I have often been asked the best way to lose tummy fat or tone up legs. Is Pilates best for the core and can we do more pelvic floor work?
The fact is that we can't spot train. In personal training or the gym, your gym instructor will advise the need to look at the whole picture: to reduce overall body fat (to get to the tummy) and to build a balanced strength program (to tone up the legs).
Pilates was never designed to "spot fix" - yes it helps back problems and yes it helps build awareness and correct activation of the core muscles and pelvic floor but it is not an isolated type of work. Pilates is at its most effective and powerful when it is embraced the way Joe Pilates designed it - as a whole body system.
We work on breath, posture, alignment, concentration, control, quality of movement - you'll hear me saying over and over "better to reduce the range/slow it down/don't do as many" in order to get the full purpose of the exercise.
Pilates is a form of exercise to establish a balance between the mind and body, to give each movement quality and purpose, to enable one fully functioning system. You know how I have talked in earlier posts about seeing the body as a big department store with lots of different departments taking on their own tasks.
There are so many takes on Pilates now and so many versions with social media sending us into a frenzy of who can do the craziest (and quite frankly, sometimes unsafe) exercises which can influence our thinking - that perhaps we are not doing enough. But it is important to remember that Pilates isn't about impressing the neighbours or getting more "likes".
Learning to trust in our own strength and control can empower us in other areas of our lives. Learning to breathe correctly through challenging movement can educate us to use our breath in other stressful areas of our lives, in addition to controlling safe and effective movement.
Learning how the power comes from our centre, (our engine room) can teach us how to move with more control and precision.
Try to avoid focusing purely on getting a flatter tummy or more tone in your arms or focusing all about the pelvic floor - think about all the departments working in harmony together to connect one system to function to it's maximum ability.
I've had a bit of nonsense over the last couple of weeks that has knocked me off my perch much more than I had realised, and my body has told me about it. I have not been able to (or inclined to) pick up the same weights or meet my usual spinning goals and so I have instead used the time to take it back and practise some basic Pilates, working on my breath, my control, my concentration and using this as an opportunity to allow myself to slow down and really embrace the basics, and I have really loved it! It has quietened my mind, calmed my system and reminded me of the whole body approach that Mr. Pilates wanted us to embrace.
So perhaps, if you are tired, stressed, not firing on all cylinders or just want to take a more scenic route, then drop it down a gear and enjoy a basic class that allows you to recharge, reconnect and rebalance.
Worked for me!
With that in mind, let me share with you a lovely quote I saw this week, that really applied to me -
"If your peace depends on everything going right, that is not peace, that is control.
Learning to be steady in uncertainty - that is real growth". Anon.
