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Latest "Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips" Posts
Fight boredom, have a blast challenging your body and improve your Pilates technique with a foam roller. This workout will boost your fitness and help you make the most of your Pilates workouts.
We are only limited by our imagination when it comes to modifying exercises to challenge the body. When I teach Pilates I do not add “toys” to distract from the work, but to enhance the understanding of how to tweak the body and improve Pilates technique.
When using a foam roller, magic circle or any other prop the goal is to find, feel and fine-tune muscle activation for better stabilization or movement so that when you get back to doing the “traditional” exercise without the prop you will be able to do it even better with all the right muscles working!
I thought it would be fun to see how many different ways I could find to use the Foam Roller for the Pilates Mat Roll Up exercise. I have one or two ways I always use it when I teach a Roller-themed Mat class, but was confident that there were probably a lot of other ways it could be used. So I grabbed my roller and a piece of paper and plopped myself down on the mat to play. With about 5 minutes of thought, and about thirty repetitions (it was a nice Ab workout!) I came up with 10 different ways to use the Foam Roller for the Roll Up.
Continue Reading ‘Foam Roller Fitness: 10 Fun Ways to Use a Foam Roller for Your Roll Up Exercise in Pilates Matwork
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
The 3 Bears Strategy for Pacing Your Pilates Workouts
How are exercise speed and healthy movement related? This is an interesting topic of discussion for Pilates training. What’s the best speed for pacing your Pilates workouts? What speed should we be executing the exercises in our workout? Is it good or bad to work slowly? And is it possible that we might be moving too fast to really get the best benefits from what we’re doing?
Based on my training and understanding of healthy movement habits, our ideal goal is that regardless of the pace or speed of our movement, it should be done with the correct amount of control and coordination using the right muscle groups in the correct sequence for biomechanically correct function.
That sounds long and technical, so the short answer is move with the right muscles working and you’ll stay healthy! Move at a pace (either too fast or too slow for you to control and use the right muscles) and there’s a good chance that you will recruit other muscle groups that ideally should not be involved in the work, thus training your brain and body to recruit the wrong parts to do the action.
Continue Reading ‘Exercise Speed: Pilates Training – The Value of Pacing Your Pilates Workouts
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
I find it so interesting how the Universe gifts us with new opportunities to learn and grow… Since writing the recent series of articles on mobilizing the ribcage, I’ve had the privilege to start working with not one, but TWO new clients who have Harrington Rods.
For those of you reading this article who are unfamiliar with the term, historically this rod has been surgically implanted along the spinal column to treat scoliosis. Once you’re spine has been “shored up” with a rod, there is no longer movement at those vertebrae. For these clients everything that is needed to maintain normal “healthy” movement of the spine and ribs becomes moot. All the great benefits of Pilates posterior lateral breathing for elongation of the spine to maintain healthy posture has to be re-thought and re-taught because try as you might, the ribcage and spine won’t be moving. That doesn’t mean the muscles along the spine aren’t active – we still need to maintain good strength and support. But everything becomes quite different from a cuing, exercise selection and exercise safety standpoint.
Continue Reading ‘Exercise Safety in Pilates Class and Beyond
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, I Want to be a Pilates Teacher, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
Centerworks® “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage
Part Five: Multi-Directional Movement of the Spine
Here it is…the grand finale for our discussion on “secret” training tips to mobilize the ribcage for a healthy spine and get the upper back to move more easily. When you get to more advanced exercises or sport and athletic endeavors the body must be able to move with ease in many directions at once! From a basic Pilates exercise standpoint, this would be practicing exercises like the Saw in Matwork. You are both twisting and bending the spine and ribcage have to both rotate and flex to do the exercise well.
Continue Reading ‘Mobilizing the Ribs: Healthy Spine Movement in Many Directions
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Functional Movement, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
Centerworks® “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage
Part Four: Lateral Movement of the Spine and Ribs
There is a lot to think about in order to execute great lateral, side-bending movements.
This is not a direction our upper body moves in much for daily life activities. But there is a side-bending lateral motion that happens in the hips and pelvis that is vital for good gait mechanics to walk and run.
Since our upper back should have the most mobility for our spine, and we only get stronger in the ranges of motion that we move in, if we never do anything that involves a side bend, we’ll never have access to the strength and support these muscles have to offer us.
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Functional Movement, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips, Uncategorized.
Centerworks® “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage
Part Three: Ribcage and Spine Rotation and Twisting
When we twist the spine, all sorts of crazy things tend to happen! Our hips and pelvis try to do all the work, we side bend, hike a hip, lead with an elbow or shoulder, shift our weight, arch the back, just about anything we can do to avoid actually moving the spine and turning the whole ribcage.
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Functional Movement, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
Pilates Exercise Video Tips to Incorporate the Spread Eagle Exercise into your Workouts
As a part of my “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage article series, I made this bonus exercise video to give you an example of one of my favorite Pilates back exercises for extension.
Before we add spine twisting and rotation exercises to the mix in this discussion of a fit and flexible spine and mobility through the ribcage, here is a great example of an easy standing back exercise to help you work on your spine extension.
Continue Reading ‘Pilates Back Exercises: Mobilize the Ribs, Stretch and Strengthen the Spine
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips, Videos.
Centerworks® “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage
Part Two: Spine Extension
It’s easy to bend the neck and low back, but it’s the upper thoracic, mid-back section that needs the attention to improve spine mobility. The older we get, the more gravity plays with our posture. Hunched over, heads jutted forward, we need our ribcage to move more freely, and our breath to truly support lifting our posture and lengthening our spine.
To do great back extension, everything you’ve been practicing for flexion happens in reverse. As the shoulder blades pull down, the breastbone has to slide up, out, and forward pulling the front ribs open and apart. As you start to “turn the collarbones” backwards, feel the back bones move forward (through the body) towards the breastbone, then use the back muscles to pull the back ribs closer together lifting the spine into extension. You are applying the “rotisserie” rib effect that you used for flexion to turn the ribs in the other direction.
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Functional Movement, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
Centerworks® “Secret” Training Tips for Mobilizing the Ribcage
Part One: Spine Flexion
When we bend into forward flexion for Pilates exercises like the Hundred, Roll Up or Teaser every segment of the spine has to move individually to open the back ribs and bend the spine.
In the front of the body, the ribs are attached to the breastbone (which is a solid piece) so the same bending can’t occur. The breast bone must “slide down the front of the body” to bring the front ribs closer together.
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, Exercise and Fitness, Functional Movement, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
Is it time for a career change? Have you pondered the possibility of becoming a personal trainer, exercise educator or Pilates instructor? Are you currently in the health and wellness field, but want to enhance your skills and services?
Jumpstart your goals with theCenterworks® Foundations 101 Workshop. This 3-day workshop is designed for adults considering a Pilates teaching career.
Continue Reading ‘Jumpstart Your Pilates Teacher Training Program with Foundations 101
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Posted by Aliesa George in All Posts, I Want to be a Pilates Teacher, Pilates, Pilates Exercises, Techniques & Teaching Tips.
