Every Pilates class is an adventure. The variety of props, machines, and equipment this exercise method can feature makes each session exciting, challenging, and well spent.
Reformers are famous in Pilates for good reason. With proper form and good alignment, reformer exercises feel stress-free and are safe to perform while highly effective in strength and stability training.
The exercises are dynamic and become progressively more challenging as the body grows stronger. As fun as reformers are, Pilates exercises using other apparatus are sometimes underrated, yet they can be just as exciting and effective.
Mat Pilates
Mat Pilates forms the foundation of all Pilates exercises done on the reformer and other equipment. If spring tension moves the carriage on the reformer, nothing but the body provides the tension, push, and pull on the mat.
This is why mat Pilates can feel more difficult: you have to carry your own weight and stay in control of your body.
Props such as the barrel, blocks, sponge ball, Flex Band, Fitness Circle resistance ring, toning balls, and hand weights bring variety to the exercises. They help target specific muscle groups and can increase or decrease the intensity of an exercise.
The Cadillac
The original Cadillac was designed by Joseph Pilates. In its earliest version, it was simply a hospital bed with makeshift springs attached to it. Joseph used these beds to rehabilitate injured soldiers during World War I, and he continued to improve his ideas until the Cadillac came into being.
Although it traces its origins to injury rehabilitation, the Cadillac is also used to challenge the body by isolating muscles. Its independent springs require the left and right sides of the body to work equally.
The Trapeze and Fuzzies are attachments across the top frame of the Cadillac that help with everything from simple stretches to more intense exercises. Hanging Abdominal Curls, for example, are less about hanging upside down and more about having the core strength to curl without being grounded on the mat.
The Stability Chair
The Split-Pedal Stability Chair is a compact apparatus that trains balance and stability on a smaller base of support. You can exercise sitting on the Chair, or work lying down or standing at the front, back, or sides of it.
The Chair can isolate the lower and upper body, and the split pedals allow you to isolate the left and right sides of the body. It can support rehabilitation exercises, prenatal and postnatal exercises, strength training, and athletic conditioning.
Get the full Pilates experience at All Core Pilates at the Upper Ground Floor, Alabang Town Center. Call or text 0917-187-2207 for more information. Book your training.
