Patrea, the owner of 15 to Fit Pilates, Barre and Fitness shares all about the world of fitness. Patrea has been in and around the fitness industry her entire life. Here, she shares her knowledge and experiences in her blog to help motivate, educate, and transform the lives of her clients and readers.
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It is an exciting Spring around here at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit! We have the privilege to be working with several new instructors and to offer several new classes in our recently remodeled group class space. Starting April 25th, we are proud to begin offering Zumba with Cesar Acosta. Cesar is a native of Venezuela and has been teaching Zumba since 2006. He only teaches his lively classes at a few places around Indy, and 15 to Fit is happy to have him.
Zumba is a workout using easy to learn dance movements set to Latin and International dance rhythms. The rhythms vary fast and slow and combine those moves with toning exercises--so we can burn calories, sculpt muscles and have a really good time listening to fun music while we are doing it.
Our first class is being offered April 25th, and will be a small group, so if you want to dance with Cesar, you better sign up quick. You can see the schedule and sign up here.
Joseph Pilates was the founder of the Pilates method.He was born in Germany in 1883.He was quite a sick child, and apparently decided at a very young age to improve his physical fitness.He was a gymnast, a body builder, a diver and even a circus performer for a time.It was actually while being interned in a war camp in England during World War I, that he really developed his method which he originally called “contrology.”During this time, he developed many of his floor exercises that are still incorporated into many of the mat work exercises we still do today.As he began to try and help rehabilitate people who had serious injuries, be began working on equipment that ended up being some of the classic Pilates equipment, like the reformer (some of the original equipment was based on hospital beds and bedsprings, which if you look closely at equipment today, you can still see this inspiration.
In 1925 he moved to New York (and met his wife Clara on the boat on the way over). Together, he and his wife started their first studio focusing on contrology. Their method focused a lot on the mind body connection in exercise as well as the intense focus on the core of one’s body to strengthen the body.Due to the proximity of his studio to several dance and rehearsal studios, they had quickly developed a following of many dancers.
Joseph Pilates died in New York in 1967 at age 83, and obviously his legend has continued.
For fun, check out this video of Joseph Pilates and one of his famous students training.
Some of my favorite Joseph Pilates quotes:
"Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor."
“I'm not concerned with body building; I'm just trying to make people normal human beings.”
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”
“A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion.”
“…a body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all of the complex problems of modern living.”
***Thanks to You Tube, Wikipedia and About.com for so much valuable information!
I have talked a lot here on my blog about how Pilates can benefit your body in so many ways, but did you know it is an ideal exercise program for older people—people in their 60s, 70s and even 80s? I currently have several clients over 70 who tell me every time they come how much stronger and stable they feel from doing Pilates.
Pam-My 76 year old client
There are several reasons why Pilates is great for people in this age range.First of all, the obvious physical benefits for anyone—muscle strengthening, increased balance and coordination and just general overall improvement in well-being. However, these things can be even more beneficial for older people who often begin to suffer from osteoporosis which can lead to broken bones with very minor falls (you know how you always hear about older ladies and their broken hips!).Pilates helps in all these areas.Resistance training is great for preventing osteoporosis and naturally, with better balance and coordination, falls will be less likely to happen.Posture is also improved through Pilates which can help avoid that weakened back that can cause stooped posture.
Further, by focusing on your breathing, as I discussed in my this recent post, you will do a better job oxygenating your body which will benefit not only your physical being, but your mental health as well.And it doesn’t matter what your exercise level is when you start Pilates, we have classes at all levels, and can modify nearly every exercise to accommodate varying fitness levels.Pilates is not like aerobics or classes like that that people may be familiar with—it is ideal for older people who may not want to be performing the same level of high impact exercise.Don’t get me wrong, we will get your heart rate up, but you won’t feel completely winded from doing Pilates.
Pam Rocks!
The other thing about Pilates training at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit, is that in all sessions, from group classes to private training sessions, you will have a trainer who is monitoring your exercise program.It is a bit like having your own personal “spotter” as you work out.Not many exercise programs are offering that kind of personal assistance.You certainly aren’t going to get that my joining your local gym.
