Movements Afoot’s Blog
A BodyMind Think Tank – Taking fitness to the next levelArchive for core strengthening
Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? NY Times
Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back?
by Lesley Powell
A very interesting article was in the NY Times last week. Core training needs to be 3-dimensional. Just training the abdominals is not enough. Especially with our culture being in so much flexion due to computers, cars, tv and the lack of exercise, people are really weak in their backs.
I just taught a Balanced Body University’s Pilates course this weekend. All the students were active professionals. Most were having trouble with extension in getting to the deep extensors of the back. When the deep extensors do not initiated the movement, the back shortens and for some, cause discomfort.
Another problem with abdominal training, is finding qualities of tone. To get to the deeper transverse abdominals, breath is essential. Once found, it has tremendous lightness. In teaching all clients from beginners to teachers, many are firing and compressing the rectus too strongly for the required action. For instance, the rectus abdominus assists in flexion of the spine in crunches and rollups. Many are unneccessarily firing the rectus with a simple pelvic tilts of the lower spine.
“Abdominals come in many flavors” Doris Pasteleur Hall
Training of the spine in different positions is essential for dynamic stabilization. How you organize your spine lying down is very different from sitting, standing, plank pose. Getting aware of where your spine is in space is important.
This simple exercise can be difficult. Many are firing the rectus which will lower the head down. Some have trouble keeping a head-tail connection. You will see the spine rotate and/or unleveled.
What the NY Times article is not addressing is how the training of the limbs in coordination with the core is important. Awareness of how the body moves is lacking in most training. We have constant pressure by clients of having a stronger workout. Many of these clients lack internal awareness of their bodies and training of deeper stabilizing muscles. Many of the deep stabilizing muscles will never have the feel as a bicep firing to lift a weight.
Learning good form is essential for proper conditioning and balance.
Enhanced your teaching with Balanced Body’s Podcasts
by Lesley Powell
Balanced Body is now creating their own podcasts. They are amazing and will give you new ideas about teaching. My favorites are by Elizabeth Larkam. Elizabeth is a wealth of information and has created some new exercises. This exercise below looks simple. It truly reflects if clients are stabilizing correctly. I have been teaching this to all of my clients from beginners to advanced. Even my dancers are challenged by this exercise.
Pilates Basics:Essentials for Backcare
by Lesley Powell
I want to talk about how to work with clients with low back pain. These clients have already ruled out by the medical professional where exercise is contraindicated.
To start a client with low back pain, my first goal is to observe their form as I teach the movement principles/fundamentals.
I am working first on teaching stabilization.
I am conservative about stretching until I know how they will react. Some clients with too much stretching, their muscles go into spasm. Sometimes the tight muscles are the ones trying to stabilize them. Without educating them about proper stabilization, the body does not know what to do.
Teaching the fundamentals, you can see how poor patterns will be reflective throughout the entire workout and their gait. Fundamental education will create better awareness, control and injury prevention skills.
Differentiation of thigh bone
I always start with the thigh lift and the pelvic shift forward, a neutral bridge.
A lot of clients are not using the hip socket correctly. The pelvis is unleveling to lift the leg.
- Is the pelvis stable when the leg is lifted?
- How is the ease in the femoral folds?
- If the pelvis is unstable, is it rotating and/or unleveling?
Bridging: Having a leg to Stand on. (upcoming a new podcast on proper bridging)
I always look at the neutral bridge with back clients. Many clients are very weak in the legs and using the backs to compensate for leg weakness.
In the neutral bridge, the pelvis should shift forward over the feet. The Bartenieff Fundamental, the pelvic shift forward is a perfect name for this action.
The highest place in the bridge should be the pelvis.
When the legs are weak, the back usually arches to push the body higher.
Back care clients are very weak in the deep muscles of the back. Many are compensating with the superficial muscles of the back. This can cause compression/pain in the back. Simple extensions exercises of the upper spine and legs are essential skills to learn. Can your client lift their upper spine and/or legs and then entire body pain free? Are they shortening their backs to do any of these exercises.
By teaching your clients, the basics, you are also giving them tools to take home to practice. Once they accomplished the basics, don’t forget about the Pilates mat exercises:
- Single leg circles
- Single leg kick
- Double leg kick
- Shoulder bridge
Stretching
Once I hurt my back seriously carrying a computer. My back was in spasm for over a week. I stay away from stretching the back. I did a lot of stretching of my legs on the floor with a yoga strap. Roll downs were too painful at that time. Then my next goal was using downward dog to lengthen my back. Even a client putting their hands on the barrel or a wall and doing a modified downward dog can be helpful.
It is essential to teach stabilization exercises. Then intertwine these concepts with your workout using the machines. For example, before doing pulling straps on the long box, here is a routine on the long box.
- 3 upper spine extensions. The Spine raises in line with the box.
- 3 right leg lifts, 3 left. Leg lift is in line with box.
- 3 modified swans. The spine and legs are in line with the box.
- then, pullling the straps.
Below is a link to great exercises for back care. Please feel free to share this link with your clients for their home practice.
Pilates Forum for teachers – Last month and this month
Six teachers and myself gathered for our first Pilates Forum for teachers. It was a wonderful event with discussion about how to teach and motivate clients. We talked a lot how to motivate clients and how to change their concentration to do real Pilates. Real Pilates is having a full mindbody connection. We all have had clients who just come in to have a hard workout without concentrating.
