How to get the most out of your Pilates Workout
Have you ever done a pilates class thinking you are acing it and it’s almost too easy? Or instead of that desired muscle burn, an achy back sets in, your hip flexors begin to click or you suddenly struggle to reach up because your shoulder is out of whack?
We go in with the best intentions for our health but unless we know how to execute the exercises most efficiently, how do we know we are getting the best out of the class. As a physiotherapist with a strong pilates background I am committed to sharing my intricate knowledge with you all. After reading this article you’ll have a greater understanding of your body and how it should be worked in a Pilates class. All it takes is 4 easy steps:
Inner and outer unit muscle recruitment
Neutral spine
Tempo
Deep abdominal breathing
Muscle Units
The body has an inner unit (stabilising system) and outer unit (movement system). There is consistent evidence of altered recruitment between these two systems in the presence of discomfort and pain. Both the inner and outer unit muscle systems must integrate together for ideal function. As neither system in isolation can control the stability of the moving body alone (Comerford, M., Mottram, SL., & Gibbons, SGT. 2006). Awareness of working the inner and outer unit systems correctly is the key to connecting to the exercises, therefore avoiding injury, pain and optimises your workouts.
Neutral Spine
Another hack to feel the burn is to be aware of your body in neutral for all positions and exercises. This sets the body up for correct activation of the muscular units. For example, when working on core in supine, neutral spine allows TvA (transverse abdominis) activation in isolation prior to adding outer unit activation when completing a sit up.
Another benefit for working in neutral is the optimal activation of muscles, allowing them to lengthen and shorten at their full capacity. Muscles that contract and release efficiently create the desired feeling of being “worked” without putting strain on the body.
Tempo
So now we understand the importance of neutral spine and the difference between the inner and outer units of our muscular system, what is next? Tempo! It’s better to go slow in the right direction than fast in the wrong direction. Sometimes we need to slow our movements down to allow awareness of our muscles contracting and releasing. Speeding up and smashing through the movements results in incorrect muscle recruitment and overuse of trouble muscles (e.g. Upper Traps).
Deep Abdominal Breathing
Lastly, the beauty of breathing. If we learn in incorporate our breath in time with our Pilates movements wonderful things can happen. Just by breathing correctly it has been shown that fundamental stabilising muscles are naturally recruited automatically (Kim, S. T., & Lee, J. H. 2017).
Learning deep belly breathing can create the subconscious activation of your transverse abdominis, multifidis (back stabiliser) and internal obliques all the good stabilising muscles for the lumbopelvic region. One lovely tip is to breathe in to prepare and exhale on movement.
Try these four steps and I guarantee, you will start to see a change in your Pilates work outs and maybe some improvement in pain/discomfort.
If you have any questions please email MovePure at info@movepure.com.au or if you’d like to book a private session visit www.movepure.com.au or call 0493 456 156.