I am really excited to tell you all that I was interviewed and featured in a recent article in Natural Health magazine called "Love Your Body." Of course I love all the quotes they used from me in there, but my first reaction to the article was how much I loved the model they used to demonstrate the exercises discussed. She is not your typical 20 year old bone thin model that you often see in workout magazines. She is maybe in her 50s and while obviously fit, looks like a healthy, normal person (and I love the haircut and the shirt she is wearing.)
I also love that the article expresses my personal philosophy about exercise so well. That exercise is meant to be a postive, beneficial part of your life, and not something to punish yourself with when you feel like you ate too much, or because the woman on the treadmill next to you is skinnier. The article discusses setting goals for exercise that are realistic, and not something that is nearly unattainable, like having Tina Turner's legs.
Check out the article though, there are some great simple exercises that I helped the magazine choose that focus on all the highlights of exercise--cardio, balance, flexibility, and strength. The strength exercise is one of my favorites--a classic push up. Maybe you can only do a few to start, but I bet if you keep it up, your endurance, and love for your body, increases!
"Love Your Body," by Kate Hanley, Natural Health, March 2011.
I just recently returned from a skiing trip in Colorado and have been thinking a lot about how great Pilates is for skiers.Think about it, all the things that are central to Pilates—a strong core, great balance and posture, general strength and agility—sounds like the perfect recipe for great skiing to me.One of the things that skiers typically need to focus on when they are skiing is a great stance, or the way they hold themselves evenly on their skis.Pilates strengthens the core as well as the rest of your muscular structure, but it also just simply makes you more aware of how your body and its muscles function together—and how it all interacts with your breathing.Honestly, I can’t think of a better exercise program for skiers.
Think about it, when you are skiing, your arms and legs work independently and your core, or torso area, which needs to stay strong in order to support all of that dynamic movement.Think about how much pressure is on your feet this entire time too. By strengthening and adjusting your core muscles as well as all of your leg and arm muscles, you are hitting all the high points you need in skiing.By getting your balance perfected and your alignment in order, you will not be put an undue amount of stress on those feet (or your back and knees for that matter).
I have clients who are skiers and have told me how quickly their skiing began to improve since starting Pilates (not to mention their stamina).I would be happy to create a custom program to focus on exercises to strengthen those muscles critical to skiing.And any of our classes at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit could go a long way towards improving anyone’s love of skiing.
One of the things that makes Pilates practice so different from a lot of traditional exercise methods is the mind-body connection.In some ways, this connection makes Pilates more similar to yoga than traditional weight training.Pilates requires very precise movements targeting deep muscles—your mind needs to be in it to make it most effective.There is also very specific breathing techniques that go along with each exercise to not only focus on your core, but to center your mind as well.
Pilates does not put an emphasis on endless repetitions of exercises, but on fewer, more precise movements and deep breathing that is guided by one of our professionally trained instructors.Our instructors can guide you not only through the exercises, but the breathing techniques as well.We are trained to notice exactly how each muscle is moving and to make sure that our clients keep their breathing in sync with the exercises.
I truly believe that working in the moment and focusing on your breath can not only help your physical body, but your mental health as well.You hear a lot these days about living in the moment, living in the now, what a perfect way to combine your physical exercise regimen with that philosophy.
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“The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being, mental calm, and spiritual peace are priceless to their possessors if there be any such so fortunate living among us today.However, it is the ideal to strive for, and in our opinion, it is only through [the Pilates method] that this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind, and spirit can ever be attained.”-Joseph Pilates (1945).
"The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being mental calm, and spiritual peace are priceless to
I told you all a few weeks ago that I was hoping to get some new equipment (which is a little addiction I have) and recently I purchased a new piece of equipment called the ladder barrel.This is a wonderful device for deep stretches as well as targeted strengthening and flexibility exercises.There are rungs in the ladder portion of the equipment that are at different heights that make it easy to accommodate various body heights.
It is great for spinal articulation and stretching hips—you can use the barrel to stretch on your stomach, on your side, or laying across on your back.It is great to promote not only good flexibility as I said, but also help your posture.The design of this piece of equipment is great for helping isolate deep core muscles—our favorite muscles to target!
As we age, this kind of spinal articulation is so great for helping to strengthen the bones and muscles that will keep us all upright.I use the barrel as a compliment to the other pieces of equipment and there is nothing better than great deep stretches on the barrel at the end of a hard workout.Give us a call and check it out...Your spine will thank you.
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