Fundamentally Pilates Exercise Classes  

at Downswood Lawn Tennis Club (LTC)

For those not familiar with Fundamentally PIlates, the exercises are key if you want to stay as free form injury as you possibly can. We work on for example muscle strength and tone, balance, proprioception and address compensatory or ineffective muscle recruitment patterns and restrictions that often originate from injury, poor posture, sitting or even overuse in sports or by the stronger side of our bodies. 

Most importantly though, those in the know will confirm, the classes are fun for both men and women and they just make you feel and play so much better!

Please note the class schedule below and that reserving your slot is essential at fundamentally.pilates@gmail.com or contact me, Laura, by phone on 07789 113965. 

Fundamentally Exercise therapy available on request (1-2-1, 30 minutes).

26 July 2020

9 REASONS WHY MEN TOO SHOULD DO PILATES*

Men often shy away from Pilates because it seems like a female-dominated practice. However, many professional athletes use it as a form of cross-training to improve their overall performance. Not a pro marathon runner, football or tennis player? Pilates can still be a vital component to your exercise routine and serve as a fountain of youth for your overall physical well-being.

Balance the body: Pilates works both sides the same way. This draws attention to any of your imbalances. If you favor one side of your body over the other, if an arm, leg, or group of abdominal muscles is weaker, Pilates will demonstrate the difference. It will allow you to strengthen your weaker side.

Improve posture: If you haven't been giving your posture enough love because you sit at a desk all day, drive in a car endlessly, or just don't know how, Pilates will mother your posture into alignment. Pilates corrects poor posture by strengthening the muscles that "lift" you up. 

Good posture is not just for your appearance – it's also for your health! Proper posture reduces the wear and tear on your spine and improves your balance, which can decrease in quality as you age. If balance degrades, you're more prone to injury by tripping and/or falling.

Become stronger – in places you didn't even know you could get strong: If you have an exercise routine, you probably work the same muscles all the time (and to be fair, that's probably your goal). Pilates gets to the teeny-tiny stabilizers and otherwise neglected muscles that you didn't even realize needed attention, which in turn support your larger muscles.

Breathe better: Pilates focuses on diaphragmatic breathing, which oxygenates your muscles (and your entire body) so that they can perform better. Plus, deep, quality breath helps your heart with blood circulation, reduce stress, and increases overall mental clarity. Proper breathing even helps with injuries: Practicing Pilates breathing techniques while performing any exercises will help prevent injury. In a study, Pilates breathing during trunk exercises was proven to reduce and prevent injury in comparison to the same exercises performed without focus on breath. (Please note WHO advice with regards to diaphragmatic breathing and Covid 19 too)

Prevent injuries: Three of the main principles of Pilates are precision, centering, and control. Making these the basis of any physical activity allows your muscles to be more stable, in better form, and enables you to have more control over your movements. One of the most common causes of injury is improper form. With Pilates, you are literally balancing your body and zeroing in on properly aligned skeletal and muscular structure. This will carry proper alignment through everything else you do.

Recover from injuries: Since Pilates can be tailored to any level and for any injury, it makes a beautiful addition to a physical therapy program. The thought of minimal activity during injury recovery drives anyone used to being active bananas!

Reduces back pain: Pilates has proven to be just as effective as, if not more than, massage therapy for alleviating lower back pain – which seems to affect pretty much all of us (male and female) as we age!

Increase your range of motion: Pilates' focus on flexibility and lengthening will increase your range of motion, making everyday movements (like reaching up high to get something from the top shelf) and physically related movements significantly smoother and easier.

With all the physical benefits and improved breathing techniques, you'll have better stamina – not to mention a stronger core and pelvic floor, making the intimate experience more enjoyable for both parties.

How is Pilates different from yoga and other Mat classes?

Many people will group Mat Pilates and yoga in the same category, since they're both (usually) done barefoot, on a Mat, in a studio, and have a general focus on lengthening and breathing. But, the similarities pretty much end there!

While yoga is more about flexibility and strength from the root upward (base of the feet to the sky) with a focus of unionizing body, mind, and soul, Pilates focuses predominantly on anatomical and physical function, with all exercises radiating from the core, in an effort to unify the breath with the body to optimize length, strength, and function. A lot of people who don't love the "woo-woo" or "spiritual" aspects of a yoga class will prefer Pilates since Pilates is purely functional and instructional – traditional Pilates classes won't even play music. The focus on form and function in a Pilates class is a way into mind/body/spirit for many students.

Interested in finding out more about the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, ask Laura to send you the link to a free e-book ‘is sitting killing us’?  

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Laura Caldwell from Fundamentally Pilates. Laura offers a number of different classes at the club and emphasises that; “Pilates is for both men and women, it’s the perfect way to improve strength, balance and flexibility – almost everything a tennis player needs, in fact it’s what everyone needs!”.

Pilates is a Fun, Physical and Mental Practice

Learn to exercise your deep muscles to keep your body strong, aligned and supple. This relaxes the mind, helps good posture and is said to prevent and alleviate many injuries and modern life-style related conditions. We hope you will join us …

The classes via Zoom are getting good feedback. Just like before in the studio in Langley Vale and at Downswood Tennis Club Laura can guide you through the exercises and tweak alignment to ensure highly effective and safe movements.

In his own words, Joseph Pilates stated, Contrology (=Pilates) is an exercise and breathing regime that ‘develops the body uniformly, corrects posture, restores vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit’.