It’s All in the Core
Understanding the core helps us move with strength, stability, and energy. There is something about a well-defined set of abs that makes the body look fit and strong. But flat abs, or even a six-pack, do not necessarily translate to strength. What we really need is a strong core. Although it shares the same general location as the abs, the core is not interchangeable with the abdominals. Abs Are Not the Same as the Core The abdominal muscles enable the trunk to bend forward, as when we do sit-ups or curl-ups, bend side to side, and twist clockwise and counterclockwise. We use these movements several times in daily life, and the stronger the abdominals, the more easily we move. The only muscle of the abdominal group that makes up the core is situated deep inside: the transversus abdominis. Deep Core Stabilization The transversus abdominis is not a muscle that creates big movements. It is a muscle we need to learn to access for stability and control. The core is also made up of deep lower back muscles, the pelvic floor, and the diaphragm. Together, these muscles form a supportive corset around the torso and help protect the body. If you have ever injured your back, suffered back pain or pain around the hips, or hurt your shoulders, hips, or knees, working on your core may help you feel like you have changed your whole body. Why Core Strength Matters Most exercises target big muscle groups: the abdominals, the muscles around the hips and thighs, and the shoulders. These are also the big movers. The core is not a big mover. It supports, stabilizes, and controls big movements. Without core stabilization, we are likely to overburden the big movers, which may lead to pains and injuries. Pilates Builds Core Strength Pilates is a total body workout that develops core strength. It works the big muscles, small muscles, and deep muscles using core strength as the basis of each exercise. Every exercise in Pilates is, in fact, a core exercise. Pilates first teaches us to turn on the core through breathing. We learn to lead with the breath, activate the core, and maintain that activation throughout movement. In Pilates, the core is also known as the powerhouse because it is the body’s source of strength and dynamic energy. The whole body grows stronger and less prone to injuries when we learn to engage the core and draw strength from it in cooperation with the big movers. Taking Core Strength into Daily Life With Pilates training, using the core becomes as natural as breathing. The goal is to recruit core strength beyond doing Pilates and beyond exercising, into daily living. Turn on your core when driving, cooking, working on the computer, cleaning the house, and walking between places. Turn on your core, period. Get strong from the inside out. Work on your core with All Core Pilates at Upper Ground Floor, Commerce Mall, Alabang Town Center. Book Now.
Pilates in Full – Beyond Reformers
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.
Pilates and Pregnancy
Doing pilates can help you stay fit through pregnancy and make it easier for the body to recover after childbirth. Should Pregnant Women Exercise? The simple answer is yes. A healthy and active lifestyle with a regular exercise regimen benefits everybody. For pregnant women, exercise can decrease symptoms like backaches, bloating, fatigue, swollen ankles, gestational diabetes, and other discomforts. Exercise during pregnancy also helps the body become more resilient, making postpartum recovery quicker and easier. If you led a physically active lifestyle before pregnancy, you should be able to carry on with your activities in moderation and with modification. High-impact cardio should not be on your list while pregnant, but swimming, walking, yoga, and pilates are highly recommended prenatal exercises. If you have never exercised regularly before, you can still safely begin an exercise program by following your doctor’s advice. For your safety and to make the most of your workout, consult a trainer knowledgeable in prenatal and postnatal exercise. Pilates instructors can specialize in prenatal or postnatal pilates and customize an appropriate program during pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Prenatal Pilates Pregnant women are more prone to backaches and pain around the pelvic area. This is partly due to posture changes as the baby grows, partly due to the baby’s weight, and partly due to hormones. Doing pilates strengthens abdominal muscles and deep stabilizer muscles. This helps strengthen the whole torso so that aches and pains are minimized. As posture changes with the growing baby, you may feel clumsier and less balanced. Prenatal pilates trains pregnant women to be more sensitive to weight distribution and teaches correct weight distribution with good posture and alignment. The exercises are done in a way that helps reduce load on the pelvis and lower back. Through these exercises, you learn to find safe and comfortable positions as you move through daily life during pregnancy. Postnatal Pilates The foundation of pilates is breathing, moving with the breath, and moving with intention. That means you can begin with gentle breathing exercises after childbirth, with guidance from your instructor and doctor. Ask your pilates instructor to guide you through breathing exercises plus pelvic floor and abdominal muscle activation. If your instructor creates a home program for you, do it regularly to promote mobility, circulation, and renewed strength. Doctors often advise waiting six to seven weeks before beginning regular exercise again. As with other exercise programs, postnatal pilates can usually begin safely in the sixth to seventh week of postpartum recovery with medical clearance. Postnatal pilates brings back good posture and alignment while strengthening mothers for the physical and emotional demands of caring for a baby. It also helps restore muscular strength in key areas affected by pregnancy and delivery. Ask All Core Pilates about prenatal and postnatal pilates. Located at the Upper Ground Floor, Alabang Town Center. Call or text 0917-187-2207 for more information.
