My thoughts (unfiltered….)
Lately, my IG algorithm has been filled with fitness tips. No surprise, but a lot of these tips have been making me sad and upset. More and more are claiming that Pilates just isn’t enough and sometimes appears to even tell people that Pilates has no place in your fitness regime. But Why?
While I was fitness “shopping”, I tried it all. Yoga, HIIT, running and a little weight training with a personal trainer. I did them becuase that is what I kept reading about and were popular at the time. (And, nothing wrong with that!) I was let go from my full time job, and one of my running partners told me about Pilates. I was doing Pop Pilates and teaching this form of fitness whenever I could, so I thought, how hard can reformer Pilates be? O my goodness! I had zero form and no connections despite all my other workouts that I did. I kept training and continued to practice on my own time. Why I am telling you all this? Becuase the more that I practiced Pilates, the more everything else just made sense, and Pilates just made sense to me and my body. Pilates made me realize that I needed more mobility work and hamstring work for my running and HIIT plus Pilates was the first workout to make me feel strong. No weights required because I was focusing on correct form and muscle engagement.
Fitness has seem to make a shift to weights (especially for females). I get it, weights are needed for our bones and to keep us moving. More videos on IG are displaying Pilates as the ultimate hold and pulse workout like an 80s aerobic video or the moves are some sort of acrobatic trick from cirque du soliel, so of course, more and more people are stating that Pilates does nothing just like walking (but that is a tale for another time!) But, lets take Pilates back to what Joe had in mind. I know, we always hear that “Joe must be turning in his grave!” And he definitley is. Now, I am not saying that we have to stick with the original routine. Again the whole contemporary vs. classical Pilates is a whole other novel. However, as an example I did the original mat routine for 30 days. No machines to measure my muscle mass but I felt strong. Even my husband asked me one day what I was doing differently. I told him that I was “only” doing that mat work! Body weight is such a powerful tool, and bonus, you do not need any fancy equipment. As a cherry on top, Pilates has taught me proper form when I do occassionally add weights. Before Pilates, my knees were not going over my toes so my knees hurt. I wasn’t keep my chest up in a squat, and I had no form when performing a deadlift. I was sore in a bad way and never had a butt (ha!ha!)
Lets wrap this up. Pilates is more than pulsing, holding or acrobatics. It is a workout that has evolved with time and the original work should always be kept in mind. Like wieght lifting, the O.G. moves are simply the best. Pilates with weight lifting can rock your world, but do not stop Pilates because IG or others tell you. Mat and reformer can and, I believe, will give you great benefits. Try a mat or reformer class today, and use them muscles!