness has changed.  Especially as there is a good chance it is getting worse!     
 
 
What do I really want my body to be able to do?
I always ask my clients what they want to do with their bodies.  Some people just want to be able to touch their toes, others want to be able to do the splits and a gazzillion situps, and some people have no idea what they want.  It’s important to realise that if you don’t know what you want, then you have no idea if you are heading in the right direction!  It doesn’t matter how simple or how complex your health and fitness desires are, having a clarity on WHAT they are will help you enormously when it comes to figuring out how to get there!

Jason and I now have an online courseware site up and running! 

Yesterday I put up our first book.  The Pilates Basic Mat is FREE to read online, covers everything you need to start getting into shape right NOW and you can also download a print friendly version. 

We are still in the early stages, but this book is the first of a lot more to come.  We will be offering courses and publishing books through this site on Pilates, Shaolin Kung Fu and general health and fitness.  So be sure to keep checking in with us for the latest. 

I am so excited!  It’s official, I can no do The Pull Up on the Wunda Chair with only 2 springs on the bottom!……and do it well….and repeat it consistently!  For those of you who know the exercise and the spring strength I am sure you will appreciate my excitement:)  

If you aren’t familiar with the exercise here is a photo.  In this photo I have the usual spring setting of one top and one bottom.  You can’t see it in the photo but the springs attach from the peddle my feet are on to one of the three hooks at the back, you can see the bolts on the outside of the chair.  There is one spring on each side of the chair.  With the Pull Up, the less spring resistance you have the harder the exercise is as you have to use more of your own strength to pull yourself up.  The stronger the spring resistance the more help you get.  On the Wunda Chair the spring resistance is strongest when you attach them to the top hooks and lightest when you attach them to the bottom hooks.  So my next challenge is to be able to pull up with only one spring attached!       

Here are three things you can do to help keep your feet in good shape. 
 
The first one, as I mentioned above, is massage.  Do it yourself or get someone else to help you out.  A few minutes once a week will make a big difference. 
 
The second one is a follow on from a body tip a couple of issues ago.  Stand with your heels together, your toes apart, squeeze your legs together and pull your abdominal muscles strongly to your spine.  Place your weight evenly on both feet.  Keeping your weight even and your heels together, slowly rise up onto your toes.  Only lift as high as you can keep your weight even and your heels together!  Repeat this a few times, and try it a couple of times a day.
 
The third tip you can do standing or sitting.  Simply try to seperate all your toes.  Spread them all out so that none of them are touching and see if you can move each toe.  This one is fun, as you get better at it you will be able to see all the muscles and bones up through your foot move.
 
Have fun with these and remember to love your feet! , as you get better at it you will be able to see all the muscles and bones up through your foot move.

The Hundred is the first exercise in the Pilates mat work routine.  It has a variety of benefits for the body, including strengthening the abdominal muscle as well as the hip and legs muscles.  It helps to improve breathing and the co-ordination of breathing with body movement.  It’s placement in the mat sequence is important to consider as well.  The Hundred is the first exercise in the sequence because it wakes everything up and warms everything up. 

There are a couple of common mistake that people make with The Hundred.  The first one I see all the time is the position of the spine.  When you’re doing The Hundred you should feel your back, right from your pelvis to the base of your shoulder blades, flat on the floor.  This whole section of your back should be pressed into the floor.  Many people let it lift up, either because they aren’t instructed properly or they are attempting to holdtheir legs lower then their strength can maintain.  If you feel that the work moves quickly form your abs to your back when you do The Hundred check your position, try bringing your legs up higher.  The goal is to have yourlegs just off the ground but most people aren’t strong enough to do that straight away.  Make sure you are working your body intelligently and pay attention to the position of your spine. 

The second most common mistake I see is in the head position.  A lot of people struggle in the beginning keeping their head up off the mat as they feel strain in their necks.  When your head is up it should be all the way up, you should be able to rest your eyes on your belly button.  IF your neck is feeling strained you should rest it down on the floor.  Don’t make the mistake of trying to hold it a bit lower of the ground as that will make it worse.  All the way up or all the way down, if you are looking at the ceiling your position is wrong. 

