Growing in popularity, the practice can help keep you limber and strong
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Popular through studios, videos and online, Pilates provides a system of strength training that helps participants gain muscle and recover from injuries or surgery.
In fact, Joseph Pilates developed the practice in the early 1900s to help bedridden patients develop better strength through breathing exercises and by using springs affixed to their hospital beds.
That rudimentary apparatus became the Pilates Reformer, equipment that current practitioners use.
Numerous styles of Pilates have developed since its founder introduced it.
“It makes it really versatile and accessible for all different types and ages and experience levels, including people coming off of injuries,” said Hannah McMullen, certified Pilates instructor and cofounder of The Reformery in Rochester. “Regardless of the style, it’s an exercise system that has a very well-rounded approach to balance, strength, mobility, flexibility and coordination. Instead of having to break up your workouts and get those in different ways, you can have a pretty comprehensive movement experience that benefits your body in a pretty low-impact way.”
She thinks that since cardiovascular exercise is typically left out, people should probably do something else that raises the heart rate for 75 minutes weekly to supplement their two or so days of Pilates training.
Working with a certified instructor one-on-one can help modify Pilates movements to accommodate injuries.
“I think Pilates is unbelievably helpful for almost any person who starts to do it, but it isn’t a quick fix,” McMullen said. “A lot of times, if you come to Pilates to do something higher intensity like HIIT or CrossFit, you may feel so different after Pilates class. But it will give you so much benefit in a very holistic way. It can be done for your entire life.”
She has clients in their 80s who practice Pilates so they can maintain their active lifestyles.
Chelsey Vice, lead instructor and certified in Pilates at Club Pilates in Fairport and Brighton, calls Pilates a “mind-body connection exercise. You are working on your breath and controlling your smaller core muscles deep. They’re close to the bone on the inside of the body, the minor muscles versus major muscles.”
Those small, connective tissues are often overlooked with other activities. Vice said that Pilates also builds range of motion within the joint itself, which is different and more difficult than stretching before a workout.
“When you have a free weight and you do a bicep curl, you’ll get a burn,” Vice said. “Students new to Pilates but experienced in traditional fitness are looking for that burst. The sensation is more of a lengthening or deep impression, like hanging upside down. When people understand that’s the benefit, the muscle burn is just the cherry on top.”
Much of the equipment used in Pilates is proprietary, such as the Reformer. There’s also the “Cadillac” (also known as the trapeze table).
“It was one of the later inventions of Joseph Pilates,” said Jean Longchamps, certified Pilates instructor and owner of Classical Pilates Apparatus Instruction in Rochester. “It’s called that because it was around the time the Cadillac car came out. People teased him and called it a ‘Cadillac.’”
The raised mat — complete with a framework, springs and other apparatuses — allows instructors to not have to get down on the floor with each student to adjust and correct them. Longchamps explained that the apparatuses aid students who need to improve their physical condition and resistance to challenge them. Students perform movements on an exercise mat also.
“Mat work is actually pretty good on its own for the work it does, but with other apparatuses, the same exercise is loaded differently,” Longchamps said.
Because Joseph Pilates’ studio was located near a dance school, many dancers came to him to help them recover from injuries. This early association has caused many people to think that Pilates is a “woman’s activity,” a stereotype with which Longchamps disagrees.
“Joe Pilates was a very masculine ‘man’s man’ and a boxer and gymnast,” Longchamps said. “He wanted to do this for men and his intention was contrology: the art of control.”
By strengthening the core, Pilates helps people improve in many types of athletic pursuits.
Kate Wheeler, certified Pilates trainer and owner of Crescent Trail Pilates in Fairport, finds that both teaching and practicing Pilates “playful and celebratory,” she said. “The human body is incredibly resilient. Now more than ever, our ability to adapt to life’s changes depends on our ability to ‘tune in’ with ourselves plainly, free from distraction and judgment.
“Pilates inspires curiosity and purpose, the ultimate exercise regime for ‘tuning in.’ No matter where a person is in their journey, Pilates, with its focus on building strength, control, and stability from deep within, offers a foundation for creating freedom and ease.”
This may include athletes who want to improve to people recovering from surgery, sedentary lifestyle or an injury. And in any case, Wheeler believes that Pilates improves mobility for supporting day-to-day activities.
“The rumors are true: practicing Pilates supports fortified, supple joints and muscles and establishes control from our core but the most invaluable benefit is the mind-body connection,” she said. “It’s timeless.”
Boost From Martha Stewart
Pilates got a big boost last May after Martha Stewart made history when, at age 81, she appeared on the cover of the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, wearing a white one-piece suit with a plunging neckline and a poufy, peach-colored cover-up. In part, she credited Pilates for staying in good shape.
“I went to Pilates every other day and that was great. I’m still going to Pilates every other day ‘cause it’s so great,” she said at the time.’