Pilates Travel Tips and our best travel workouts!

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hotel PilatesWhether you travel on a regular basis or are just taking a summer vacation, you can take your Pilates with you easily!  There are so many exercises you can do just about anywhere with just your body or a small prop that you can keep up your core strengthening, body lengthening, strengthening and balancing Pilates workouts just about anywhere.  Here’s some simple tips to remember when traveling and some links to our favorite exercises for the road!

1. Pack a few small,lightweight props like a Theraband, a small 4 inch ball, or a magic circle so you have plenty of exercise options!

2. Remind yourself that doing something is always better than nothing!  You are probably not going to do a full hour Pilates session in your hotel room and that’s OK!  Just doing a small sequence of exercises or even some of your favorite stretches will keep your body feeling happy and healthy!

stretch3. Get creative!! Workouts don’t just have to happen on a mat in your room or at the fitness center. Go for a walk and enjoy some new scenery and add some off your favorite exercises in along the way!  Use a park bench to do some tricep dips or take a towel and lay in the grass and do some of your favorite Pilates exercises!   Try some Pilates in the pool!

4. Mix in mindful movement throughout your day.  Vacations and trips are often disruptive of our regular schedule and that’s to be expected.  Try to add little bits of movement in throughout your day and pay attention to how your body feels.  Stretch when you need to stretch, walk when you’ve been sitting too long and pay attention to your posture!

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite travel mini workouts and exercises:

My Favorite Things Pilates Mat Workout (no props)

Resistance Band Pilates Mat Workout

Intermediate Pilates Mat Workout

Wedding Arm Magic Circle Workout

All Levels Mat Workout

Magic Circle Workout for Home

Side Leg Kick Workout

If you have a favorite travel workout, let us know!    We’d love to add it to our list.

 

Occupational Pilates

I recently read an article all about occupational Pilates.  Never heard of it? Neither had I, but as I read the article the name made perfect sense.  The article was specifically talking about a Pilates instructor (Marcia Polas) who was working with bartenders and teaching them how to stand and move their bodies more efficiently so that they weren’t hurting in their bodies after working all day (or night).  It then went on to talk about how she was also working with firefighters and had created a specialty niche of teaching people based on their jobs.

Here’s her definition:
I call myself an Occupational Pilates teacher. What does that made-up title mean? It means I work with clients based on how they use their bodies (“instruments”) to do their job. My areas of specialization include the hospitality industry pros (bartenders/baristas/chefs/FOH), performing artists (actors/dancers/musicians), movement professionals (Pilates and yoga teachers) — I’ll take on anyone with a physically rigorous job, including now the job of living in New York City!

IMG_6137As a Pilates instructor I can tell you I consider all the Pilates I teach as occupational Pilates! Whether you are a stay at home Mom, a fireman, or sit at a computer all day – the Pilates work is designed to keep your body strong, flexible and balanced so that you can live the rest of your life to it’s fullest, without limitations.  I really believe that one of the most important reasons to practice Pilates is so that you can learn to take care of your physical body in a way that improves and inspires the rest of your life!

Often when clients have chronic tightness or pain in their body I start exploring not only how their body moves during their Pilates session but also the types of movements (or sitting) they do throughout their life on a regular basis.  By looking at the whole picture of what they do on a regular basis I can bring awareness to habits that might be contributing to muscle imbalances and strain in their body.  We can then relate what we are doing in the Pilates studio to how it can help them in their day to day movements.

If you are looking for more than just a workout from your exercise program I would encourage you to give Pilates a try.  Most Pilates devotees will tell you that the mindful movement and exercises they learn in Pilates have had an effect on everything they do in life.

 

 

Share and Win!

Book-15As an instructor, I am inspired by my clients every day.   Every day I work with amazing clients who have used Pilates to keep their bodies and souls strong so that they can live their lives to the fullest.  There is nothing I love more than when a client comes in and tells me little things about how their Pilates practice has infiltrated into their life.

