Looking at the above graphic, you’ll see the generic representations of the four typical postures of the human body. Hardly anyone is an A but a few people are lucky enough to what I call, “live in neutral.” I’ll mention this as they lay on the floor or reformer on their backs. Mostly what I’m referring to is the natural position of the pelvis - when a nice little curve exists in the lumbar spine. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean neutral follows the rest of the spine up to the neck and head. Most of my naturally neutral people pop their ribs sky high! That mid-back extension (or flexion, see D above) is what I want to talk about.
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First, let me start by saying that not everyone enjoys Pilates, oddly enough, I know, but it’s true.
Just as some people don’t like swimming or barre or running or yoga or bootcamps, some just don’t like Pilates. Each individual has to find the exercise that’s right for him or her. It should stimulate your mind, body, and soul. You should get a physical benefit, a mental benefit, and a spiritual benefit (loosely, nothing to do with religion but still on a deeper level than your mind or body).
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Great question! I get it all the time. Or I hear, What is Pilates? Is that like yoga?
Well, yes … and no.
Joseph Pilates (developer of Pilates … hence the name) taught six principles in his method: Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath, and Flow.
See the similarities already?
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It's 2017 and it's been a long time since I've posted a new blog article.
But, this year is no different, the New Year hullabaloo irritates me.
So I've gotta speak. This is just my opinion. Take it or leave it.
I HATE SETTING GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR!
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I'm not trying to talk you out of working out at home. Or joining Barre Fitness Anytime.
But to shamelessly borrow someone else's line, this is a no-spin zone. Just the facts. And some opinions, of course.
The other major difficulty lots of people have with working out at home is ... drum roll please ... ACCOUNTABILITY. Do you do all the reps or give yourself a break since no one's watching? Are you more likely to skip a workout since no one will care that you're not showing up to class? I've mentioned a few times during a workout
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You've been doing Barre Fitness Anytime workouts for a few months now and you're ready to progress to more difficult workouts.
That's a tall order. How do you do it? There's no one there watching you, telling you that you're arching your back during glute work at the barre.
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Whether you do Pilates, Crossfit, yoga, swimming, or running, the 3 essential segments to any workout are warm-up, cool-down, and recovery.
WARM-UP: The length of time necessary to warm-up is dependent upon what activity is going to follow. It consists of dynamic stretching - not holding ...
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When you raise up off your heel, ensuring proper alignment is important to strengthen the muscles, ligaments and tendons around the foot and ankle. This quick video talks about how to 'feel' that in your foot, ankle and calf.
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Here are some quick technique tips for reducing shoulder strain at the barre!
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So, you've said to not be afraid of heavier weights. But what about using lighter ones? Isn't that a waste of my precious workout time?
NO!
What level of weight you use for each exercise is important. Barre Fitness Anytime workouts are based in Pilates and Pilates works ...
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This beautiful contraption is called a Ladder Barrel and it completes my Pilates large equipment buying!
Align Fitness now is a fully-equipped Pilates studio - with all the major pieces of equipment.
As many of you know, you can perform virtually every exercise on each piece of equipment, i.e., footwork on the reformer, footwork on the chair, footwork on the cadillac. But they all feel and work your body differently!
Just one more toy for me to contemplate creative and exciting workouts with variety and challenge!
When your thighs are burning, your calves are almost cramping, your toes are screaming, and you're gripping your barre or sturdy support like you're hanging off the Empire State Building, you start to think that you cannot possibly do one more rep!
High repetitions with light weights are the hallmark of barre work. This really challenges the endurance of your muscles and the strength of your willpower. Can you keep going through the intensity? Can you lean into the burn rather than try to pretend it's not there?
The subtle intensity of the barre burn sneaks up on even the most fit bodies. But does taking a break mean you fail?
No. Taking a short break - 3-5 seconds during an exercise - is not failure. It is smart. The consequence of not doing this is that you lose your form. Sloppy form does not work your muscles properly. First it's sloppy form, and before you know it, bad habits start forming and you've forgotten how to do the exercise correctly. That is much worse than taking a short break.
