In chatting with a wonderful member of ours this week it got me remembering what it was like making the shift out of the traditional fitness world where gyms, bikini bodies and calorie counting ruled your every day. A world where there was little talk of ‘mindfulness’ and stretching. Stretching? What a waste of time! Now that would most often be skipped in order to pump out more calories on the ever-so exciting treadmill or eliptical. (My gosh, how did I even survive 5 minutes on those things ?! How does anyone for that matter?)
Back in the day it was the thing to do – teach a couple of early morning classes, work on the gym floor for a bit, take a couple pf personal training clients through their workouts, then teach some more. These long days were the norm, sometimes starting at 6am and not finishing till 9 or 10pm. Sure, there was a break in the middle but you know how you always feel worse for wear when you stop in the middle of the day then really have to get going again?
Over a period of say 10 years, this well and truly starts to catch up with you. Getting sick quite often, low moods, very low energy, and eventually adrenal burn out. Chronic fatigue had set in and lasted for about two years at my worst.
At this point I knew something had to change but didn’t know what. Why was it that all my clients were feeling incredible and energised after their sessions? All I felt was extreme exhaustion, tiredness beyond anythng else. My fuel tank was below zero (if that’s even possible.)
This prompted me to get back to basics and figure the heck out what actually gives your body and mind energy from a foundational level. Turns out too much exercise of the fast-paced kind increases your cortisol hormone, which decreases other relaxing hormones like dopamine, which in turn cause you to feel stressed, anxious, in a state of ‘fight or flight’ all the time and eventually burn out your hormonal and adrenal systems.
The result? Lowered immune system, excess belly fat (no matter how good your food is), decreased emotional wellness, a foggy mind, no energy at all, awakening at 3am bright-eyed then struggling to get out of bed at 8am or even later, continuously sore muscles that never quite repair after a workout. Just to name a few things. If you have ever had these issues I empathise with you, because that tiredness beyond tired no on understands unless they have gone through this. I literally felt awful all the time, all day, every day.
During this journey of health re-discovery I thought I had better try doing some other stuff, you know meditation, yoga, Pilates, tai chi. Slower forms of movement and get to know about the whole ‘mindfulness’ thing too, afterall, there was so much talk about it. I needed to make serious changes to my lifestyle at this point. My social life had to change, I needed to get to bed super early each night yet would still feel like I’d been hit by a bus every morning. Lots needed to change in terms of not only lifestyle and exercise, but my food aswell. (I’ll share this on another post.)
I didn’t really like Yoga or Pilates at all for a while, but knew it was my only option if I still wanted to exercise and actually do something to keep strong. In hindsight I did not fully understand the benefits of ‘balance’ within exercise and lifestyle though. I think you need to come this point of realisation and pain first, knowing something needs changing before you fully embrace it for the long term.
I was worried you see, about the fact that I would get super fat or something and lose my ability to keep fit and strong. I don’t like feeling tired or feeling weak in my body, you know what I mean? And I really believed this would happen if I stopped exercising the way I had been all those years.
I persisted with these forms of exercise and started to notice a difference even after a few sessions of each. Still didn’t love it, but was starting to appreciate it. Something happened in one of those first Pilates sessions though. I remember feeling ‘energy’ for about a half day after one of the classes, a renewed sense of energy which made me feel alive again. And remember, I was struggling to get through the day at that point, needing to sleep for 2-3 hours a day and still feeling tired after that with brain fog every day. So any hint of energy was amazing at this point!
It got me thinking, wow – there is something more to this, so I started researching and studying up. I immersed myself in many courses and learned from the best teachers about great technique and how to create movement and exercise in your body without the fast-paced, hard-loaded routines I was used to.
Because I was very depleted and low at this time, any exertion on the muscles had to be slow and controlled and I discovered using my bodyweight for exercises was the best result for this. That was where Pilates and Yoga was really great. Using my bodyweight instead of weights to build strength and muscular control was what started to help me feel more energised and without that awful residual soreness I was getting from my years of other training.
It was also nice to gain some some real flexibility, as my muscles had gotten so tight from the countless pump classes, weights and high intensity training. You see, when you experience a lack of flexibility it’s not only about tight muscles, it’s indicating that your body is imbalanced and certain other muscles are over-developed. Our entire muscular system is connected, so when for example your quads (thighs) are too strong or tight without strong hamstrings (back of thighs) then this causes an array of issues for the lower back, pelvis and hips and can inihibit normal ranges of ranges of movement for walking, running and other activities.
When I started to do my studies of Pilates and train with so many different instructors, vast differences started to show up. And they continue to even today when I experience a new course or a different class. This is where the experience of Pilates as method can be so varied for every single one of us, often giving the opinion of it being ‘too hard’ or ‘too easy.’
