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Breathing well is the first step in developing strength with length. If you have a hard time maintaining the length of your spine when you’re standing still, how the heck are you going to make it happen when you’re bending forwards, backwards, sideways, and twisting?
One of the things that keeps Pilates exercises so challenging, regardless of how long you’ve been doing them, is the concept of developing strength with length. The muscles of our abdominals and back are the ones that help provide the lift, length, and space between the ribcage and hip bones.
Here’s a video with a few thoughts on practicing better breathing habits to help improve your ability to be long and strong. Start practicing this, and then learn how to apply it to all of your Pilates exercises (and other fitness exercises) to get maximum health benefits from your workout program.
Tags: Breathing, Core Strength, Fitness, Health, Pilates Exercises
Posted in All Posts, Breathing, Exercise and Fitness, Fitness, Pilates Exercise, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on February 1st, 2010.
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If you are looking for ways to strengthen your core, and increase abdominal strength for Pilates exercises and sit-ups. Here is some information that you might find useful to improve your technique and get more out of your Pilates and fitness workouts!
Here’s the question…Are you using more of the fronts of your thighs, or your abs when you’re doing abdominal training exercises like a sit-up, crunch, or curl? Or on Pilates Mat exercises like the Hundred, Roll Up, Series of 5, or Neck Pull?
Our quadriceps muscles are so used to doing lots of work, gripping to support us, that it can cause the abs to slack off a bit and not have to work quite as hard. And while our goal might be to do core training to achieve a set of 6-pack abs, or to help keep our lower back injury-free, it’s not going to happen if our legs are doing most of the work on our sit-up exercises!
Check out my series of new core training tips videos on this topic and discover ways to improve abdominal strength, Pilates exercise technique, and fitness:
Tags: 6-pack abs, Abdominal Training, Abs, Core, Core Strengthening, Core Training, Fitness, fitness tips, Pilates Exercises, pilates mat, Pilates Mat Exercises, Sit-Ups, six pack abs
Posted in All Posts, Exercise and Fitness, Fitness, Pilates, Pilates Exercise, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on January 12th, 2010.
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By Aliesa George and Centerworks.com
It’s interesting the difference in perspective between traditional “Aerobic” class ab work and Pilates ab exercises. You know how everybody always complains that their neck hurts? Or they feel more work in their neck, chest, and shoulders than they do in their middle, which means it takes tons of reps of a variety of targeted exercises before you “feel” like you’ve really worked your abs?
While with Pilates Matwork, once you figure it out… you only do 3-5 of most exercises, and with good body mechanics your abs are well worked with this very low number of reps, and the variety of Pilates exercises you do are not only working your abdominals, but the rest of your body as well!
One of the differences between general fitness programs and Pilates training is in the focused concentration on working the body through a full range of motion, and developing good spine articulation from the head to the tailbone. Our back should easily and naturally bend forward, backwards, sideways, and twist at every single segment. The Pilates system puts the body through all of these different ranges of motion with every workout which is why it’s such a beneficial training method for whole-body health.
Tags: Abdominal Exericse, Core Training, Fitness, Pilates, Pilates Exercise, Pilates Training Tips
Posted in All Posts, Articles, Exercise and Fitness, Fitness, Pilates, Pilates Exercise, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on December 21st, 2009.
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It’s not difficult to believe that the American Council on Exercise (ACE) has named technology-based fitness as one of it’s top trends for 2009. And that ACE has commissioned several studies over the past three years to evaluate the benefits of using video games for an exercise program. I posted an article about my Wii Fit experience awhile back, and it appears that this trend towards TV Wii fitness just might be here to stay! Is it really effective? Read more about how to Get fit, the Wii way, and see the controversy over the effectiveness of using things like the Wii as an option for fun and fitness. If you are doing ANYTHING, it’s better than nothing! Definitely your results are going to vary based on your conditioning level. I’m sure that there are lots of folks out there like Sherry Bridson in this Wii Fit article who have seen amazing results getting fit with her home video exercise program. But I have to wonder…is it the actual Wii Fit program, or her dedication and consistency to spend 90 minutes a day playing interactive health related video games? What would her results have been if she’s walked, jogged, lifted weights, done Pilates, rode a bike, or any other combination of fitness programs for a consistent 90 minutes a day??? Find things you enjoy doing for health and exercise and DO THEM REGULARLY! Whether it’s Wii or enjoying the wonders of the great outdoors!
Tags: American Council on Exercise, Detroit Free Press, Exercise, Fitness, weight loss, Wii Fit
Posted in All Posts, Fitness, Health, Links to Interesting Articles by Aliesa George on November 24th, 2009.
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When was the last time that you sat down and really thought about your definition of what wellness means to you? Have you ever written down your thoughts, ideas, and personal definition?
Do you think of wellness only from the standpoint of how you look, or being a certain weight or size? Or do you know you’re well because you have the energy and endurance to enjoy your favorite activities, and have the stamina to play with your children and grand kids?
