Most devoted runners and cyclist are amazed at how much of a difference just 1 or 2 Pilates workouts per week can make in how their body feels and how it keeps them from getting those reoccurring injuries that often sideline them from their favorite exercise!   

One of my favorite quotes from Joseph Pilates says, “Physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body and a sound mind, fully capable of naturally, easily and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”     Joe makes the point that our exercise time should be devoted to training our body to be balanced out so that we can do all of things we need to do and want to do in life on a daily basis with ease.   Joseph Pilates clearly created his exercise method with the purpose of giving people a way to easily train their body so that they could feel their best in whatever they wanted to do in life.  If you are a runner or cyclist than your “physical fitness time” should definitely include time to balance out the muscles in your body so that you can run and bike with ease and without injuries.  

If you are one of those people who have found a love for running or cycling (or maybe both) in your life than I’m guessing that regularly getting this cardio based exercise in your life has been fabulous for keeping you fit and healthy over the years (so fit you probably haven’t had to do much else for exercise).  I’m also guessing that over the years you’ve had an occasional injury or ailment that quite possibly could be the result of the repetitiveness of your cardio fitness training.  It seems kind of silly that someone who is running and biking so much in their life should have to add more exercise time in their life to stay healthy….but as crazy as it seems adding just a little bit of Pilates training time to your life will allow you to do more of what you love and will keep you from getting sidelined with injuries that keep you from your favorite cardio exercise! 

How does Pilates help?

Runners and cyclists tend to use the same muscles groups over and over again for long periods of time.  In a nutshell this pattern creates imbalance in the body and imbalances often lead to injury. Pilates focuses on creating more balance in the entire body by stretching tight muscles and strengthening weak underused muscles. 

The Pilates method is very efficient and accomplishes both the stretching and strengthening on each exercise you perform.  What this means for you is you won’t have to sit and stretch and do individual strengthening exercises to get the balance work you need to keep yourself healthy.  Each workout is designed to strengthen and balance the entire body efficiently so you have more time to do the things you love! 

Since I’m guessing you don’t want to have to stop doing your favorite cardio exercise due to an injury, my best advice (and Joe’s too!) would be to add 1 or 2 Pilates workouts per week that will help you balance out your body, prevent injuries, help you feel better in your body and even improve how your cardio feels!  Interested in learning more about how Pilates can help keep you running and biking without injury or pain?  Schedule a complimentary private session today and let us introduce you to the Pilates method of exercise and help you figure out how to add it into your life! 

I have 3 Pilates secrets for you! 

• Absolutely every Pilates workout you do is designed to be a total body workout that strengthens your core the entire time! Who doesn’t want that?
• The absolute key to progressing quickly and safely is in how you do the exercises.  
• This is the big one…Using the Pilates equipment can speed up your progress toward more strength, flexibility and balance in your body because of it’s genius design!   Here’s how:

1. The equipment is designed to help you get your body into positions where you are able to safely stabilize your body using your core muscles without overworking or injuring muscles. Here’s an example:  Have you ever laid down with your legs up in space over your hips?  For many this position feels impossible to be in and can even hurt their back.  The Pilates springs can be used to support the legs in this position so that the core muscles can effectively stabilize the spine against the mat(this means your back does not hurt!) and then a variety of whole body strengthening exercises can be done in this position. After using the equipment to gain strength and balance, eventually you will be able to do these type of exercises without the springs!
2. The equipment is designed to help you find a balanced alignment in your body.  Alignment is very important in Pilates because results come quickest when we can perform the exercises in alignment creating uniform strength and flexibility in our muscles.  Because our movement patterns over time shape our alignment it is often hard to tell if you are in proper alignment without looking in a mirror or having someone else tell you. Laying on the center of Pilates reformer automatically brings your head, neck and shoulders into alignment and you can easily bring your legs into alignment on the center of the foot bar.  The equipment supports you so you can maintain this alignment throughout exercises.  This  alignment makes the leg press type exercise we do called Footwork  so much more effective than a traditional leg press because you are recruiting muscles evenly and in a balanced way.   
3. The equipment design allows for endless possibilities to strengthen your whole body in a safe way. You will be amazed at the ways you can strengthen your whole body and especially those core muscles without feeling liked you are straining, struggling or hurting yourself!  There is no boredom of movements in Pilates class!  

If you are looking to start a Pilates practice and are excited to feel results in how your body feels as quickly as possible you’ll definitely want to add some regular equipment classes into your regular routine! Schedule a complimentary private session to get started at the studio and we’ll give you an introduction to how you could use the Pilates equipment in your life!