When I first moved to Tasmania I did a Pilates class at a gym to see what it was like.  When we eventually got to The Hundred the instructor told us that we should feel the deep abdominal muscles working but let the surface one relax, he also told us that if we were feeling the work in our necks that was good because that was where we should feel it………no, no and definitely NO!

The Huindred should work ALL of your abdominal muscles and you dont’t want to feel it in your neck.  You will strengthen the neck muscles by holding your body in this position but you shouldn’t hold it to the point that you are straining the neck.   

Here are a few examples of positions for The Hundred.  The second two can easily be done with the head on the ground if you have trouble with your neck.

This one’s great.  I have been working with it conscientiously for the last month and it has been fantastic!  Do things with both sides of your body.  That’s it, just be aware when you are doing something with one side of your body and then try doing it with the other side as well.  I first started doing this while picking up horse manure.  But then I started swapping between arms when I vacuumed, brushed my teeth, stirred cake mix in a bowl and carried my little girl on my right hip as well as my left.  One of my physical struggles has been an imbalance in my waist and hip muscles, most of us have this, one side stronger than the other, and it used to cause me a lot of discomfort.  Pilates has changed that, but what I found was that even when I wasn’t able to work regularly, I have been able to maintain the strength of muscle balance in my waist just by doing things with both sides of my body!  Give it a go, you will probably feel awkward and a little silly in the beginning but your body will love you for it.

There are a lot of Pilates products available today.  With all these books and instructional dvds you might be thinking that’s all you need to do Pilates.  Why bother spending money with an instructor when you can just use a book in the comfort of your own home?  There are many benefits to having lessons with a qualified instructor, probably the most important reason is that what feels correct or well aligned to you when you position and move your body is often not.
 
I have been observing bodies move for 4 years as a professional Pilates Instructor, and for 10 years as a Shaolin Kung Fu practitioner.  What I have seen is that most people are unaware when their bodies are positioned badly, because what has become habitual to them also feels correct.  Most of us have developed bad postural habits, the funny thing is that most of us are, to some extent, also aware of this.  It’s a common reason people give for wanting to do Pilates in the first place!  The problem is that even being aware of it doesn’t help when it comes to positioning your body because the habitual position will always feel more correct.  It’s been my experience both in my own workouts and as a teacher that most people are surprised when they are placed in a good position because to them it feels crooked.  
 
This is one of the most important things to keep in mind if you are trying to workout by yourself.  With no one to observe your body, how will you correct something that doesn’t feel like it needs adjustment?  I recently travelled to Sydney to have a session with my mentor, Cynthia Lochard.  After no more than a five minutes into the session she commented that I was carrying my baby on my left hip all the time.  She was absolutely right, I was carryign Evie on my left hip all the time, and doing a million other things with my right arm.  My hips were becoming quite crooked and it was starting to affect my freedom of movement.  I could feel that something was wrong, I just hadn’t been sure exactly what it was.  What might have taken me months or years to figure out myself took a 1 hour session with Cynthia and I was back on track.  
 
Even if you can’t get to regular sessions with an instructor, try and do a session with someone whenever you can, the results will be far superior.  If you are working out at home, the quality of those workouts will also improve. 
 
The better the quality of the instruction you receive the better the results will be.  I have included a couple of links in this issue to great sites that keep registers of authentically trained instructors all around the world.  They also have some other great information as well so take a look.        
     

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How often do you pay attention to the way you stand? 
 
If you are like me you aren’t often standing still, and if you do find yourself with a few spare moments you are probably not thinking about your posture.  But here is a really simple exercise you can do right now that will change the way your body feels and moves. 
 
Stand up with your heels together and your toes apart.  Squeeze your legs together and pull your stomach muscles strongly towards your spine.  Take a few moments to feel the weight in your feet.  Stand so that you feel even pressure on both feet.  You shouldn’t feel
more weight in your left foot than your right foot or more weight towards the front of your feet than the back.  Place your weight EVENLY on both feet.  Enjoy how balanced your body feels and do this as often as you can.
 