Perhaps it means that you’re happy instead of battling with your inner-self and fighting to overcome moments (or a lifetime) of depression. It might mean that your medical checkup is showing a strong heart, cholesterol and blood sugar in a normal range, and even though your chronological age is 55, by comparison you have the body of a 30 year-old! Wellness might be a sense of inner peace and calm, or the spiritual connection you feel with your Higher Power.
Maybe your definition is: I’ll be well when I complete my first Marathon, or swim a mile without stopping, or my dog and I will both be well when we consistently take walks together (for the rest of our lives!) I’m sure there are lots of things that you can put on your Wellness Checklist!
Continue reading ‘What’s Your Definition of Wellness?’ »
Tags: Add new tag, Fitness, Goal Setting, Health, Joe Pilates, Joeseph Pilates, Joseph Pilates, Pilates, stress reduction, Wellness, wellness success
Posted in Articles, Goal Setting, Health, Pilates, Stress Management by Aliesa George on August 19th, 2009.
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Wii Fitness… What Fun!
I may be a bit behind the times when it comes to enjoying the fun and benefits of all the new interactive video game products on the market – like the Nintendo Wii Fit… but recently my techno-geek boyfriend purchased a Wii Fit for home. (He’s had one at work since they first hit the market.) Being a bit shy about actually getting a computer to do what I want, for me is intimidating, never mind the hand-eye coordination it takes to “win” a computer game…..I was never any good at these games as a kid.
I have to admit my extreme skepticism about the benefits of staring at a TV screen and using a computer game for fitness. But am always excited to hear about new ways to inspire and encourage people to increase their exercise and activity level, and ANYTHING that people enjoy doing that involves movement can be a great way to improve health and fitness.
Continue reading ‘Health Benefits, Fun and Fitness with Nintendo Wii Fit’ »
Tags: balance, Baseball, BMI, body awareness, Body Mass Index, body mass index bmi, Bowling, Boxing, computer game, exercise program, Fitness, fitness activities, fitness products, Fitness Training, flexibility, games, Goal Setting, Golf, hand eye coordination, Health, health and fitness, health benefits, health status, interactive video game, muscle strengthening, Nintendo, nintendo wii, Pilates, Pilates Exercise, Pilates Workout, Posture, posture improvement, skill challenges, strength, Tennis, video game products, Weight, Wellness, Wii, Wii Fit, workout, workout program, workout time, yoga
Posted in Health, Pilates by Aliesa George on November 30th, 2008.
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I recieved this question about Pilates training by email today, thought it relevant for a blog posting:
Question: Is Pilates appropriate for someone with peripheral atrophy? Balancing is becoming more & more difficult so yoga is no longer an option. If appropriate, please tell me where I might find a certified teacher/instructor. Please advise.
Answer: I do not feel it’s appropriate for me to answer this with a specific yes, or no – because I’m out of my scope of practice to recommend Pilates for a specific person, with a specific medical issue. (Especially someone I’ve never seen or worked with!)
However, here are my personal thoughts on the subject:
Continue reading ‘Pilates Training and Peripheral Atrophy’ »
Tags: atrophy, balance, blog, body awareness, Exercise, exercise program, Fitness, Fitness Training, flexibility, Health, Kinesiology, Mat, medical issue, medical specialist, muscle diseases, nerve, nerve and muscle, physician, Pilates, Pilates and Posture, pilates equipment, Pilates Exercise, Pilates Matwork, pilates method, Pilates Studios, Pilates Teacher, Pilates Teaching, Pilates Workout, PMA, Posture, Private Pilates, quality of life, strength, therapy, training session, Wellness, workouts, yoga
Posted in Health, Pilates by Aliesa George on May 12th, 2008.
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I’m always experimenting with cues to help find good images that my clients can associate with while they’re moving through their workouts. When I can associate a relatable picture to proper body position and movements – I usually get great execution of each Pilates exercise.
Here’s my new cue of the week for improving Spine Extension.
Continue reading ‘Opening the Ribcage for More Lift in Spine Extension’ »
Tags: Arched, armpits, Back Extension, backbend, cue, Cueing, cues, execution, Extension, fan, Fanning, Fitness, image, image visualization, Imagery, Pilates, Pilates Exercise, pilates method, Pilates Teaching, Pilates Workout, Pilates-Teaching Tips, pivot point, proper body position, reducing stress, Reformer, ribcage, ribs, Spine Extension, stretch, swan, Teacher Education, technique, understanding, workouts
Posted in Pilates, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on April 21st, 2008.
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I’m thrilled to be the Official Guide Expert for Pilates at Selfgrowth. If Selfgrowth hasn’t crossed your resource radar yet… it’s an excellent place to find articles, information, and experts on all sorts of topics from Success Skills, Relationships, Health & Fitness (my category!), Money & Careers, Mental Health, Spirituality, and Diet & Nutrition. If looking for wellness resources – This is the place to go! Check it out at http://www.selfgrowth.com/
Tags: Aliesa George, Fitness, Health, Pilates, Success, Wellness, www.Selfgrowth.com
Posted in Health, Pilates by Aliesa George on March 13th, 2008.
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