Pilates, Yoga, Resistance and Cardio... is there time for it all?

I've never felt as fit as when I've incorporated these four types of exercise consistently into my routine.

I can hear you now... who has time for all that? Most people do. Most people think they don't, but they do.

"Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby (1826-93), British statesman.


The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends the following on a weekly basis:

75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (jogging, running, etc) and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, shoulders and arms)

So let's split that up and see what we can get. The following is one example...

Monday
25 minute jog (Cardio)

Tuesday
55 minute Pilates Reformer Class (Resistance)

Wednesday
25 minute jog (Cardio)

Thursday
55 minute Yoga Class (Yoga)

Friday
25 minute jog (Cardio)

Saturday
55 minute Pilates Mat Class (Pilates)

Sunday
Rest

Now, you might say to yourself, I want more than just one day of rest. What if you live fairly close to your studio or gym? You could do a 10-12 minute jog to and from a class, be it Yoga, Mat, or Reformer and bam, there is 1/3 of your cardio for the week and you have an extra day off. Maybe jog (or ride your bike) to and from three classes a week and now you have 4 days off! ...and you save on gas!

Perhaps you prefer Reformer over mat, or mat over reformer - that's ok too. Pilates Reformer is double duty - core work and resistance training all in one. Ever tried Jumpboard before? Triple threat - cardio, resistance and core all in one. Many Barre workouts also incorporate cardio, core and flexibility all in one. You could even just stick to mat based classes and opt to do traditional weight training at home or at the local gym. The key is figuring out what works for you. What can you stick to? Can you create a routine that can last for you?

Pilates and Cardiovascular Fitness

An excerpt from www.Health.org regarding Pilates and Cardiovascular health:
"A November 2005 study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise has debunked claims that it also boosts cardiovascular fitness. Researchers monitored the heart rates and oxygen consumption--standard measures of aerobic exertion--of 15 healthy young women as they performed a beginner, then an advanced, Pilates mat routine. While the women's perceived exertion was relatively high, their aerobic response stayed below the level required to glean a cardiovascular benefit. That makes Pilates a complement to--but not a substitute for--aerobic exercise."

 The site later references interval training as an acceptable means to improving cardiovascular health:
"Interval training: This type of workout involves alternating bursts of intense activity with periods of a more relaxed pace. Doing so prevents lactic acid, a waste product of muscular activity, from reaching levels that make exercise painful and exhausting."

Enter the Jump Board.

The Jump Board is an attachment for the Reformer that transforms the foot bar area into a larger padded platform. With light spring resistance, laying on your back, you can "jump" horizontally, without having your own body weight bear down on your joints. Jumping jacks, split jumps, lateral jumps, and mogul jumps are just the tip of the iceberg. Normally exercises that would pound on your knees and back are suddenly not only possible, but not painful, and still challenging!


A typical Jump Board class would consist of cardio intervals of "jumping" split up by intervals of upper body work, abdominal exercises, and other leg exercises. Classes are specially designed to keep your heart rate up while you work your entire body. 


Come try a class and see what the buzz is about!

4 Motions You Should Do Every Day For the Rest of Your Life

As we get busier, older, tighter, weaker… our bodies start to show it. The classic posture: shoulders rounded forward, tight lower back, head forward.

Yikes!

So maybe you’re not participating actively in a fitness routine. Maybe you have a gym membership and you never go. Maybe you are super active but only train the muscles that you think will make you look good. Wherever you are at in your fitness journey, here are 4 movements you should do every day so that you don’t end up looking like Larry up there.

1. Thoracic Extension

This is a fancy name for exercising your upper back muscles. The muscles that have gotten longer and weaker as we’ve abused them, ever so passively, by driving, typing, and slouching on the couch for 12 hours a day, ever day, for the last who knows how many years.

Begin face down (prone, as we call it fitness land). Legs comfortably apart behind you, hands under your forehead. Without pushing your belly into the ground, and without tilting your head back, lift your head, chest and palms 2 inches off the floor. Hold it for 5 seconds, return to the ground. Repeat about 5 times.

2. Lumbar Flexion

Another fancy pants word. Lumbar (lower back) flexion releases pressure on the spine, stretches the tight muscles, and strengthens the lower abdominal muscles.

Sit up with feet in front, knees, bent, hands across your shoulders. Sit tall. Really tall. Sit so tall you feel your back muscles working. Making your lower back as round as you can, start to roll yourself backwards, maybe only about 1/3 of the way down. Sit back up tall, and repeat about 5 times.

3. Rotation

Sitting cross-legged, as tall as you can. Hands behind head, elbows wide. Keep both cheeks on the ground, exhale as you rotate from the waist up to one side, and then to the other, not allowing the hips or legs to move. Try 5 in each direction.

                     

4. Side Bending

Still sitting cross-legged, as tall as you can, with hands behind head. Keep both cheeks on the ground and exhale as you side bend in one direction. Don’t lean forward or back, just bend (like a little tea pot). Try 5 to each side.

That’s all folks! If nothing else, keep your body moving in a variety of directions EVERY DAY, whether you’re 25, 45, 65 or 85 years old. Use it or lose it.

p.s. You can do the first two motions in bed before you get up, and the last two motions sitting in your office chair. No excuses!