Most of  us stand with our posture all over the place.  We carry our children on one side all the time and try to do 101 things all at once.  We are usually leaning on one leg with all our weight in one hip.  When we do this over years it creates imbalances, which leads to pain.  We stand a lot in our daily life, brushing our teeth, waiting in line or at work.  All these times are great opportunities to use this exercise and begin developing your strong ‘after baby’ body.

Your body goes through a lot of changes when you have a baby.  Although there is a lot information available for women leading up to birth, there seems to be next to nothing for the months and years after.
 
As a professional Pilates Instructor I have met many women who have ‘problems’ with their back and or hips after having children.  The most frustrating thing is that generally speaking, most women are unaware that they can do something about it.
 
One women I know went to her GP because of back pain and was told that ‘she had three kids, what did she expect’!  I hope she wasn’t charged for that appointment.  That particular story was a big reason why I am now writing this ezine.  Yes your body goes through a lot of changes when you give birth, NO you shouldn’t have to live with pain and discomfort the rest of your life.
 
I found Pilates to be an invaluable tool to help me get back into shape after having my daughter Evie and there are 3 main reasons why.
 
1) The Pilates’ exercises work all the right muscles.
Pilates works your body from the centre out.  Your centre is the area most dramatically affected by having a baby, making it the area that needs the most attention after.  Pilates focuses on engaging all the muscles around the hip and abdominal region.  In Authentic Pilates this area is called the powerhouse.  We use this term because the powerhouse is the centre of functional strength in the body.  Powerhouse strength drives the development of strength in the rest of the body.  
  
2)  The exercises are designed to create balanced strength in your body.  During the nine months your baby is growing, your muscles are adapting to the extra weight all being concentrated in the front of your body.  After you have given birth you need to pay attention to working all those muscles around your hips and spine to get back into balance, in particularly your abdominal muscles.  One of the most common scenarios I see is that the muscles in the front of the thighs and hips, as well as the lower back have become too tight.  This pulls the pelvis forward and leads to lower back, hip and knee pain.  Pilates exercises are designed to rebalance these muscles ensuring that they have the strength and flexibilty to maintain good posture.
  
3) Pilates progresses in the right order!  Pilates focuses on creating a strong and balanced body, leaving no muscles behind!  Pilates works the body as a whole, it doesn’t split the body up and try to strengthen the separate parts.  Your body doesn’t function as separate parts so why would you try to strengthen it that way?  If you progress through the Pilates exercise system in the correct order, your whole body will be improving in strength and flexibility.  This approach is fantastic for helping your body cope with the everyday demands placed on it. 

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I have been teaching the Pilates method full time now for over four years.  I have watched many people progress through this work, both under my own instruction and others and it has become increasingly apparent to me that the Roll Up, the second exercise in the Matwork, is one of the most important exercises for people today.  It is the exercise that most people seem to struggle with in the beginning and the one that appears to provide them with the most relief when they start to get it right. This is especially true if the mat work is all that they are doing.  The Roll Up is all about gaining control over the articulation of the spine, by increasing the strength and flexibility of all the muscles that move the spine.  If you are not familiar with the Roll Up I have included a photo and a brief description below.  People with stiff backs struggle with it, people with weak abdominal muscles struggle with it, and interestingly, people who look strong in their abs often struggle as well.  I think the that a lot of standard ab exercises done today do not move the body through a complete range of motion so the strength development is not always functional.  The Roll Up is also and exercise that many people do not pay close attention to, they just get up and get down as best they can and don’t take the time to really gain control of the spine.   

Lie with your back pressed flat into the mat.  Lift your arms straight up and bring your chin onto your chest (inhaling).  Slowly roll up of the mat (exhaling) as if your were curling under a very low ceiling bringing your head onto your knees.  Reverse the action and slowly roll back down to the mat. 

