What’s next after Physical Therapy?

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Whether you sprained an ankle, had rotator cuff surgery, or injured your low back….physical therapy often is just what is needed to help your body recover quickly and safely.  But what happens after your physical therapy sessions are done?

Many times people find that an injury can be a wake up call to let us know that we need to take better care of our body.  Most Physical Therapists would recommend continuing to move and exercise in ways that will strengthen your body safely after your PT sessions are done…but what exactly does that mean for you?  If you weren’t currently exercising before your injury you might be nervous about jumping into an exercise program because of the fear of getting re-injured.  This is unfortunate because an appropriate exercise program is exactly what our body needs to continue healing and strengthening preventing re-injury.  Many Physical Therapists recommend Pilates to their clients post physical therapy for a variety of reasons:

  • Pilates teachers specialize in working individually and in small groups with clients to teach them how to safely do movements.

  • Pilates teachers are trained to work with a variety of injuries and some even specialize in post PT clients.
  • Pilates teachers don’t just have clients copy movements, they teach clients how to do an exercise correctly in their body.
  • Pilates teachers are trained in how to give adjustments and verbal cueing that helps the clients work safely and effectively.
  • Pilates teachers use basic movement principles and ideas that your Physical Therapist was probably already teaching you (this means that many PT clients start Pilates and feel like they already are familiar with the basic concepts and ideas used in Pilates). 
  • The Pilates method will continue to balance out your body …strengthening weak muscles and stretching those that are tight or inflexible so you continue to get stronger and move better without injury.
  • Pilates is based on using controlled precise movements that are perfect post injury.
  • Pilates teachers can easily be in contact with your Physical Therapist to ensure that your post PT exercise supports the work you already did with your physical therapist

Are you curious about Pilates and if it might be a good exercise program for you after Physical Therapy?  Contact us today to schedule a complimentary private session to try it out! 

Are you practicing Pilates effectively?

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What if you considered your exercise time practice of life movements?  I’m guessing that most people hear the word practice and relate it to athletes practicing their sport or musicians practicing playing music, but practice is relevant to everyone who moves.  Who doesn’t want to move better?  Who doesn’t want to be the 90 year old who is traveling, walking and moving like a typical 50 year old?  I love the practice tips given in this video and how relevant they are to your Pilates practice or any type of movement you do in your life!  

From the video above:

Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement.  Practice helps us perform with more ease, speed and confidence.  

Mastery of anything is about the quality and effectiveness of the practice, not just the hours spent practicing.  Effective practice is consistent, focused and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of current abilities.  

The great thing about effective Pilates practice is that the more effectively we practice the more we feel the benefits of the exercises in our body.  Who doesn’t want to feel stronger, more mobile, more flexible and even taller quicker? Many of the tips this video gives to improve your practice time and make it more effective are things we do or can do in Pilates on a regular basis:

  1. Focus on the task at hand and minimize distractions.  
  2. Start slowly. Coordination is built with quality repetitions.  If you gradually increase the speed of the quality repetitions you have a better chance of doing them correctly.  
  3. Frequent repetitions with allotted breaks.  ( Practice your Pilates skills not just in class but take little breaks throughout your day and practice skills like good posture, walking in good alignment or just practicing one exercise at a time at home)
  4. Practice in your brain in vivid detail.  ( Yep…just practicing your teaser in your head is going to help you improve it!!) 

Pilates is the perfect exercise for Snowbirds

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If you are reading this, I’m going to assume that you are a snowbird, or you know someone who is.   Read things you didn’t know about snowbirds at this link!   In Iowa, you are a snowbird if you are one of those lucky people who has figured out out how to escape the cold, snowy winters by heading south seasonally and then returning home to enjoy the other beautiful seasons of the midwest..spring, summer and fall. 

Many of our clients at the studio are snowbirds and I was reflecting on how great Pilates is as a movement practice for these clients!  Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite reasons:

  1. Most snowbirds are at a point in their life where they realize that keeping their body moving safely is key to being able to age well and continue to be active enough to do all of the fabulous fun things that they finally have time to do! Pilates is the perfect method to give them the tools to do this on a daily basis! Pilates is a safe effective method of exercise that teaches you how to move well, helps you work on balance, flexibility and strength that’s needed to keep you moving!

  2. Pilates is portable.   Although Pilates can be done with equipment, there are so many things you can do with simply your own body and maybe a small theraband, a foam roller or a small ball that there is no reason to not be able to take your Pilates with you!  

    It’s easy to do in a hotel, in your camper or just about anywhere.  One of my clients still does private Pilates sessions with me via FaceTime while she’s away. Some days she does it in her camper and other days she’ll take a mat and some props outside and we do outdoor Pilates! Even if you are not doing a session with an instructor, there are a ton of online videos that can easily be done anywhere.

  3. You can find Pilates just about anywhere.   Pilates is popular enough now that you can usually find a Pilates studio close to you wherever you are traveling.  I often research studios for my clients who are traveling and give them recommendations of teachers and studios who I think would be a good fit for them when they are away.  

Learn more about Pilates as an exercise method by scheduling a complimentary private session with one of our instructors! 

Do you want to strengthen your core without crunches?

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If you’re one of those people who hated doing situps all thru high school — do we have news for you!    In Pilates we don’t do situps per se – we do other exercises to strengthen our core muscles.   Try these exercises that you can do at home, with a small playground ball that you can get anywhere!