Pilates – Let’s Start with the Basics
Pilates is an exercise method that builds on progress. It trains the body to optimize the breath, maintain good alignment, and use muscles efficiently. People of all ages, physiques, and strength levels can benefit from this method of exercise. Have you ever seen the Spread Eagle? It is one of the most common pilates images on social media. It is an exercise where you use your hands and feet to hang from horizontal bars, drawing strength from the core to stabilize the body into a long, neutral line. As impressive as the Spread Eagle and other advanced pilates exercises may look, social media can make pilates seem inaccessible to people who are not athletic, agile, youthful, or adventurous. In reality, no one progresses in pilates without a solid foundation in the basics. The Origins of Contrology Joseph Pilates, the creator of what has become modern-day pilates, was weak and sickly in his youth. He was determined to overcome poor health, so he taught himself anatomy, yoga, gymnastics, bodybuilding, and martial arts. During World War I, Joseph was confined in a camp in England with other Germans. Health conditions were subpar, but by then he had already been developing his method of exercise for physical and mental well-being, which he called Contrology. He encouraged everyone to exercise with him daily and improvised resistance equipment onto sickbeds to rehabilitate injured and weakened soldiers. Those who exercised with him were said to have remained among the healthiest in the camp. Who Pilates Is For Today, people do pilates for fitness, rehabilitation, and post-rehabilitation. You will find a wide range of people in a pilates studio: athletes, beginners, college students who spend most of their time at computers, older adults who need to mobilize more, and people recovering from injury or illness. Others do pilates to cross-train for running, high-intensity interval training, or other physical activities. What Happens in a Pilates Class A typical pilates class is done one-on-one with a trained instructor. The exercises are unique to each person because every body is unique, and each body has different needs. Pilates aims to bring the body as close as possible to good alignment, known in anatomy as neutral. A body in neutral alignment is at its most stable and strongest position. Breath, Alignment, and Core Strength Every pilates exercise teaches you to use the breath and develop core strength. The core, those deep muscles forming a supportive corset inside the torso, is the body’s powerhouse. Even the most basic exercise trains you to recruit the core and isolate the correct muscles involved in that movement. With consistent pilates practice, the entire body grows stronger, moves more intelligently, and breathes more fully. Grow stronger and stronger with All Core Pilates, located at Upper Ground Floor, Alabang Town Center. Call or text 0917 187 2207 for more information.
7 Ways Pilates Changes Your Body
Pilates is well-known for developing long, lean muscles, yet the benefits go beyond aesthetics. It renews the body from the inside. Would you really believe doing pilates could give you a whole new body after 30 sessions? It is not a miracle. Pilates is based on exercise science and rehabilitation study, and consistent practice develops mind-body connection so that the body is able to move intelligently. Any exercise or movement will help a person lose weight, tone up and grow stronger. What is different with doing pilates is that it creates balance within the body, trains you to access core strength, and makes your body more resilient. 1. Long, Lean Muscles We develop muscles as we contract them during exercise. There are three kinds of contractions, and in pilates, there is plenty of focus on the eccentric phase. Eccentric contractions work against resistance. There is control and deliberate deceleration of the movement. Muscles in the eccentric phase work harder because they must contract as they get longer. This means we build muscles that are not bulky, but long and lean. 2. More Flexibility Stretching in a fixed position can improve flexibility, but incorporating stretches into movement, like the exercises in pilates, can create more lasting gains. Pilates guides the muscle through its full range of motion in the eccentric phase, which is one key to improving flexibility. 3. A Stronger Core A strong core is not about abs for show. The core, made up of the deepest layer of our abdominal muscle, the pelvic floor, the diaphragm, and deep lower back muscles, wraps the torso in a supportive corset. Pilates helps you find your core and then strengthen it so that you can move with stability, control, and dynamic energy with less risk of injury. 4. Better Mind-Body Connection Pilates emphasizes quality of movement rather than quantity. You cannot have good quality movement without first stabilizing the body and putting it in proper alignment. By training you to lead with the breath, draw strength from the core, and move with intention, pilates enhances mind-body connection during exercise and in everyday activities. 5. Improved Alignment Our bodies have a natural and neutral alignment that should give us the most comfort and stability at rest and when in motion, but we lose this alignment through bad habits and poor movement patterns. Exercises in pilates work the muscles to promote proper alignment. A body in good alignment can move with ease and freedom, with very few aches and pains or none at all. 6. Fewer Aches and Injuries Pilates began as a rehabilitation program for injured soldiers. Today, rehabilitation and post-rehabilitation programs for people with injuries often incorporate pilates principles and exercises. It is also good for prevention, because a strong core and good body alignment protect the back and joints while supporting intelligent movement. 7. More Energy Doing pilates not only makes you feel more energetic, it helps the body use energy more efficiently. The body draws fuel from oxygen, and pilates encourages full breathing into the lower lobes of the lungs. The more of our lungs we use, the more efficient the energy exchange. Change your body with All Core Pilates, located at Upper Ground Floor, Alabang Town Center. Call or text 0917 187 2207 for more information.