Things like:

  • I walked around the zoo with my grandkids without pain!
  • I can bend over and touch the floor!
  • I just realized I haven’t had back pain in months!
  • I found myself thinking about my posture in the car!

I could go on and on, but what I want to do today is to ask you about you Pilates story!  We want to know what Pilates has done in your life so we can celebrate and share your story with others.  We’re pretty passionate about sharing Pilates with the world and we know there is nothing more inspiring than hearing from people just like you who have used Pilates to make changes in their life.

Have you told your Pilates story-Do you have a Pilates story?    Will you share it?   You can send via email or just bring it in on a piece of paper and we’ll type it in!  It can be as short as a few sentences or as long as 3-4 paragraphs.      We’d love to hear from you!     Share your story and be entered to in a free private Pilates session!  Entries must be received by September 5 to be eligible for the drawing!

3 reasons to take your Pilates practice to a Paddle Board!

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SUNP0035It’s summer in Iowa and there’s nothing I love better than getting outside and moving!  One of my new loves is doing my Pilates Mat Work on a stand up paddle board! Besides the fun of being outside and on the lake there’s a few things about it that really keep me coming back for more every time I do it!

1. Control and concentration … One of the things I love about the Pilates mat work is that once you start to learn the sequence of the exercises and the exercise technique you can really fine tune as you practice them. But like anything that you do over and over again I feel like it is also easy to just go into “automatic” mode when you already know an exercise and not give it your all.  The paddle board takes care of this.  In order to not fall off of the board you have to use the utmost control and concentration to do the exercise correctly, in a balanced way and at your working level!

2. Can you say core work?   Yes I know Pilates is always core work but there is no cheating on the Paddle Board!  When you find yourself fighting for balance, engaging those core muscles is the key to finding it!

20150807_191919(0)3.  Summer Arms.… The paddle board challenges your body in a way that you have to use everything to stabilize (which is what we want in Pilates… whole body engagement and work!). Every time I do my Pilates mat sequence on the paddle board I realize the day after how much I had to use my triceps to help stabilize my shoulders and my body on the board. (in a good sore kind of way..)

Want to try out paddle boarding but a little hesitant to go out on your own?  Join Rivercity Pilates on August 19th at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Center in Iowa City at 6pm for our free Life Inspired Paddle Boarding event.  You can rent a board or bring your own if you have one.  We’ll go out as a group and play on the paddle boards.  Do as little or as much as you want!  We’d love to have you join us!!

Practice What You Teach: Learning to not worry..

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When people first learn that I am a Pilates instructor or that I own a Pilates studio I often find myself having conversations about fitness programs and working out.  I tend to be a listener first, so many times I find myself just taking in what they are saying.  Many times the conversation ends up being about the latest fitness program or plan, fitness or weight loss goals, or even what is considered the correct amount of cardio and strength training per week for a person.  I think many people would be surprised to know that what I’ve discovered is that I personally am not a “workout fanatic”.  I very rarely plan workouts and I really don’t love to work to the point of extreme soreness or pain (ever…!).  I do LOVE to move, movement is part of my life and you will find me including a lot of movement in each day.

This past year has been eye opening for me as I blog weekly about my own Pilates practice. I’m finding that I’m blogging a lot more about movement in my life than I am a particular workoutaha moment.  My career as a Pilates teacher has allowed me to create a life where movement is just part of what I do and who I am and I don’t even really think about it!  The “not really thinking about it” part was kind of a “a-ha” moment for me this week!

You see I almost never plan ahead a workout such as a walk, a Pilates workout, a bike ride, play time with my kids, jumping on the trampoline,etc…yet I do those things on a daily basis without even giving it a second thought! Even better than not ever truly planning ahead for it is that I don’t worry about it!  Yep that’s what I said…I don’t worry about it!

So many times I hear clients talking about missing their workouts, needing to get back on track and finding something to get them moving more.  I can sense just from their tone that this concerns them, they’ve spent some energy worrying about and probably created some unnecessary stress in their life. Sometimes I even start to question myself and think is there something wrong with me that I’m not worried about that stuff? I mean I am a fitness  professional…shouldn’t I  be worried about my own exercise time and stats, my weight fluctuation, my minutes of cardio, etc.?

