In a recent report, The American College of Sports Medicine called Pilates a fad stating that it has “completely fallen off the radar.” As a Certified Pilates Instructor, I have to disagree. To say so is to imply that people are not interested in a revolutionary form of integrated movement that literally changes your body from the inside out.
The American College of Sports Medicine says that Pilates has been replaced with Bootcamp workouts. I live in Arizona where it is nice year 'round and everyone wants to exercise outside. I truly believe Arizona is the mecca of Bootcamps with many being run in all of the outdoor parks and mountain trails. But what I will also say is that I know a lot of people who do Bootcamp workouts and also do Pilates. Those of us in the close knit Pilates community know the benefits of literally reforming and training bodies. We also know that you’ll be better at Bootcamp if you increase your core strength and mind/body connection through Pilates.
Pilates was founded by Joseph Pilates in the 1920’s. He originally called his work "contrology,” which integrated movement through the body, mind and spirit. The great thing about Pilates is that you literally transform the way you look by working on the “reformer.” In the words of Joseph Pilates, “Feel it in 10 sessions. See it in 20 sessions and have a whole new body in 30 sessions.”
I have always said that posture and core strength are the roots of all exercises. By incorporating Pilates into your routine, you will be more aware of your body and more aware of your form in all the exercises that you do. This is especially true in Bootcamp workouts as you need to rely on your core as you run, do push-up and obviously sit-ups. This will translate into better results, as well as more stamina and less incidences of injury.
Think of the movement of running and how much more power you would have if you were able to rely on that tight girdle of core muscles to support you. Next, think of doing a push-up and not being able to hold yourself in that plank position. The typical “bad form” I see for those with weak abdominals is to push their backside into the air and not get the benefits of working the upper body or core by pushing your own body weight. Even worse, is for those who drop their hips forward and compromise their low back. If your neck hurts from doing sit-ups, you’re again not using your core because it is most likely too weak. This is a common mistake and puts way too much strain on your neck.
My advice to you is to go for that Bootcamp, but make sure you’re implementing some Pilates based core training so you will get optimum results from all your hard work!
Joanne Sgro is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.