Barbara WintroubI’ve heard from some of the fitness clients at one of my clubs that Pilates injured them and they are not coming back. Recently, I substituted for one of the teachers so I decided to take most of the springs off and do the exercises slowly. WOW! Talk about not being able to stabilize body parts. All the Ab work was done from the back and they could not keep their thoracic spine on the carriage. The clients are so used to heavy springs and fast, fast movements, they have lost control of their bodies. They had to find the control, stabilize and work from the inside out. Lots of groaning in the group. I also teach my mat class that way. Let’s see what happens when we slow the movements down and hold the positions for a while. Oh, great, Barbara’s teaching. How do clients learn advanced moves without getting injured if they cannot stabilize? Everyone thinks doing 10 of something is good but actually it’s how you get to 10 that’s important. Have some of us teachers lost site of our Pilates goals and succumbed to making our workouts more like CrossFit. Everyone I know doing CrossFit is injured. I rest my case.
Tip of the Day: Interlace your fingers behind your back. Slide your hands down toward the floor. Watch your chest lift as you Stand tall-Good Posture Becomes You.