Let’s take a look at this, and there are two main factors to really consider here. Firstly, where your body is currently at, and secondly, what style of class have you opted to do.
Where is your body at?
Each of us are completely individual and unique in the sense of our health and exercise history, not to mention our mindset around our body image and what exercise ‘should’ be. So all these variants play an incredibly huge role in defining your experience of ‘Pilates.’
If you have come from an injury, or super fit, or completely new to exercise, or have ‘heard’ that Pilates is the thing to do, then you already have pre-conceived ideas and a physical status that you are currently dealing with.
Your body may be in constant pain, in which case you will be apprehensive about any movement, slow or fast. You might have tight muscles, in which case you don’t like the idea of any kind of stretching (although you need it !) You might have no idea what your ‘core muscles’ are or what any muscles are, in which case may be totally intimidated by the whole idea. Then again you night be super fit, quite athletic, in which case you will expect it to be easy, but in fact your deeper muscles may not be as strong as you thought despite your years of exercise. The list goes on.
Or, you may just know deep down that the type of exercise you are doing right now is not the right thing for your body anymore. That’s where I was at. You do it because that’s what the fitness industry tells us, that’s what everyone else is doing, and you thought that you needed to sweat it out and do hundreds of reps of something in order to get a real change in your body. I was exactly in this frame of mind too for so long, and it took ill-health as you know to open my mind to other options. The last thing you want to do is to push your body into a stressed state when you already have enough on your plate. This will only inhibit your results from any exercise.
So let’s take this first factor of ‘where is your body at’ into consideration. If you look at any of these examples above you will see that any one of these people (in pain, not flexible, newbie, etc) could have the opinion of ‘it’s too hard,’ or ‘it’s too easy’ for reasons they only know and believe to be true. Anyone one of these people mentioned can say it’s ‘easy’ or ‘hard’ on different days depending on their current physical stautus and the way they are taught.
For example, someone’s chronic pain may have flared up on that day causing more soreness than usual. Another person’s muscles might be so tight that the extended leg movements are difficult in which case it’s labelled ‘too hard.’ Another person may not have slept well at all due to kids being up last night so they will label it ‘hard’ but on another day with an energised body the same routine will be labelled ‘easy.’ The variations we all encounter within our own body, emotions, and energy every day count towards how you will feel within your Pilates workout, or any workout for that matter.
The second part to this will come from the contributing factor of ‘style of class’.
Style of class
Large Apparatus (studio) vs Mat-based
Firstly there are two types of Pilates you will do. Either mat-based or apparatus-based. Mat-based entails the traditional method of exercises using bodyweight, small equipment like a Pilates Circle (used in the original series) and now therabands, Pilates balls, light weights, bosu and foam rollers (picked up from more modern influence).
Mat-based are generally run in larger groups at gyms, Pilates studios and other centres and groups. Apparatus-based I refer to the larger equipment – reformers, wunda chair, trap table, etc. These are the larger pieces of equipment you would have seen around the pace, most likely only in specific Pilates studios. In terms of results and benefits, I believe you get just at toned, strong and mentally fit with either. Large equipment though is helpful where a client has a injury that may make it harder to get up off the floor.
Rehab vs fitness based vs traditional
Then you have the different ‘styles’ that have been ammended, created and watered-down over the years of different training academies teaching their own interpretations.
Rehab or Clinical
This method is often to cater for rehab clinets who have gone through an injury or illness and need specific exercises targeted for where their body is at. You will get this style likely at a physiotherapist practice or Pilates studio, less likely at larger facilities.
Large group, medium group, private
Then the all important topic of how many people should you participate with? Well it comes down to budget. Don’t expect one on one personalised programming if you enrol in large groups. Pay the money for private sessions if that’s what you need.
Large groups say 20 to 50 people will be found in gyms most commonly and it can get very difficult to feel comfortable walking into this environment for the first time. It’s highly unlikely you will get corrected or get the technique right for many years if at all in this environment because there is simply too much load on the instructor. Hence the reason I stopped teaching in these facilities because I felt I couldn’t service clients at the level required for a positive Pilates experience.
Medium or Small group
This will range from 4 to say 18 people. Smaller style studios and boutique facilities and classes will be in this range of numbers, and it’s a nice amount of people to work with from an instructors’ perspective too. If you are wanting classes on the lower end of this spectrum with less people then expect to pay more the less people you have.
