4 Ways Pilates will Improve Time for Runners

kristine — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:38:49 +0000

4 Ways Pilates will Improve Time for Runners

Spring is just around the corner and for runners this is an exciting time. 5k’s, 10k’s, half, and full marathon races will start picking back up. So naturally runners everywhere are gearing up to to improve their race times.

But what is the best way to cut your race time?

Many runners simply increase the number of miles they run per week in order to improve upon their running. But as a runner myself, I’ve realized that simply running more miles alone can lead to injury…if not balanced with other types of cross training to keep a healthy and balanced body.

Pilates offers a low impact cross training approach and is an excellent form of movement to add to any runner’s training routine. Pilates will help runners in four critical areas:

1. Pilates Fixes Muscle Imbalances:

Performing the same movement over and over will lead to the over development of specific muscle groups. In running, the quadriceps become more developed than the hamstrings and the low back becomes stronger than the core. Pilates focuses on engaging the core at the start of all movements. This promotes strength and endurance in the abdominal muscles. All of the lower body movements are initiated from the hamstrings and gluteus muscles. This promotes muscle development and strength within the posterior muscle groups of the lower extremities.

2. Pilates Helps with Flexibility and Posture:

Tight quadriceps, tight hip flexor and tight low back muscles are common in runners. Many experience “runner’s knee” due to the shortening of the quadriceps and stretching can help relieve this issue. Spinal flexibility is also key in maintaining good posture. Many Pilates exercises work the spine in extension and work on rolling of the spine to loosen in order to promote flexibility. Consistent practice of Pilates will improve runner’s posture and reduce the risk of injury by stretching overworked and tight muscle groups and by strengthening the core muscle groups.

3. Pilates Teaches Runners How to Breathe Properly:

Most of us have jobs that are relatively sedentary. Overtime that can lead to poor posture and shallow breathing. This will have a negative effect on running. You may not be able to go as long, as fast, or recover as quickly. Pilates teaches diaphragmatic breathing. Practicing deep breathing delivers more oxygen to the blood which in turn delivers more oxygen to the working muscle groups. This will help to increase the runner’s endurance, increase stamina, and will help with a more relaxing run.

4. Pilates Builds a Strong Core:

Building a strong core is not just about performing sit ups. The core is so much more than abdominal muscles alone. It consists of the muscles of the back as well as the glute muscles- aka the butt. Pilates focuses on strengthening these muscles by working then as a system versus training them as separate entities. Weak abdominal muscles and butt muscles can lead to faulty running patterns. Retraining the muscles of the core to work synergistically and by strengthening the core as a system will improve running time as well as recovery time.

Are you currently doing Pilates to help with your running? I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Have you seen an increase in speed and flexibility? One of my current clients shaved his 5k race time down from 26-27 minutes to 21-22 minutes by incorporating Pilates into his training.

If you are in the Lake Norman Area and looking for a Pilates studio, I am a certified Pilates instructor and personal trainer with 10 years of working in the fitness industry. I offer private and semi private Pilates classes. Contact me and we will build a program specifically for you and you will be off to the races in no time!

Pilates Style Feature Article

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:13:17 +0000

The Scoop On BOSU Ball Pilates

Featured Article Pilates Style Magazine July-August 2009 BY KRISTINE GRESHAM

One of my biggest challenges as an instructor is getting students to scoop their abs correctly. I know how hard it can be—as late as my third level of training, my teacher was still telling me to engage my power-house more intensely. My a-ha moment finally came during a workout in which I was playing with different ways to engage my abs. Suddenly I stopped contracting my top muscles so much and instead pulled from the inside. Of course, discovering something for yourself and explaining it to others are two different things.

I’m always looking for new ways and cues to help students grasp this concepts of Pilates. Before I became a Pilates instructor, I was a personal trainer, which helps me think outside-the-box when teaching Pilates. I often use props as teaching aids, and one of my favorites is the Bosu ball (an acronym for both sides utilized). Once I was experimenting with some Pilates moves on it and realized that its instability forces you to engage your powerhouse and work into the transverse abdominal scoop. It also gives you a reference point—something you can pull your tailbone away from—and helps the instructor see if you are actually doing it. Another a-ha moment!

After students experience the scoop on the Bosu, I tell them to put that feeling into long-term memory so they can re-create it during every Pilates movement. Now many of my students request Bosu workouts. When you divide the number of exercises you can do on a Bosu ball by the mere $136 it costs, you have a real bargain o nyour hands. For maximum results, I recommend doing this routine on its own two to three times a week or as a complement to regular mat work. .

Read The full Pilates Style Magazine Featured Article by Kristine

2009 Cooper River Bridge Run!!

kristine — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:58:06 +0000

Myself and a lot if my clients have been training very hard for the Cooper River Bridge Run held in Charleston, SC. It is a 10 k (6.2 miles) and almost 38 thousand people registered to participate in the race. The weather was beautiful, the weekend was a blast, and everyone did an amazing job. I’m already looking forward to going again next year! Congratulations to everyone for not only finishing the race, but beating your personal goals!

