Athletes of all types who add Pilates to their workout find their performance enhanced whether they’re golfing, playing football, mountain biking, or boxing. Golfers like Tiger Woods, tennis players like Venus Williams and other professional athletes use Pilates to improve their games.
Golfers who practice Pilates find that the even, deep Pilates breathe helps them keep a clear head on the course. Improved posture and concentration allows the Pilates practicing golfer to maintain a relaxed body while maintaining proper spine alignment throughout the entire swing. Golfers who practice Pilates have better hip and shoulder flexibility, and therefore a better swing and follow-through. The strong core gained in Pilates also protects the back against injury.
Camilo Villegas, professional golfer known for his long shots, began practicing Pilates while at the University of Florida. In discussing how Pilates has affected his game, he said, “’A lot of guys are getting in shape for golf these days by lifting weights. What they don’t realize is that you need both strength and flexibility. And, of the two, flexibility is more important for golf. I’m talking about maximum flexibility and core strength.’” (http://www.golfweek.com/foryourgame/mindandbody/story/pilates-feature-030608)
Some golfers claim that Pilates even helps improve putting. According to Pilates trainer Sarah Christensen, “Golfers need precision in putting,” she said, “and that’s what Pilates is all about – smaller movements, control, good alignment, good posture.”
Accurate Pilates movements require attention to form, which is also true of most sports, including tennis. Tennis players who add Pilates to their workout find improved power behind strokes because they grow from the strong core. Pilates improves muscle control, which helps prevent over-use injuries caused by improper tennis form. Pilates also improves the body’s balance, and the mind body connection, resulting in greater spatial intelligence and better returns.
One of the biggest benefits of Pilates to tennis players may be the reduced discrepancy between strength on one side or the other. Pilates increases overall balance, and works each side of the body individually, helping balance the each side of body’s strength as well. Moreover, Pilates trains the body to use the entire core to move each side of the body, improving each side’s strength.
The list of sporting activities improved by Pilates is not limited to “civilized games,” like tennis and golf. Football players have embraced Pilates adding many of the practice’s core strengthening exercise to their work out regimes. University level and professional teams have also integrated the discipline into programs. Even mountain bikers can use Pilates to improve their performance. Follow this link to see how using Pilates type breath can make for better mountain biking.
Mountain biking
http://www.articlesbase.com/videos/5min/18918043
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
What is the pelvic floor, anyway?
When Studio Blue instructors ask clients to think about their “pelvic floor,” they're talking about a set of muscles that runs between the two sitz bones, the tail, and the pubic bone. The pelvic floor has three muscle layers, and for the most effective workout, it’s important to exercise the entire complex through contraction and stretching.
To find the pelvic floor muscles, sit in a chair, or on a ball. Let your weight press through your sitz bones. The sitz bones are the boney areas under each butt cheek. Pull in the stomach muscles, and tuck your tailbone forward. The weight transfers then, to the tailbone. Next arch the lower back, and the weight shifts forward to the pubic bone. As you repeat this motion, try to isolate the muscles doing the work. These muscles are the “pelvic floor.”
During Pilates workouts, we’re constantly working the pelvic floor. Even bending our legs at the knees when we’re laying down on the matt stretches the sitz bone apart, lengthening the pelvic floor muscles. When we straighten our legs, the sitz bones move closer together, contracting the pelvic floor muscles.
It’s important not to squeeze the buttocks, as many of us might do when we think about contracting the pelvic floor. The buttock muscles are some of body’s largest muscles, so they easily overpower the smaller deeper muscles we’re trying to isolate. Pilates integrates the mind and body, so it can be helpful to think of an elevator starting at the pelvic floor when we thinking about working the deep pelvic floor muscles.
Strong pelvic muscles will improve more than our work outs, they also improve sexual health. According to Laura Chalfont, MA Certified Rolfer® with over twenty years of bodywork experience, "Healthy, balanced tone in the pelvic floor muscles can keep our sexual organs functioning optimally for many years to come. Because this intricate web of muscles weave around and have fascial relations to the sexual organs, exercising them
in very specific ways can have a direct effect on the sexual function and enhance orgasm."
Because Studio Blue workouts target specific muscles, we’re also training our bodies to relax other muscles not being used. This ability to stimulate isolated body parts while engaging others also makes for better sex, as does the added flexibility gained through a Pilates practice.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Using the Legs in conjunction with Abs during Pilates work outs
Pilates is a mind body integration practice. For this reason, it is helpful to start the exercises with movements that seem small, but actually train the body to utilize deep muscles that are hard to reach any other way. These muscles, though, are essential to correctly doing Pilates movements. And they’re muscles you hear Studio Blue instructors referring to through classes and privates.
A set of muscles called the iliopsoas are some of the body’s deepest muscles. The psoas (pronounced zo-az) runs from the lumbar spine to the front of the pelvis, ending at the femur. When doing leg movements, like lifting the legs, it’s essential to employ these muscles, which work in conjunction to the abs, giving a full body workout.
