What is Pilates?
Pilates is a low-impact, whole body workout, that helps you learn how to control your muscles and reduces the likelihood of injuries.
It was first invented in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, who whilst on a nursing internment during World War 1 developed a way for injured patients to exercise whilst bed-bound by devising a spring system on the end of their beds.
This is where the modern apparatus called a reformer stems from. Pilates can utilize other equipment, or simply be performed on a mat using own body weight movements against gravity to tone the muscles.
How is it beneficial?
- Helps recovery from an existing injury
- Prevents injury by developing a strong and healthy baseline, making it easier to bounce back from any niggles
- Increase motor control ie body awareness and strength
- Improves posture and gait pattern
- Improves balance and reduces falls risk
- Increases flexibility in our muscles and joints
- Improves control over breathing
- Contributes to better mental health
Different Pilates classes we offer:
Circuit Pilates: Physiotherapist run, so private health rebates available.
Combined warm up, matwork, then a circuit with use of a range of equipment – always incorporating the reformers, then often balance equipment, band work, dumbbells and exercise balls. The matwork and circuit components are changed every week to keep it interesting and to offer variety. Participants then come back together for a cool down/stretching all together.
Max 6 people per class.
Clinical Reformer Pilates: Physiotherapist run, so private health rebates available.
Combined warm up, and then majority of the session using a Pilates reformer (which is the platform that uses spring resistance for strength work), sometimes with other pieces of equipment alongside. Combined cool down.
Max 4 people per class.
“Core Pilates”: Pilates Instructor run; offered at a cheaper rate, due to private health rebate not being available.
Mixture of matwork and reformer Pilates.
Max of 8 people per class.
Check out our website for our Pilates timetable: https://www.backinmotion.com.au/rosny-park#classes
Class passes are also available with up to a 20% discount available.
Muscles to learn how to activate ready for your first class!
Our “core” is made up of a cylinder of muscle; pelvic floor, diaphragm as the roof of the cylinder, transverse abdominis (which runs around us like a corset) and multifidus.
Common cues in Pilates are to breathe out with the effort of the movement and to breathe in during the easiest moment of the movement so that we are not “bearing down” on our pelvic floor muscles (and don’t forget to breathe, as exercises can last for a few minutes!)
Cues to activate the transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles are to “pull belly button down towards spine”, “flatten your lower back against the mat” or to “imagine you are trying to get into a tight pair of jeans.”
It is helpful lying on your back with knees bent up to practice these cues and being able to continue breathing throughout.
The pelvic floor muscles are cued by “pulling up gently, as if you are trying to stop the flow of urine or avoid passing wind.” This can be activated at the same time as practising your transverse abdominis and multifidus activation.
The “glute muscles” will also be worked a lot in Pilates which refer to the largest muscles in the body found in the bottom. Bridging (ie lifting hips up off the mat/reformer), side lying leg kicks and exercises such as clam shells are common ways to work on these muscles. They are important as they propel us forwards (even more so on stairs) and are involved in a lot of functional activities like squatting.
If you have never done Pilates before, and especially if you are new to our Physiotherapy practice, then we will book you in for a free Pilates screening session to learn about your medical/past injury history, deem whether it is appropriate to start in classes straight away (or whether a more individualised approach is better suited to begin with) and we can show you some of these muscle activations in a 1 on 1 setting to get you started on your Pilates journey.
For bookings call 6281 2499.
Author: Lou Marmion, Physiotherapist (B. ExSc, M. Phty)