The Amazing Stickie and Criss Cross

This week, the Amazing Stickie is doing a similar exercise to last week.  This one is called Criss Cross.  It also works her oblique abdominals and her spinal flexion.

Today, she begins lying on her back with her hands behind her head and her knees bent so that her feet are flat on the floor.  She twists her torso slightly so that one elbow is touching the ground.  From there, she lifts her head and shoulders off the mat, maintaining the twist, and raises her opposite knee toward the higher elbow.  Her other leg stays long, floating just above the floor.  Then, without lowering her head and shoudlers toward the mat, she switches the position of her legs and twists her body the other direction.

 

Sets of ten are good.

 

Stickie would like to point out that this exercise may look familiar to gym-goers who are not Pilates people.  This exercise is done with more control and usually less speed than the gym version.

Basics: Stretching (2 of 2)

I hope that yesterday I convinced the skeptical among us that stretching is worthwhile.  Now let’s talk about how.

The first thing I need to emphasize is (and I’m about to yell it, so be prepared):  STRETCHING SHOULD NOT HURT.  Not even a little.  It is all right to feel, well, a stretch, but not pain.  In my recent experiments on myself and my family members, best results were obtained without even discomfort.  (I feel like I have been lied to in the past by the Stretching Industrial Complex and I’m a little bitter, but I’m sure I will get over it now that I can stretch in comfort!!!)  When we stretch a muscle group, we want to find the first place where we feel even slight resistance to the stretch.  We want to go a little bit past that, but not so far that we feel a lot of resistance.  Between these two points is where the magic happens.

 

However, we have options about how we work in that stretch zone.  Perhaps the most familiar and traditional method is the static stretch.  We get into stretch position and we hang out there.  It’s simple and pretty much foolproof, but we need to make sure we hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds for best results.

 

A newer and potentially more interesting method uses perpetual motion.  We take the muscle into the stretch zone and then explore around with motion, being careful to avoid pain and stay between the minimal resistance and the much resistance points.  We may discover, as we keep moving, that the range of painless motion gets larger!

 

Finally, I need to talk about reciprocal inhibition because it’s cool.  To paraphrase Newton, for every muscle group, there is an equal and opposite muscle group.  The hamstrings bend the knees and the quads straighten them, for example.  If we are stretching our hammies, we can help them relax by tightening up our quads (do this by trying to move the kneecap up toward the hip).  The act of tensing the quads (the antagonist muscles to the hammies) tells the hamstrings to relax, opening up a whole bunch more flexibility and range of motion.  It is the optional add-on to the stretching process or a fun party trick, if you go to those sorts of parties.

 

Go play.  AND IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT (in case I wasn’t clear about that).

Basics: Stretching (1 of 2)

Stretching is possibly the most neglected part of our workouts (assuming we manage to DO workouts in the first place).  I think there are a few different reasons for this.  One is that we have this idea that working out has to be hard and painful and stretching, done right, is not.  In fact, it feels good.  How dare we have a good time at the gym???  Another is that by the time we get to the stretching part, we’re tired, we want to go home, and we don’t really see the point.  I get it.

So:  we are allowed to do things that feel good and there are plenty of benefits of stretching.

 

That feeling good thing, from a certain point of view (does everyone hear Obi Wan when they use these words, or just me?), is why we work out at all.  There are people who love sweat for its own sake and enjoy the process of lifting weights, but most of us work out because we want to feel good at some later time.  That time might be when we go out on that hot date in our very cute outfit that we bought to show off our toned body or it might be those extra years of independence we get by putting in an investment in our health now or something in between.  In the same way that we try to pick activities we like to do in order to get the appropriate amount of exercise, we can put stretching right in there as a good part of the process.  Far be it from me to get between people and their desire to feel guilty for feeling good, but on the scale of self-indulgence, stretching is not up there with getting another puppy or eating an entire cake.  Live a little, people!

 

I know some of us really need to know the reasons.  So here is why it is good for us to stretch, assuming that feeling good is not enough of a reason for the sticklers among us.  The most obvious benefit of stretching is that it improves our flexibility and mobility.  And yes, those things are important.  It doesn’t matter how strong we are if we can’t raise our arms over our heads, for example.  Stretching reduces tension in our bodies and I should not have to explain why that’s a good thing.  Additionally, it can help us sleep well and reduce pain.  Not enough?  How about improving performance and balance?