Christa Cahill,

Mary Catherine

Campbell,

Susan Chesson,

Tammy Edens,

Bobbi Luster,

Robin Underwood,

& Jen O’Donnel.

And everyone else participating!!! Anti-Aging Expo held at the Merchandise Mart March 28thI would like to say thank you to my clients for supporting me and attending the expo this past Saturday. I gave a presentation on the different pieces of equipment that are used in Pilate’s and the importance of proper education/ instruction for your workouts. The weather was nasty and so the turn out was less than desirable, so thank you to those that stormed it out and attended

What Is Pilates

kristine — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:37:41 +0000

Pilates is a philosophy of movement based on an understanding of the human body’s natural movement patterns. Flexing, extending, twisting, articulating and stabilizing are basic movements that the body performs on a daily basis. By strengthening and conditioning the muscles involved in performing these basic movements, Pilates returns balance to the body and helps ensure uniform development. This conditioning greatly strengthens the underlying musculature while enhancing flexibility. You can achieve tremendous strength and tone by practicing Pilates, but this pales in comparison to the overall health and wellness benefits you will realize.

Experiencing movement in this way has marked effects on circulation and breathing, affecting both the nervous and endocrine systems. Since you cannot affect one part of the body without affecting the whole, Pilates can also enhance your mental and emotional well-being. If you truly commit to this incredible method, you’ll notice that it will affect everything you do in your life. Your new awareness will transfer into the way you walk, sit, move, speak, think, react, respond, relate and recover. When this happens, you will truly know what it means to embody Pilates!

In his book, “Return to Life,” Joseph Pilates wrote about how the process of taking control of one’s body and health also revitalizes the mind and spirit. By becoming more aware of your bodily sensations, you develop a heightened awareness of yourself. This can unlock the wisdom you need to realize your full potential. Whether you want to acquire a skill for movement, overcome mental and emotional fears surrounding past pain or injury, or just feel so fantastic in your own skin that you truly believe you can accomplish anything, the Pilates Method can help you accomplish this!

Pilates History

kristine — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:45:58 +0000

History Of Pilates

Joseph H. Pilates
(1880 – 1967)

Clair & Joseph Pilates

Joseph Humbertus Pilates lived to be a robust and vital 87 year old icon. Had he not succumbed to the effects of smoke inhalation during a fire, in the restaurant below his studio on 8th Avenue in New York City, he potentially could have demonstrated an incredible level of physical fitness for many years to come. Looking at photographs of Joseph Pilates, even well into his eighties, it may be hard to imagine that he did not always enjoy such vitality. Pilates was born near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880. His unusual last name is actually derived from his Greek heritage and would have been Pilatos. Much controversy surrounds the correct pronunciation of his name; however, nearly all publications show it as (Pi –LAH – teez). All instructors crack an amused smile at the mispronunciation of his name by those outside the Pilates loop. Living relatives of Joseph Pilates say that the name was not pronounced as it is popularly known today. Mary Pilates LaRiche, the niece of Joseph Pilates, and a long time resident of South Florida, says her family name, as best she can recall, was pronounced (Pi – LOTTS).

Mary Pilates LeRiche qualifies as an expert and probably was Joseph’s earliest disciple as she had worked in her Uncle Joe’s exercise studio as a young woman in her 20’s. A now famous photograph of Pilates’ exercise studio at 939 Eighth Ave., NY, NY displays a long rectangular room with at least four Reformers (the original group sessions?) in a line. Joseph stands between two, his wife, Clara, in her nurse’s uniform, by another, and his niece Mary at yet another Reformer. Mary relocated to South Florida in the 1960’s and continued teaching fitness as her uncle had taught her. Even today, at 81 years young, she will demonstrate the “only way” the exercises should ever be done. That would be just the same way it was done in the 1940’s.

“People won’t understand the brilliance of my work for 50 years.” That is a quote from Joseph, himself, about 50 years ago. Mary LeRiche says that her uncle would be quite happy and surprised at just how much impact his work is having on the world. Today, healthcare professionals are studying and implementing his work into their healing therapies. Medical doctors are writing prescriptions for their patients: Pilates. His clever exercise apparatus designs are virtually the exact designs used by today’s equipment manufacturers. How many of the exercise machines found in today’s traditional gym setting can accommodate hundreds of exercises on one single piece the size of a twin bed? The Wunda Chair doubled as a small living room side chair that when flipped upon its back becomes a gymnasium with two bedsprings. Pilates felt that every home should have one.

As a child he had suffered with asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. Even as a young adolescent he made a life-altering decision that he would restore his own health. He studied the Eastern disciplines of yoga and martial arts and blended them with Western forms of physical activities such as bodybuilding, gymnastics, boxing, and recreational sports. At the young age of just fourteen years he had sculpted his physique so well that he was posing for anatomical charts.