Because the iliopsoas runs so deep, it can be difficult to feel it engage. It can be helpful, then to imagine a string running from the inner thigh to the spine as the pulley that lifts the leg. During a basic exercise called the “Knee Fold,” the core serves as the counter balance to the pull of the psoas muscles, and keeps the body from rocking side to side as the exercise moves from the left leg to the right.
While the “Knee Fold” appears to be a simple exercise, learning to do it correctly, helps the body learn to move the legs without moving the rest of the body. To complete it, lie on the back, knees and feet hip width apart, the spine in neutral position. Put the left hand on the left hip, just where the thighbone and pelvis meet. Place the right hand on the right knee, and folding or creasing right at the hip/pelvis intersection, pull the right knee up to table top, using the abdominals to keep the rest of the body motionless. Set the right leg back down—still engaging the core, and repeat on the left side.
Another movement that seems simply to be a relaxation exercise, the “Knee Stir” actually forces us to engage the Oblique muscles, which run along the body’s sides. Laying on the floor, bring the legs to “Table Top.” Place the right hand on the right knee, and slowly stir it without letting the rest of the body move at all. Repeat on the left side, and then try both legs, first going in the same direction, and then opposite directions.
A set of muscles called the iliopsoas are some of the body’s deepest muscles. The psoas (pronounced zo-az) runs from the lumbar spine to the front of the pelvis, ending at the femur. When doing leg movements, like lifting the legs, it’s essential to employ these muscles, which work in conjunction to the abs, giving a full body workout.
Because the iliopsoas runs so deep, it can be difficult to feel it engage. It can be helpful, then to imagine a string running from the inner thigh to the spine as the pulley that lifts the leg. During a basic exercise called the “Knee Fold,” the core serves as the counter balance to the pull of the psoas muscles, and keeps the body from rocking side to side as the exercise moves from the left leg to the right.
While the “Knee Fold” appears to be a simple exercise, learning to do it correctly, helps the body learn to move the legs without moving the rest of the body. To complete it, lie on the back, knees and feet hip width apart, the spine in neutral position. Put the left hand on the left hip, just where the thighbone and pelvis meet. Place the right hand on the right knee, and folding or creasing right at the hip/pelvis intersection, pull the right knee up to table top, using the abdominals to keep the rest of the body motionless. Set the right leg back down—still engaging the core, and repeat on the left side.
Another movement that seems simply to be a relaxation exercise, the “Knee Stir” actually forces us to engage the Oblique muscles, which run along the body’s sides. Laying on the floor, bring the legs to “Table Top.” Place the right hand on the right knee, and slowly stir it without letting the rest of the body move at all. Repeat on the left side, and then try both legs, first going in the same direction, and then opposite directions.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Getting the most out of your PIlates Session Part 2
Last week’s blog, discussed staying relaxed, concentrating, and using the Pilates’ breath to get the most of out of a Studio Blue workout. This week, the discussion continues. Thinking about the following before and during a workout will ensure that you receive Pilates full benefits.
• Check your alignment
• Coordinate your movements
• Create movement from your “center
• Make your movements flow
• Work to build your stamina
• Check your alignment
Posture affects the entire body, including the internal organs. A misaligned body is like an unstable building—eventually something is going to give. Therefore, developing and maintaining excellent posture not only helps us feel and look better, it also keeps us fit, and can help minimize pain.
As we move, weight is transferred through the center of each joint. If the postural alignment is off because of injury or poor habits, weight is transferred forward or backward, rather than through the joint’s center. This stresses the bones, muscles and ligaments around the joint, causing greater injury or pain. Every Pilates movement at Studio Blue begins with properly aligning the body.
• Coordinate your movements
In addition to concentrating, checking alignment, and using proper Pilates breath, it’s important to pay attention to the intended next movement. While some people have a greater “kinesthetic sense “ or “body sense” than others, most people need help building this sense.
As one part of the body moves, the cerebellum maintains a sense about what the rest of the body is doing, and what will come next. At the beginning of a Pilates practice, this kind of coordination seems difficult. How do we maintain core control, breath, keep the body relaxed, and prepare to lift a leg to tabletop all at once? The more we practice movements, the easier they flow. The improved kinesthetic sense built by Pilates in turn improves individual exercises. It’s a synergistic relationship.
• Create movement from your “center
The abdominal muscles are the support for the spine and the internal organs. Joseph Pilates referred to these muscles as a “girdle of strength.” Therefore, “centering” is the starting point for every Pilates exercise. The Oblique, Rectus Abdominis, and Transversus Abdominis muscles support our posture as well as allow us to move and bend.