One of the most demanding exercises in barre is single leg work. Whether it's front, side or back, single leg work requires a ton of effort on your standing leg. This surprises new students of barre all the time. They mistakenly but understandably think all the work will be in the gesture leg (the leg that's moving). But it's not because all of your body weight being supported on just one leg! That makes your standing leg work like C.R.A.Z.Y.
So rather than losing your concentration on your form (getting sloppy), vary between bending and straightening your standing leg a few times or take a break all together and shake it out for a few seconds. Find your good form again and get back to it! Maintain it for as long as you can, then take another small break before you lose your form.
The more you do barre, the more you get used to this intensity, dare I say, even come to love it. Addicted to it. It is the barre's version of a runner's high.
... and then my shoulder aches and pains started. I'm not saying waterbeds are bad! Many people love them and sleep well on them. I now know that my particular body shape needs more support through the shoulders and hips than what a waterbed can give.
It took over 12 years, many doctors, chiropractors, physical therapy sessions, acupuncture visits, Tylenol and nights waking up in tears before I was finally given some sound advice ...
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.... please do Pilates at least once a week!
Run a marathon, climb Mount Everest, swim the Straits of Mackinac, hold your down dog for 15 minutes, keep going to spin class 3 times per week. Keep doing all the activities you love to do, but just add a Pilates class taught by a certified Pilates instructor.
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Every Pilates and Barre class at Align Fitness is done barefoot (including socks). We rarely, if ever, do any kind of jumping. So many of my clients are attracted to Pilates and Barre because of their low-impact nature. Because of the no-impact nature of my classes, no shoes are necessary. I hear of lasting challenges from past injuries, surgeries, current aches and unexplained pains in knees, hips and ankles on an almost daily basis.
I have no bias against jumping. Actually, I'm very interested in the health benefits of plyometrics. Short bursts of jumping is thought to help move your lymphatic system, challenges the cardiovascular system, and tones your butt and legs like crazy! I absolutely plan on adding some plyometrics into some Barre Fitness Anytime classes (you read it here first, folks).
And Barre Fitness Anytime has one workout where we leap from side to side with a heavy weight where it would be totally appropriate to wear shoes so you don't fall and have more confidence to widen your stride.
Our feet have 28 bones, 38 muscles, 35 joints, and 56 ligaments. WOW! And each of these has to be strengthened and mobilized. Wearing shoes actually discourages your feet from movement and doing any work, making them weaker. Shoes support our feet and ankles, not strengthen them.
Feet are literally our foundation. Let your feet feel the earth/carpet/tile/whatever you're on. Open up your toes, spread your feet and let them do their job.
Let your ankles shake and fight for stability!!! AAARRRGGGG!
As far as barefoot versus shoes: they both have their benefits and disadvantages - depending on what you're doing. Going for a hike in the Great Smokey Mountains? Yes, shoes (hiking boots even). Taking a barre/yoga/pilates/tai chi class? Let your feet work.
Can you spot them?
Just looking at the above plank makes me feel the pain I was in all over again! You can't tell, but I was saying, "Hurry up! Take the picture!"
- First, and the most painful for me, is the dipping down of the pelvis. Compare the height of my pelvis to that of the plank below. Can you see the elevation difference? And along with the dipping down of the pelvis comes no glute or quadriceps engagement whatsoever. To lift the pelvis up to be in line with the rest of the spine, you activate the abdominals, the glutes, and your quadriceps (think of pulling your knee caps up the front of your thighs). You can experiment with what feels good for you by rotating your pelvis backwards and forwards (tuck and arch) while in plank. Stop when you feel stable and strong. For anyone like me, with a pelvis that is tilted forwards already (like I'm sticking my butt out), it feels stable to think of tucking the pelvis in a plank position with lots of glute engagement.
- Similar to #1 is the dipping of the rib cage. Along with your pelvis, you lift your rib cage up by knitting your obliques and pulling your belly button to your spine (sound familiar?). #1 helps #2.
