Katie Leaver Pilates

 We all have two rotator cuffs which are very important to our shoulder operation, one inside each shoulder.  Your rotator cuff is made of four muscles that provide joint security (I love this term, a tiny little police force living in your shoulder making sure that the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint remains functioning).   Why does your shoulder need a police force?  Well the ball and socket joint of the shoulder is a bit rubbish (and also very good *).  It is not like a caravan and car ball and socket joint where you have a deep strong connection (a bit like the hip).  It is more like a scallop shell and a stick with a bulbus end. It fits ok, but really needs lots of tape and string to keep it together.  Your rotator cuff muscles are the police, the tape and the string that hold this amazing joint together.   The next part is only for reading if you are super interested in the names and actions of the muscles.  The four muscles of ...

In my last post I talked about the muscles of the back.  Today I want to talk a little more about the muscles you use and the benefits of rotation.  When we rotate we use some of the muscles of the back, including the multifidus and latissimus dorsi.  We also use some muscles from the side internal and external obliques and front, rectus abdominis. The rogation of the trunk uses both thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.    Now stand up and rotate (twist) to look behind you.  I bet your hips move and you are rotating from your ankles, your feet may even have swiveled a bit.  That is great, because that is how we move as humans.  Now find a cushion and a wall.  Fold you cushion in half and prop it behind your bottom so you are stood up straight and the cushion is held between your bottom and the wall. Rotate again, but this time do it without moving your hips.  We are looking to find a strong twisting feeling in the trunk, a bit like you ar...

Articulate your spine!  How many times have you been asked to do this in a Pilates lesson?  If you come to one of mine, probably lots.   The cue, "articulate your spine" is used in the large pelvic tilt exercise and is used to promote movement between each individual vertebra.  In a large pelvic tilt you start in the Pilates relaxation position.  Firstly you tilt your pelvis so that your lower back moves closer to your mat and your pubic bone rises (a small pelvic tilt).  Then leading from your pubic bone you peel your spine from the mat one vertebra at a time, until you reach a bridge position.  To come back down, I like to think I am trying to imprint my spine into sand.  So to make a really good spine print I have to get each vertebra to touch down individually finishing with my tail bone.  Naturally I am engaging my core throughout the whole exercise.  So what do we achieve by articulating our spines?  We have lots of muscl...

 Abdominal training is part of every movement in Pilates.  How many times do you hear your teacher ask you to engage your core?  ( What do I think about when engaging my core? ) Well your abdominals are a 1/4 of your core and are being used even when the majority of the exercise is elsewhere in your body.  If you missed  Your core muscles are like a tin can  take 5 mins and give it a read, I hope it will enlighten you. If you want to start from scratch having never trained before I would initially start practicing finding your core muscles.  Sit or lie down quietly and focus on engaging your core.  Then I would move onto an exercise like the bug.  Where you lay semi supine (on your back with knees raise to the ceiling, feet hip width apart on the floor and a neutral sine position) and glide opposite arm and leg away from your body whilst squeezing your core.  You could exhale and engage you core as you glide your arm and leg away and the...

  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...

 Glute medius  and glute minimus almost completes the opposite job of the glute maximus.  They are responsible for abduction of the hip (taking you leg out to the side of you body as if you were making a star shape), where the glute maximus is part of the muscle team the adducts the hip (taking the leg back towards the body).  The glute medius and glute minimus medially rotates the hip (rotating at the hip joint so that the leg moves in towards the body) whereas the glute max laterally rotates the hip (rotating at the hip joint so that the leg moves away from the body) Think about the clam exercise.  As the leg opens out and the hip rotates laterally the glute max is working.  However on the way back to the body the glute med and min are responsible.  Why does that exercise build so much?  Well you are using the glutes to open and close the leg.  Its important to keep the hip still so you get the work in both directions.  The glute mediu...

 Your glute maximus muscle is the biggest (largest and heaviest) muscle in your body.  It is the muscle you can feel if you tap your bottom. The two other glute muscles, glute medius and glute minimus are mainly sitting beneath the larger and most famous glute max.  The glute max is responsible for hip extension, this is when you leg stretches behind your body.  When you walk there is a small moment when you push off the toe of the behind leg.  This is your leg in hip extension.  Glute max is responsible for stepping up (climbing stairs), climbing, running and getting you up out of your chair or off the sofa.   Its a very important muscle to keep happy and moving freely.  Your glute max works closely with your hamstring (back of the thigh) to keep you standing up and to help you stand up again if you bend forwards towards your toes.  Unfortunately glute max can get out of shape or become inhibited (stop working as well due to something e...