Pilates

ladies ladies ladies! i'm ashamed there are only a few threads here, lets get to what we do best- chatting! Do you do pilates? How do you like it? What are the results? i'm thinkin about starting up a class.

Hi SB! I find pilates to be a form of torture, personally, mainly b/c you certainly FEEL like your abs are getting the workout of their life, especially if you go to an hour long class. I used to go to a class, but not with enough regularity to be able to comment on results. I even bought a DVD to try it at home, but again, I don't do it enough, I'm much more of a class gal. That and having 2 dogs that shed makes it completely undesirable to be on the floor of my house - having to vacuum before working out is just overwhelming to me!

I recently started going to a yoga studio that offers pilates and am thinking of getting back into it, my schedule has changed so I can fit it in. The thing about pilates is, you're in these postures and you're constantly having to contract most of your muscles, especially core ones, so I can't see how it would be not worth it.

If you start going, let me know what you think, and I'll do the same!

Mmm I know, this is supposed to be the ladies' section but...

I started doing Pilates almost two years ago. There were no teachers in my area at that time, so I basically bought a couple of books and videos and started practising. Your abs do get the workout of their life! It's highly adaptable, you can modify the sequence to focus on certain muscle groups In addition to this, it can help the rehab process if you're injured, or exercise the rest of the body while avoiding implication from an injured body part. But, no matter what you do, your abs will be working from start to end. And the results come quite quick!

I'm currently training to become a Pilates instructor myself, hence the passion.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

Hi!

I am a Pilates instructor, and have been doing it for a number of years, the results you can expect physically are basically dance and yoga combined.

Pilates uses the philosphy of combining eastern and western

training/exercise methods, so it's a nice intertwining of body building

and yoga(that's the best way I can describe it).

Everything in Pilates deals with core stength, because you do ALL of the

bends/strengths, exercises, etc. with the abdominals and the breath.

Breathing is extremely important, it is also very different from the breathing typical in Yoga.

You can also expect to acheive and maintain perfect posture, which is

very important to me. Also it corrects muscle imbalances, relaxes you/or

can envigorate you(because you can do a cardio pilates), it is also

an excellent form of physical therapy.

Pilates is amazing, and if you keep up on it..(especially the contemporary

style, which focuses on balanced flexion and extention.)..you will see permanent, profound results.

: )

I do not do Pilates, I prefer to push weights.

But, it is very popular in the area I live right now. So, you may find a lot of interest in your class. Godd Luck!

Pilates is good if you're dedicated to learning about the different positions your body has to be in to carry out the workout without strain. If your like me and you're more of a let's move around type of person, it can get kind of boring. I read that Gwen Stefani is a huge follower of Pilates and she has really great core muscles so it has it's advantages!

I promised I'd be back with results, here I am!

I've been attending a yogilates (yoga and pilates pratices in a sequence in which one compliments the other) class for several months now, a few times a week, along with a varied yoga practice. I just might have a shot at winning the body transformation challenge! I can honestly say that I've never been bored - my instructors are very good at varying each class to include different exercises (while always working all the major muscle groups of the core, naturally) and we use lots of props - balls, rings, weights, bands, etc. My results are obvious in my upper body strength - I can do lots of push ups now - yoga or otherwise - I've never been an upper-body strength gal! My triceps are popping out, it's really cool to see my body looking and acting differently than I'm used to, and for the better.

My core behaves differently - I stand with a straighter back because my abs are so much stronger (and more defined, also a cool thing!), and my inner thighs are taking some of the work from my low back, so I suffer much less back pain than ever before, even after typing mile long posts on this website all day! My quads are stronger and more defined than they've been in years - I'm just overall stronger and have much better balance, it's really a great feeling!

So, there you go, I said I might go back, and I did and I fell in love.

The hubby tells me that his mtn. biking buddies don't do pilates because it's so hard...that makes me feel like a frickin' machine! That's the best part!