Myself and our team sit at this medium-sized number which still allows to give that personalised touch without people being lost in the crowd. Our clients are all screened too so anyone not suited for groups can only do a private. Every facility should have this in place becasue the issue is that people get told to ‘do Pilates’ but not told to do private sessions when really that’s what the bulk of people need to begin with espcially if previously injured.
Private
A one on one session is priceless in terms of the technique and tailor-made session for you, the client. Your experience will often be determined by this factor, and sadly many people will never get the best technique because they may switch off in class and not listen to cues, whereas in a private session there is no room for error, all eyes on you.
Ok, now what about how to instructor was trained? You do need to be aware of this as a client, for your own good and knowledge.
How your instructor was trained is a huge factor. Let me be clear. There are courses running that will qualify anyone in a three day period. Yes, three days. When were you ever an expert at anything after three days? Then there are courses that are run for a year or several years requiring 200 hours plus of assisted teaching and hard core exams. There are people who complete a three day course even without a basic fitness certificate. Sure, they are going to learn basic anatomy crash-course maybe the night before the three day course, but will never have the depth and scope of knowledge required to deal with advanced and beginners in the same workout with all people getting what they need form it. That is a learned skill over time and has a huge impact on Pilates being ‘too easy’ or ‘too hard.’
In traditional Pilates studios it was the done thing to become an apprentice and learn to master the technique for your own body and others, taking years of practice. That’s not to put down anyone who has down a three day course, but to let you the client know of the inconsistent industry standards. Myself and my instructors, plus countless collegues I know are labelled the same ‘Pilates Instructor’ as the person with the three day certificate. So how do you know who and what you are getting? If I was getting surgery done to me I’d want the doctor with the years of experience, not the person with the three day certificate. You get what you pay for. And this is a huge factor in Pilates being too easy or too hard. It comes down to the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience a person has when teaching.
In larger facilities for example with the newbie instructor, you will have someone come in with no experience, then someone come in with loads of experience. One person will find the routine ‘easy’ while the other struggles with the warm up, walking away saying it was ‘too hard’ when maybe they needed the private to begin with. Now it’s not neccesarily a bad thing to feel that it’s easy, but that’s moving onto a whole new gammut of factors which I’ll explain shortly.
On the flipside I’ve had clients come to us who are wanting to feel more than what they did doing the one on one or small group with a person who focuses more on the ‘rehab’ style of movement. This is not wrong, it’s just different with each client expecting a different thing to the next, and each instructor teaching from the way they were trained and their own beliefs and influences about health.
Now here’s the irony of it all. Putting aside all of this, on some days your Pilates class will be ‘easy.’ On another day with the exact same routine it will be ‘hard.’ Why is this? And why is there no consistency?
Your body feels different each day. You go through different aches, pains and movement patterns each day. Your posture changes each day. Your energy changes each day, as do your hormones, food intake and sleep. Not to mention the most important factor on your part – your ability to do the technique 100 per cent correct, the whole way through. So this is why it will be easy and hard, all at the same time. (Plus the factors above!)
Here’s a few tips that you can make it a better experience for yourself and actually get to a place where it does change your body:
- Really listen and execute on every cue the instructor gives you. Often we hear but are not really listening and doing. (I tune out too sometimes when your mind needs a break!) But in order to really feel it and not get worried about it being too ‘easy’ because you are not moving at 100 miles an hour, you need to be diligent within your self.
Now one of the issues here is there is so much to focus on. I get it , it’s the breathing, the core muscles, the arms, the coordination of it all. It’s not easy to do! That’s the beauty of it. The simplest of movements like lifting one leg off the floor while laying down may appear easy to do and its is…but are you keeping your shoulders down as you do it? Pressing your ribs to the floor? Drawing in your tummy? Keep the hips completely steady? And keeping your neck in the right position? If you can do all these things 100 per cent, then it will be ‘hard.’ But if you tune out and just lift the leg for the sake of lifting the leg with no other awareness of the points mentioned, then it will be ‘easy’ and you will likely not get much out of it, ever.
Attention to detail on your part is a key factor to consider in conjunction with all the other factors. There is so much that goes into a persons’ experience of this method and to be honest it had me really baffled for so many years. I would be so confused which prompted me to do so many courses to try and truly understand what this whole thing was all about !
- Consider where your body is at. Realistically, is it in your best interest to do some private sessions? The investment will be well worth it and you will then adapt to groups in a much better way aswell if that’s what you choose to do moving forward. Consider your history of exercise and how your energy is day to day and allow for your experience to change with each class, with some days feeling good that you are a little sore, and some days feeling good that you are not sore at all.
In fact, this is a huge mental block to overcome. I think this would have been the biggest discovery for me in breaking away from the traditional fitness regimes: being ok with not having an intense level of muscle fatigue and exhaustion. Being ok with not huffing and puffing so much. Being ok with controlling your movements where you don’t necessarily ‘feel’ such intensity.