Please come to our next Pilates Forum for Teachers and bring your ideas, questions, journeys to the discussion.
with Lesley Powell
Dates: Fri 6/5 $20 5:15 PM – 7:15 PM
Pilates Forum Come together. Pilates teachers. Share. Workout. Problem solve. Laugh. This meeting will be moderated by Lesley Powell. Come with ideas, questions about the body, problem solving about professional issues (i.e. Difficult clients, non-payment by clients, burn-out, etc.)
At a staff meeting, there was a request for a time that teachers could get together, share ideas, questions, working out and problem solving. Especially with this recession, I would like to offer a monthly meeting time at a very reasonable price of $20 for a two hour session.
Pilates Springs & Standing
by Lesley Powell
Isn’t this video amazing? Standing work brings into all your connections, core, arms and legs.
Watch how Joe does front rowing. You can see the anterior serratus kick in when he reaches the arms forward. Doing full body work like this and the plank are amazing full body exercises.
Pilates is Wellness
by Lesley Powell
Pilates is wellness. Wellness is a deep connection of the body and mind.
True fitness is wellness.
Pilates will teach you how to center your mind and your body. It creates balance of dormant muscles to overused muscles. It creates an ease of motion of joints at the same time Pilates strengthens you.
Pilates will teach you about your whole body and its fascinating connections. As you enhance your learning of your body, your new knowledge will enhance your posture, your fitness, your movement loves and your energy.
If your body does not feel well, how can your mind and spirit?
Learn:
Breath: to relieve stress, open areas of tension
and teach you about getting to the deeper muscles for support, the transverse abdominals.
Breath connects you to your deepest abdominal muscles.
The transverse abdominal is like your very own corset.
Centering: coordination of the body radiating from your core in all movements.
The core muscles are your back and abdominal muscles
that stabilized your spine.
Inspire your core muscles to create better posture and tone
Learn how to dynamically train them for improved posture
and coordinate them with your entire body.
This is the best injury prevention skill to have.
Balanced Muscles: create efficient movement, tone and joint mechanics.
By creating better balance in your muscles,
relieve tension that causes discomfort.
Precision and Control: good form invites good function and better fitness.
Learn how improved function and control with a few repetitions
are more valuable
than many repetitions done poorly.
Pilates Basics: Enhancing the Core
by Lesley Powell
Thigh Lift
The Bartenieff Fundamental, the thigh lift, is in all Pilates exercises. Learn how to stabilize your pelvis through your deep core muscles and mobility of your thighbone.
Breath yourself to new abdominals
by Lesley Powell
Learn how breath is the secret to deeper stronger abdominals
- Hollowing the Abdominal
Each Pilates Equipment invites new fitness
by Lesley Powell, Director of Movements Afoot
We sometimes get calls of clients wanting only a certain kind of class, mat, reformer, tower, etc. They are not open to anything else. I find this hard to understand. Being an owner of a Pilates studio is like having an adult romper room. Different equipment and play keep me interested and exploring Pilates.
The beauty of all the Pilates equipment invites different physical experiences. Most of the exercises can be done on both pieces of equipment. The reformer with its moving bed can challenge balance, mobility and strength. The tower has many possibilities of spring tensions. With the placement of the springs at many heights on the tower, can invite different fuller movements than the reformer.
Balanced Body's Pilates Arc
The Spine Corrector can teach you how to move your spine better. With Balanced Body’s new Pilates Arc, they have come up with some exciting ways to challenge balance that can’t be done on the original Spine corrector. Challenging balance makes you use your core deeper. The new Pilates arc can also be put on the reformer. Footwork with a rollup!
I am teaching a workshop this May 15 4-8 PM.
It is a great deal: EQUIPMENT & EDUCATION PRICING FOR STUDENTS
- Pilates Arc Training (4 hours) $159.00 – Regular Price
- Pilates Arc & DVD $159.00 – Regular Price
- Pilates Arc Instructor Manual $25 – Regular Price
- Total – Regular Price $343.00 + shipping Workshop and Arc
- Special Price! $289.00 **over $50 savings**
Side Leg Springs
One of my favorite exercises is side leg springs on the Tower.
Here you can work on your adductors, hamstrings, mobility and core strength.
You can do side leg exercises on the reformer, but it is more complicated. One has to be in the right position so the ropes clear your body. Because the ropes are close to the rails, there are limitations of certain movements.
Tower
Tower – Full Bridge
Because the tower bar and springs are a higher height, there are wonderful full body exercises to be done. The ropes on the reformer can offered more range of motion such as legs in straps while the springs on the tower have more resistance. The tower leg springs have the most resistance when moving legs away from your center. They lose resistance with the leg coming closer to you. Especially with clients with tight hamstrings, there is an advantage of the springs. Here you can work on strengthening and core support. When a client is too tight in the hamstrings, bringing their legs up beyond their capacity affects their core form.
Sometimes I use one piece of equipment to get a client to understand another exercise on another equipment. Elephant (like downward dog) is a deceiving exercise. One can be moving the carriage from the legs only. Using the Wunda Chair, Hamstring III teaches the importance of the core. Many at first cannot do the exercise. They come to elephant with an entirely different perspective.
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