 

Tomorrow:  how to do it!

Monday Workout: Short

We’re switching things up with a shorter circuit today.  Plus burpees.  Sorry/not sorry.  Four rounds, or as many as we have time for.

 

1 min cardio
suitcase swings	30
bench press	20
burpees	10
flies	20
plank jacks	30
V sit press	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Single Leg Stretch

Today the Amazing Stickie is doing the Pilates exercise Single Leg Stretch.  She begins lying on her back with her knees curled into her chest.  She puts one hand on the inside side of the opposite knee and the other hand on the outside side of the same shin.  On an exhale, she curls her spine up, bringing her head toward her knees while extending the leg she is not holding out parallel to the floor.  Then she switches legs and hand positions to the opposite side.  She finds that a good set is ten repetitions.

Basics: Pilates (2 of 2)

Yesterday we talked about what Pilates is and why we might want to do it.  Today we’ll talk about how.

In general, I believe in DIY, which is why I do my best to provide tools for folks to go out and do their own thing.  However, with Pilates it really is best to start out working with a professional.  Here are the things we want to think about in choosing a Pilates class or trainer.

 

Class or trainer is actually the first question.  Those of us who belong to a gym with Pilates mat classes included may find that to be the easiest way to test it out and see if it is a good fit.  Many studios also offer introductory reformer classes so that clients can try the equipment in a safe environment.  Once we’ve tried a class, we can carry on if it is meeting our needs.

 

Those of us with particular needs, however, may need to cough up for individual sessions.  An instructor facing a classroom full of students will of course offer modifications for various things (bad knee, osteoporosis, etc.), but will not be able to tailor the session for any one person’s health or injury history.

 

Whether we decide on classes or individual sessions, we want to choose an instructor who knows how to be present.  We want someone who tunes in to how the bodies in front of her are moving and who has the knowledge and skill to elicit better movement from them.  What that looks like may vary.  We have different learning styles and so an instructor that is great for one person may not be so great for another.  It also helps if we like the person.

 

Try it out!  (And remember, the first session with me is always free!)

Basics: Pilates (1 of 2)

Next in our workout basics, we are turning our attention to Pilates.   Today we’ll discuss some of the whats and whys of Pilates and tomorrow we’ll talk about how.

Pilates is the creation of Joseph Pilates (I call him “Uncle Joe”) and it is both an exercise system and a philosophy.  In that way, it is similar to yoga, although yoga is more inherently spiritual.  After Uncle Joe died, his students took his work in a variety of directions, which is right and natural.  Different Pilates schools will emphasize different parts of the practice.  However, all kinds of Pilates will share some basic principles.  There are six.

 

First, breathing.  If we don’t breathe, we die.  If we learn to breathe better, we can improve our quality of life.  Breath facilitates motion and movement in turn can facilitate our breath.  This is why, when we go to Pilates, our instructors will tell us about when to breathe.  As we practice Pilates, we find that we do breathe more easily and this has good impacts across our lives.

 

Second, axial elongation and core control.  Think of this as countercultural pressure.  We live in a slouched society.  As we work through our Pilates exercises, we find that we feel taller and more centered, more capable of deep breath and clear thought.  (This is also one of the principles that makes us look good!!!)  This also contributes to good balance.

 

Third, spine articulation.  Our spines are there not only to support us, but also to enable us to move freely.  When our spines get too rigid, the rest of our movements are impaired.

 

Fourth, organization of the head, neck, and shoulders.  As I mentioned in the part about axial elongation, we are slouchy.  We hunch over our desks and phones.  This puts our upper body out of whack and contributes to all kinds of problems, including headaches.

 

Fifthy, alignment and weight bearing of the extremities.  Once we have our spine and our upper body straightened out, we want to propagate that healthy positioning and strength out into our arms and legs.  Here’s where we get practical in the activities of our lives.

 

Finally, movement integration.  Isolated movements in any part of the body can improve local function, but in real life, we rarely use just one body part or muscle group.  The Pilates repertoire helps us learn to coordinate movement using our whole bodies with efficiency and grace.

 

Given the principles, it’s not too hard to see why we might want to do some Pilates.  The practice is both empowering and relaxing.  We tune into that mindbody connection space, which can deeply enrich our lives.  We feel taller.  We move more efficiently, which means we have more energy to do the things we want to do.  Our balance improves, as does our posture.

 

It's good stuff.