Modification - bend your legs and hold onto your thighs as you roll up.  

“This exercise strengthens the abdominal muscles, and restores the spine to normal.” Joseph Pilates, Return to Life Through Contrology.        

“…,each muscle should cooperatively and loyally aid in the uniform development of all muscles” 

This is a quote taken from Joseph Pilates’ book Return to Life Through Contrology.  For me, this quote really sums up one of the most fantastic things about the Pilates system of exercise.  The integrated development of strength, flexibility and control.  Every part of our bodies interacts with, assists, and effects every other part of our bodies.  Some interactions are direct and others indirect, but everything is connected.  How many of us exercise out bodies with a clear understanding, focus, awareness, and dedication to working our whole body?  The standard approach today is to work parts of the body.  People work their legs, their arms, their abs etc.  I can honestly say from experience that the results for improvement of whole body functional strength and flexibility is far superior if your focus is always on your whole body.  Pilates isn’t the only exercise system that has this focus but it is certainly a brilliant one.  If you have already been playing with Pilates then you would know how difficult it is to this kind of focus when exercising, and how rewarding it is when you do:)  If you haven’t experienced Pilates yet then what are you waiting for?  

Working with and observing people at our centre in St Helens has been interesting.  Because we’re a gym, many people who use our facilities come in with a typical ’gym’ approach to exercise.  Most people would agree that uniform development of the bodies muscles is ideal, but in practise it seems, most people don’t do it.  One of the most obvious examples I see is the use of the abdominal muscles.  I have people who start Pilates who look strong, have strong abs, but they can’t peform many of the Pilates exercises well.  What they don’t have is uniform muscle development.  What they don’t have is control over their bodies.  What they don’t have is an understanding of how to get both those things.  In Pilates we consciousley work our abs when we work our arms.  We consciusley work our abs when we work our legs.  We always focus on the whole body.  It is simple, and it is genius.            

This is a photo of my little girl Evelyn, it was taken months ago in the St Helens Studio.  She was playing with the magic circles and climbed in one to pose for a cute photo.  Evie is almost 2 years old now and has started imitating the Pilates movements.  She plays in the studio while I teach and now insists on having a roll back bar like everyone else, then she holds onto it and does roll backs:)  It is so interesting to watch.  She knows where all the equipment should go and has started handing mats and poles to people when she thinks they need it.  She is a wonderful influence in the studio.  All the clients seem to really enjoy having her around and they are great examples for her to imitate.  It has become more apparent to me over the last few weeks that she is also an example to us.  She is a constant reminder to me of the freedom and joy that comes with moving my body, and that if we looked at exercise as being more like playing and less like work we would all be better off.  I see so many people who approach exercise with the attitude that they have to fight against their bodies, I think that is a major reason why many don’t stick with it because fighting isn’t fun.  Try approaching your workouts like you are playing, have fun with them and see how that increases your confidence, stamina and desire to do it again.     

I have now been living and teaching in St Helens for eight months.  This has been my first opportunity to teach full time in a fully equipped Pilates studio and I have to say that it is fantastic!  My body is loving it and I am really noticing a difference in the time it is takes for my clients to progress and get results in their bodies.  I know that the Pilates mat work is the most well know aspect of the Pilates method and that most people are aware of only the mat, but it has been a struggle trying to get the message across to prospective clients that you don’t have to start on the mat.  Many people are saying to me that they think the mat is the easiest place to start so they can build up some stength and then be able to use the machines.  As soon as people get on the reformer though they realise that the spring resistance not only works the muscles well but it also gives your body support to move through positions that it struggles with initially on the mat.  I now have a great base of clients working in the studio and they are doing a great job. 

We have had many ah-ha moments over the last few weeks which I love.  It’s fantastic to watch someone gain a new understanding of how to move their body and feel the difference it makes.  I love it!  It has been interesting working in a gym environment as well, which apart from a small stint teaching a mat class in a gym, for me is not at all familiar.  My partner Jason and I are both enjoying offering a different approach to health and fitness.