And then I remember back when I was younger and that stuff mattered to me.  I used to force myself to do at least 30 minutes of cardio (that I didn’t really enjoy) every day just because that’s what someone told me I should do. (I easily do that now but I don’t even think about it because it’s something I enjoy!)   I used to only do the entire Pilates Mat sequence or take a class to do Pilates because I thought that was what you were supposed to do.   I used to jump on the scale and then have positive or negative reactions because of the 1 lb difference from the day before.

aha3I’m not exactly sure at what point in my life I quit “worrying” about my fitness workouts and just made movement part of my life…but I’m glad I did.  Life is crazy, chaotic and stressful enough without spending my time and energy worrying about trying to control things that in the days end really don’t matter.  I love that my Pilates journey has brought me to this place of “not worrying” about my physical fitness and I love that I get to help others who may be on a similar journey.  This reminds me as a Pilates teacher that even though it is important for me to know the Pilates movements, know how to adjust bodies, know how to modify exercises, and know how to progress clients… there are often lessons much bigger and more important that I get to teach.

Nine things to look for when researching Pilates Teacher Training Programs

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pilates ttIf you want to become a Pilates instructor, you know how overwhelming it can be when you start looking at all of the different instructor training programs out there. Learning to instruct the Pilates method is a journey and it is important to find a training program that will best fit your needs and life. We encourage you to do your research and look at three or four different programs to find the best fit for you! Here are some tips to think about:

1. Get to know the instructors who will be teaching the training program and the instructors at the studio where you will be training. You are going to spend a lot of your time at workshops, taking lessons, and observing. Make sure that you enjoy the instructors’ teaching and are comfortable in the studio where you will be doing your training.

2. Many programs have a mentoring portion of their program. This simply means a particular person will guide you throughout the process. Your mentor will be there to answer questions and check in periodically on your progress. Ask who your mentor will be, how you can contact this person, and what the mentoring portion of the program entails.

3. Talk to other instructors who have completed the program. Firsthand experience is priceless and talking to instructors who have gone through the program will give you a good feel for what to expect.

4. Know what the program prerequisites are. Some programs require that you be at a certain level in your own Pilates practice before starting the program, while others may require previous movement or teaching experience.

5. Learn how many hours are required to complete the program. Depending on the type of program you are doing, you will be required to log in your hours and complete them in a timely fashion. Figure out how many hours you will need to dedicate to your training weekly and make sure this is reasonable and that you are able to schedule these hours. Many programs have a time limit. Ask how long you have to complete the program and what happens if you do not complete it in that time frame. If not completed within a certain time frame you may need to retake workshops or pay an extra fee to extend your time to finish the program.

6. Ask about the program costs. Be very specific and make sure you know what is included in the program price and what is not included. Sometimes training manuals and books are included in the pricing, but often times they are not. Ask if any of the required lessons are included in the price and if not, whether there are discounts on sessions while in the program. Some programs will include the use of the studio for your practice teaching in the program price, while others may charge you to use their space and equipment. Are tests included in the program price or will you have to pay extra?

7. If you are interested in teaching at the studio you will train at, be sure to ask about apprentice teaching opportunities as well as future employment opportunities after you finish your training. Many studios offer apprentice teaching positions. This is a great way to gain experience, get your required hours in, and make a little money to offset your costs.

8. Many Pilates programs offer a Certificate of Completion instead of a Certificate of Certification. The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) has encouraged training programs to do this in order to encourage instructors to take the Pilates Method Alliance international professional exam, and as a way to create an international standard of Pilates instruction. Different studios, gyms, and fitness centers have different requirements for their Pilates instructors. If you are planning on teaching in a particular setting it, make sure you know which education requirements are necessary.

9. Most Pilates programs require some sort of continuing education to keep their certificate of completion current, and PMA certified instructors must complete sixteen hours every two years. Ask about continuing education requirements and inquire about continuing education opportunities offered at the training studio.