Don’t be fooled though, the after-effect in the early days will be slight delayed muscle soreness, sometimes not really felt at the time. This can often discourage people used to the ‘burn’ and the intensity they believe exercise to be. If you can follow great technique and be present within your session, you are doing more for your mind and body than you realise. Be ok with the subtleties and changes that occur over time, like increased mental calrity, lowered sress, a nicely-shaped waistline, toned and lean muscles without the bulk. Who doesn’t want this?
- Increase your session frequency. Here’s the thing. Pilates mat-based work requires you to do at least 5 x sessions per week to gain the benefits that you have heard (mentioned above). If you do any less, sure it will be hugely beneficial but a slower transformational change. In my peak before having the baby I would teach about 16 classes per week and fully participate in 7-8 per week. This kept my body the same level of tone and strength without having to do weights. Now that I have backed off after having my baby and needing to build back up plus be a full time mum, I am now only doing four a week and have yet to build up to where I was previously due to long-term injury of the pelvis.
Your goals will also determine exactly how much you need to do per week of of what exercise. For example – if you want significant weight loss you need to do 5 x mat-based classes per week with a strong instructor (not rehab style) or at least 3-4 studio large apparatus sessions per week. Plus cardio – at least 30-45 mins brisk walk or job 4-5 days per week. And of course eat really well with controlled protions and healthy, fresh foods. Weight loss will also be affected my hormones so if pre or post natal, or pre or post menopausal, you need to consider this and make further adjustments with food or your routine (as directed by health practitioner) if you are going through these things. Food is 70% of how you look and feel.
If your goal is to strengthen and tone, my recommendation is again 4-5 mat-based sessions per week. For some reason people think that Pilates and Yoga etc will transform their body by doing one or two sessions per week. If you really want to get good at something and feel the full effects, you need to treat it like your would any other form of exercise. You wouldn’t go to the gym once a week and expect much change. (Note – I refer to may-based alot because it’s more accessible and can also be done from home like our online clients are successfully doing.)
If you are already exercising at least 5 days per week then 1-2 classes per week would be a nice compliment for you to do. Pilates mat-based or apparatus-based is highly sought after now by elite athletes, celebrities and countless others as a balance to their current workout regimes because it’s getting more well-known that your core muscles and stabilisers are vital to your functionality as a whole.
Even professional footballers have done (not so gracefully) my sessions because their coaches understand the importance of injury-prevention and a strong core to say the least.
At the end of the day, Pilates sounds ‘cool’ and is certainly on trend, but your experience of it will be completely a unique one to you, and something you will go through your own journey with. It took me at least three years of doing it (yep 3 years not a month, not even a year) to really ‘get it.’
If you want to reference back to any of Joseph Pilates original footage on Youtube or find out more about its origins, just do a google search. What’s interesting is at the time of his original book ‘Return to Life Through Contrology,’ he spoke about the ‘health crises’ that we would eventually face as a society: poor posture from ‘telephones’ (before mobiles were around), back pain from desk jobs, mental fog, stress and no energy left to do things we want to do each day, like spend quality time with people we care about and enjoy a social life amongst all the busyness.
He was on point alright, more than 100 years later those are pretty much the issues we face today with our health.
Often people find Pilates ‘too easy’ or ‘boring’ because the mind is way too busy. If you are the type of person who can’t focus for more than a few seconds then maybe it’s time to become more present and do what you need to balance out. I was one of these people and still struggle with it! I used to talk my self through the movements and try to really zone in on the instructor just to get through it in the early days because my mind and body wanted to race ahead and think of other things like what I had to do that day or what’s for dinner.
It is in the presence and stillness you will really get it. And eventually be ok with only doing Pilates as your method of exercise or doing Pilates as a compliment to your other fitness routines. Either way, just by doing it you will win in the long term.
Oh yep I forgot to mention, the longer you do it the ‘harder’ it becomes because your technique improves over time, as does your deeper muscle activation. In the beginning you will likely fire up the already over-developed muscles, so be aware of this. It take time to re-train the way your body responds to movement.
I hope this has shed some light on what is a huge topic and point of discussion for many people these days. We live in a world where its faster and we want more instant results, but maybe its time we gave ourselves less stress and more mindfulness. After all if you don’t have a healthy, balanced body, what do you have?
Power To Your Core,
Vanessa Bartlett xx
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Nice blog. For the beginners, Pilates is a little bit of tough but after a few classes, you can understand the effect of it, in your body. You feel your body flexibility and muscle strength. Thank you for your information.