- Rounded upper back. I had a hard time showing this in that horrible plank photo above, but I want to address it anyway. Another common mistake people make in the plank position is a retraction of the shoulder blades, think rhomboid pinch. I'm always saying 'open collarbones' but against force it is super challenging, and gravity is the force here.The strength comes from working against it. In this case, not retraction of the shoulder blades but protraction, or a puffing up of the upper back.
- The neck, oh my goodness, the neck! AAHH! Of course, this is exaggerated. But many people allow their heads to hang below their shoulders during plank. Just as when you're standing, keep your base of your skull over your shoulders. This becomes more challenging in a horizontal, unsupported position. Your neck extensor muscles (along your neck and at the base of it) are working against gravity now. When your chin is dropped or your head is forward, your neck flexors are working. We don't need to overwork that group of muscles! The opposite holds true, too. You don't want to look up (forward) and pinch your neck extensor muscles either.
- Can you spot the last one (or two)? Yes, the elbows. And this was painful, too! I am a great model for the improper position of the elbows because I hyperextend them so dang wonderfully. Everyone needs to soften the elbows while in plank, just as everyone needs to soften the knees while standing. One should try to avoid 'locking' the knees or elbows at all times, even when you're standing in line at the grocery store. Otherwise, over time, this consistent action will wreak havoc on the joints. You've might have heard me say in a class or two, don't hang on your bones, use your muscles instead. Try it, plank and lock your elbows. Now soften them. Feel the difference.
And #5b is the placement of the hands. The heels of the hands need to be directly under your shoulders. I would even go further and say imagine that you can drag your heels of your hands back towards your toes versus pushing them forward. This will help you engage your lats, serratus anterior, and low trapezius muscles - all very important for posture while standing. Yay! Who knew that by getting a good, strong plank while in a horizontal position you can improve your posture in a vertical position?!
Again, play with all these tips. Find your most perfect plank. If you are struggling with any one piece, start out your perfect plank with your knees down. Once you feel like you could hold a kneeling plank for 102 years, then you are ready to hold plank on your toes for 50 years. Okay, maybe 2 minutes.
Hip lift A looks like it gives you a great stretch! Hip lift B looks like you're barely working. Right? Is the goal of a bridge to get your hips up as high as possible?
Yes, the goal of a bridge or hip lift is to get your hips up as high as possible ... while maintaining good form. Hip lift B has the good form!
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Here is my new favorite thing: Primal Pit Paste.
As I'm sure many of my clients can attest to, including my husband, I can be a little odorific during a good workout! And while the jury's still out on those odor-inhibiting workout clothes, this stuff works like magic on your skin.
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There is a misconception out there that lifting heavy weights means adding bulk and looking like a football player. And it can if you do it every workout and eat all protein! Fear not the bulking up! That has more to do with testosterone than with using heavy weights once in a while. Strength training is now getting some much deserved attention and the research studies have been pouring in that exercise is a balance between cardiovascular and strength training.
Granted, a Jane Fonda/Kathy Smith all-cardio workout is better than sitting on the couch and not bothering at all. But is it the best use of your precious time? And, are you hurting yourself over the long term by the repetitive strain on your joints? All these research studies can make it very confusing for the those of us who want to be safe and efficient in our workouts but one thing is clear:
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October 12th, 2014
1. I need to be more flexible, will barre classes help me? People often say, "I can't touch my toes, I'm so inflexible! I need to lengthen my hamstrings!" But what people are actually complaining about and feeling they need to "fix" is muscle tightness. You cannot physically lengthen a muscle permanently. Think about it: muscles are attached to bones, can you lengthen your bones? Nope. Getting a lean look to your muscles appears as if they've lengthened but they have not. Flexibility comes as a by-product of mobility. Can you move freely, in many directions without strain. During a BFA class, we mobilize in the beginning and stretch between segments or at the end to keep the mobility. When you're finished, you feel more flexible because your muscles have been worked. And you might be able to touch your toes! But ... the next day, you're right back to not being able to touch your toes.
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