My Pilates Body 2022

Throughout 2022 I will be spending a few moments each week and in every Pilates class I teach focusing on a particular part of the body. Teaching exercises to strengthen, discussing functional aspects and why its good to exercise that particular part. My hope is that once clients understand how a particular part of the body works, they can enhance their Pilates practice. Less copying an instructor and more really connecting and feeling your muscles work. Taking the time to focus on yourself and how you feel today.

The plan as it stands today look like:

January - Really find your core muscles (and exclude your bottom)

February - Care for your feet and ankles (don't undervalue them)

March - Hip and hip flexors (fun with rollers and other small equipment)

April - Glutes, min, med and max (could one of your bum muscles be weak?)

May - Abs (oh, no!)

June - Obliques (oh, yes!)

July - Spin, rotate, articulate and extend your spine

August - Quads and knees (how do they connect?)

September - Lumbar spine (how does it connect to your core?)

October - Shoulder girdle (what exactly are we talking about?)

November - Adductors and abductors (where and what?)

December - Triceps and biceps (So we are party ready)

Superman outside my mother in laws house Sep 2021

Comments

My feet are amazing! But how should I stand and why does this matter?

Each of your feet are amazing, I know that I did not appreciate my feet until I had a accident and one of my feet stopped working as well as it used to. My extreme sport of choice was piggy in the middle with my children on the beach, when I kick a stone. This has continued to impact my foot health for over 18 months (well I'm still recovering). Each of your feet are made up of 26 bones, 30 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. Your feet are the most amazing mobile weight bearing structures around. When anatomists write about the foot, they often refer to the "bony architecture" of the foot. Now start to think about the structure of your foot as "bony architecture" and you can start understanding how you foot is similar to a vaulted church ceiling. Lots of individual bones precisely placed to fit together in an amazing arched structure. What is incredible about the foot is that there are three arches at work. You have t...

Pilates key principles: Control

In Pilates we aim to maintain a high level of control over the movements that we make. As you will have completed some Pilates with me, you will be aware that a small angle change in leg positioning or increased stability through the pelvis can suddenly increase the intensity of an exercise. When thinking about control it is very closely related to precision and you could say that these key principles come hand in hand. You will find that control is improved once you have made multiple attempts at an exercise. Muscles will increase in strength and your muscles will remember the movement of an exercise. Therefore when taking part in a class, stay at a level where you can maintain control. If you work at too high a level you will find it harder to master the control of position and movement and then perfect the exercise. When we have control over a movement we are also able to make the movement using only the muscles connected with tha...

What are my Abs?

Abs are used to describe the front abdominal wall but this area of the body includes more muscles and other body structures than just your rectus abdominis. There are three layers of muscle forming your abdominal wall. The deep layer comprises of the transversus abdominis and the rectus abdominis. Your transversus abdominis is a muscle that give you a big tummy hug. It wraps all the way around you from your lower ribs to you pelvis across your middle (meeting at the linea alba (fibrous white structure that runs down the middle of the abdomen)) also attaching to the thoracolumbar fascia (a fibrous structure) in your back. Your trans abs compress and support your abdominal contents. The rectus abdominis is also in this deep layer of muscle, this muscles runs from the pubic bone to the sternum and if very well developed is responsible for the 8 abdominal muscles that can viewed on a bat man costume. This muscle is respons...

Katie Leaver Pilates

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