The Transversus Abdominis is a deep abdominal muscle that Pilates is able to work. It, along with the Multifidus muscle, are essential to low back stability. During a Pilates workout, it’s not unusual to hear the instructor say, pull your belly up and in toward your spine. Instructors regularly remind us to “breath laterally” as well. These two requests remind us to isolate and engage the Transversus and Mulitfidus, the starting points for most Pilates movements. By engaging these deep muscles, not only is core strength improved, the lower back is also protected.
• Make your movements flow
Every Pilates movement has its own rhythm, part of which is determined by the breath, part of which is defined by the movement. Some exercises are performed very slowly with each part of the movement measured and controlled, while others, like the hundreds, are preformed at a faster pace. No matter how quickly or slowly the movements are done, they should never be jerky or rushed. There is no “bouncing” in Pilates.
Pilates is about balance. Many exercise regimes, like aerobic exercise, involve quick movements, bouncing, and so on. Pilates avoids these types of movements because of the effect on the muscles. Pilates lengthens muscles while “bouncing” can cause the
“stretch reflex.” Muscles are like rubber bands. If they’re stretched quickly and too hard, they “snap” back, shortening, not lengthening the muscles. It is much better to stretch into the movement, slowly allowing for the full effect of the movement to take effect.
Moving slowly through exercises often proves to be more difficult than working quickly. Slowing down allows the body and mind time to work together pulling energy from the core, and lengthening it through the body.
• Work to build your stamina
No exercise is going to be easy at first. With time, patience and regular practice, multiple repetitions of Pilates core movements will seem almost effortless. The challenge of Pilates never ends, however, as every movement can be made more intense, creating a longer, leaner, stronger body.
• Check your alignment
• Coordinate your movements
• Create movement from your “center
• Make your movements flow
• Work to build your stamina
• Check your alignment
Posture affects the entire body, including the internal organs. A misaligned body is like an unstable building—eventually something is going to give. Therefore, developing and maintaining excellent posture not only helps us feel and look better, it also keeps us fit, and can help minimize pain.
As we move, weight is transferred through the center of each joint. If the postural alignment is off because of injury or poor habits, weight is transferred forward or backward, rather than through the joint’s center. This stresses the bones, muscles and ligaments around the joint, causing greater injury or pain. Every Pilates movement at Studio Blue begins with properly aligning the body.
• Coordinate your movements
In addition to concentrating, checking alignment, and using proper Pilates breath, it’s important to pay attention to the intended next movement. While some people have a greater “kinesthetic sense “ or “body sense” than others, most people need help building this sense.
As one part of the body moves, the cerebellum maintains a sense about what the rest of the body is doing, and what will come next. At the beginning of a Pilates practice, this kind of coordination seems difficult. How do we maintain core control, breath, keep the body relaxed, and prepare to lift a leg to tabletop all at once? The more we practice movements, the easier they flow. The improved kinesthetic sense built by Pilates in turn improves individual exercises. It’s a synergistic relationship.
• Create movement from your “center
The abdominal muscles are the support for the spine and the internal organs. Joseph Pilates referred to these muscles as a “girdle of strength.” Therefore, “centering” is the starting point for every Pilates exercise. The Oblique, Rectus Abdominis, and Transversus Abdominis muscles support our posture as well as allow us to move and bend.
The Transversus Abdominis is a deep abdominal muscle that Pilates is able to work. It, along with the Multifidus muscle, are essential to low back stability. During a Pilates workout, it’s not unusual to hear the instructor say, pull your belly up and in toward your spine. Instructors regularly remind us to “breath laterally” as well. These two requests remind us to isolate and engage the Transversus and Mulitfidus, the starting points for most Pilates movements. By engaging these deep muscles, not only is core strength improved, the lower back is also protected.
• Make your movements flow
Every Pilates movement has its own rhythm, part of which is determined by the breath, part of which is defined by the movement. Some exercises are performed very slowly with each part of the movement measured and controlled, while others, like the hundreds, are preformed at a faster pace. No matter how quickly or slowly the movements are done, they should never be jerky or rushed. There is no “bouncing” in Pilates.
Pilates is about balance. Many exercise regimes, like aerobic exercise, involve quick movements, bouncing, and so on. Pilates avoids these types of movements because of the effect on the muscles. Pilates lengthens muscles while “bouncing” can cause the
“stretch reflex.” Muscles are like rubber bands. If they’re stretched quickly and too hard, they “snap” back, shortening, not lengthening the muscles. It is much better to stretch into the movement, slowly allowing for the full effect of the movement to take effect.
Moving slowly through exercises often proves to be more difficult than working quickly. Slowing down allows the body and mind time to work together pulling energy from the core, and lengthening it through the body.
• Work to build your stamina
No exercise is going to be easy at first. With time, patience and regular practice, multiple repetitions of Pilates core movements will seem almost effortless. The challenge of Pilates never ends, however, as every movement can be made more intense, creating a longer, leaner, stronger body.
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