Pilates for Men

 

"Often men who have been accustomed to work hard on a farm or play hard in school athletics or labor hard in a factory, continue eating hearty meals they then ate even though now they are engaged only in sedentary indoor occupation where moderate meals are indicated." 

- Joseph Pilates

Amazing, even 66 years ago, Joe hit the nail right on the head.

According to a story published by CNBC in March of 2010, the annual Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s Sports Fitness and Recreation Participation Overview listed Pilates as the fastest growing activity in the country. "With 8.6 million Americans participating in ’09, it’s up 456 percent since 2000."

The rise of Pilates popularity in the last 20 years has made the method appear decidedly "feminine". Most studios gear their marketing toward women, and men sometimes assume that it's just not for them, because there are no free weights involved. The truth is, Pilates was developed by a man - Joseph Pilates early in the 20th Century. Joseph originally called his method of movement Contrology, and published his book Return to Life Through Contrology in 1945.

While a typical mat class would not use free weights, the method is designed to build both strength and flexibility together - stability and mobility. You've seen that guy in the gym with the jug of water and the TAPOUT sweatshirt on - he can't lift his arms over his head, can he? I'm not knocking it, but at some point, traditional weight training can be wonderfully supplemented by Pilates (and Yoga for that matter). 

If you think MMA fighters aren't incorporating exercises like Pilates core moves into their workouts, you're in denial. Fighters Diego Sanchez, as well as both Nogueira brothers have been rumored to incorporate both Pilates and Yoga into their routines. There is no doubt others do as well, though it's likely just called a "core routine" in the gym to save face. 

Don't follow MMA? A few names like Curt Schilling, Jason Kidd, Tiger Woods, and Ruben Brown might ring a bell. Yup, they have all cited Pilates as an integral part of their training routines.

Grab your gym shorts and tube socks and get your ass down here. 

www.OxygenMindandBody.com

Our schedule is online, first class is free.

Abdominal Triple Threat: Twisting, Crunching, Pulling In

Many people assume we all have a muscle in our stomach area called the "abs". What they are, what they connect to and how they work - we don't really care, we just want them to be flat, tight, and sexy.

The truth is, the abdominal muscles are a bit more complex. We have several layers that all have different jobs. To work each layer, you need to know the muscles and what each one does. Keep in mind, these are the basics:

The Rectus Abdominus - the top layer, the we want to look like a six pack, the "situation".
The Rectus Abdominus makes you crunch.

Kneeling Abdominals 

External and Internal Obliques - collectively called the Obliques.
The Obliques make you twist.
(Fine print/Anatomy disclaimer: The internal and external obliques are far more complex than this - they also make you side bend and crunch as well, but for simplicity's sake, we're saying "twisting" for now). 

Twisting Roll Backs

 

 

Kneeling Spine Twist

Transverse Abdominus - the deepest layer, the "girdle" - keeps everything pulled in tight where it belongs.
The Transverse Abs make you suck in.

Long Stretch (featured in the previous post)

Ok, so here's the catch. All of these exercises actually work all of the layers, but each one has a different focus. Doing only one type of abdominal exercise will not a washboard stomach make.

So, to target all of these layers, we can't just do crunches all day long. Please don't walk around bragging that you do 1,000 crunches ever day. One, you won't make any friends, two, you're probably not doing them correctly, and three, you need more variety!

A Parting Word on Flat Abs, Definition, and Fat Reduction
Unless you are doing some serious cardiovascular exercise, and following a solid nutrition plan along with these types of exercises, you may not see too much happen in the mirror. You WILL get stronger, you WILL prevent lower back issues, but the abs you see on TV don't happen without hard work - in the gym, and in the kitchen.

The Reformer... What IS it?

I know, I know. It looks like a medieval torture device. You will find in a few short sessions, or maybe even just one session, the amazing things it can do for your workout routine. It's one of the most popular pieces of Pilates equipment, and despite it's recent rise to fame, has been around for over 60 years!

The Reformer is an 8 foot long machine that rests either on the floor or more traditionally, is raised up off the ground and includes a wooden support base. Our Reformers, pictured below, are a contemporary take developed by Balanced Body to be more convenient in spaces that require movable equipment - like ours!

The "carriage", or the mat space that you sit, lay or stand on, glides back and forth along the rails against the resistance of five metal springs of varying resistance. Depending on the exercise, the resistance can be raised or lowered.

Some exercises are made more difficult by adding resistance.

Foot Work:
The legs push on the foot bar against the resistance to move the carriage back and forth. It's very similar to a squat or a leg press, but with primary focus on keeping the spine, pelvis, knees and ankles aligned and the core engaged.

Other exercises are made more difficult by lessening the resistance.

Long Stretch:
The resistance springs help keep the carriage close to the foot bar. By taking springs away, the body has to work much harder to control the carriage. Remember that ab wheel that's stored in the basement that you roll in and out of a plank position? Yeah, it's like that, but way cooler.

Think you can handle it? Call or email us today to set up your complimentary Reformer orientation. We'll figure out the settings that work best for you so that next time you want to hop in a class, you're ready to go!

 
www.oxygenmindandbody.com
oxygenmindandbody@gmail.com
978-475-1529