As a young man he moved from Germany to England where he became a boxer, circus performer, and self-defense instructor. When World War One erupted he, and other German nationals, were incarcerated in Lancaster as “enemy aliens.” Pilates influenced the other detainees to follow his exercise regime which he called, “Contrology.” His fitness program was so beneficial that he and his fellow compatriots survived the 1918 influenza epidemic that took the lives of thousands of people. He attributed their survival to their physically fit lungs! Hence, the Pilates Principle of Diaphragmatic Breathing!

Pilates was later sent to the Isle of Man to work as a nurse orderly caring for the war wounded. One can imagine the condition of many of these soldiers; some had probably grown weak from lingering in hospital beds for months, their muscles atrophied, further inhibiting their potential for recovery. Unable to participate in Pilates’ floor exercises, these men benefited by Joseph’s cleverly designed apparatus to rehabilitate them right from their hospital beds and wheelchairs. Looking at the Cadillac one can see the table as the hospital bed; plumbing pipes create the canopy and borrowed bedsprings become first assistive and then resistive exercise tools. Despite whatever injuries the wounded may have had, Pilates was able to strengthen their muscles and restore them to their potential good health.

After the war Joseph returned to Germany but became disenfranchised with the political direction his country was taking. He decided to immigrate to the United States of America. He met his future wife, Clara, on the ship. Clara was a nurse and they realized that they shared the same interest of wanting to restore the good health of others. When they arrived in New York they decided to open up a physical fitness studio.

Joseph Pilates’ method of physical and mental wellness has been a best-kept secret of the dance and entertainment world since the 1920’s when his studio was discovered by Martha Graham, the mother of modern dance, George Balanchine, the artistic director for the New York City Ballet, and Rudolf von Laban, founder of Labanotation. Dancers such as Hanya Holm and Romana Kryzanowska, along with prizefighters, actors, actresses, and traveling circus performers embraced his methods both for the total body conditioning needed for the rigors of their work and also for rehabilitating the injuries that often plague dancers, performers, and athletes.

Dance companies all over the world use Pilates’ exercises to keep their dancers in top form. Many dancers go on to become Hollywood celebrities; Patrick Swayze and Madonna to name only two. Due to the attention the mainstream public gives to Hollywood celebrities the name Pilates is now a household word. If Madonna does it, it must work.

Romana Kryzanowska entered Pilates’ world as a young dancer in New York. Pilates regarded her as his disciple; she had absorbed and could express the essence of his work as if it were coming from him. She continues his legacy today in New York and has generously shared her knowledge with the world through her students, books, videos, and lectures.

Joseph’s obituary, appearing in the New York Times in 1967, reads like an advertisement for his methods. He is described as a white-maned lion with steel blue eyes (one was glass from a boxing mishap), and mahagony skin, and as limber in his 80’s as a teenager.

Joseph and Clara operated their exercise studio for over 40 years. He had dedicated his life’s work to restoring the health and vitality of others. Gone now for thirty-five years, the essence of his work continues on into the 21st century.

What type of Pilates clothing is best to wear?

kristine — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:17:41 +0000

What type of Pilates clothing is best to wear? What you are looking for when shopping for your exercise clothing is something that is close-fitted (but not too tight) and something that can stretch and move along with your body through the exercises.

The most effective Pilates clothing is generally composed of the same three materials. It is a combination of cotton, nylon, and spandex. The cotton keeps the clothes comfortable for the movement your body will be doing.

The nylon and spandex are for flexibility and are essential in order to do the exercises. Without the stretch of these materials, you might as well be doing the stretches in the clothes you’re wearing right now! It would be very difficult and the clothes would not move with you, which is one of the most important aspects to remember when choosing your Pilates clothing.

If you are not comfortable while doing the exercises, you won’t want to continue them. Pilates is all about the physical and MENTAL parts of fitness. The exercise clothing needs to be breathable and have non-resistant.

Along with the stretch of the Pilates clothing, it is also very important that you do not buy clothes that are very loose-fitting. Of course, you don’t want them to be too tight, but in the same breath, it is important that they are close-fitting.

Why is this so important?

The foundation of Pilates has a lot to do with proper alignment. Snug fitting clothes gives you Pilates Professional the ability to clearly see your alignment while you are executing each exercise. A little bit out of alignment makes a big difference on the effectiveness of each exercise.

Also lot of the exercises are done on your back with your legs up in the air and your Pilates professional standing over you looking down. They are not interested in looking at you under garments. Men should ware bicycle shorts. You need something that won’t get in your way but also something that allows you to move.

Remove all fancy buttons, pins. belts and jewelry as they could become extremely inconvenient while bending, stretching and so on.

As in all other types of body and mind exercise regimes, it is important that you are comfortable with what you wear, while at the same time the clothing should permit stretching and bending without creating any type of inconvenience to yourself or to others. We have provided links to everything you will need at our online Pilates Boutique store powered by the worlds most respected online retailer Amazon and Gaiam…….Enjoy