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 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.