Pilates: Resources, Books, and Videos.
by J. Zimmerman.

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First this Word of Caution (and see also "Power Pilates" by Dianne Daniels):

Consult your physician before you embark on any exercise program. Pilates (for example) is strenuous exercise and not suitable for everyone. This and associated Web pages are not intended as advice or assurance to any specific reader regarding his or her ability to perform an exercise program safely. If you do decide to begin, warm up your muscles before stretching them. You can walk briskly, jog, dance salsa, have a pillow fight, jump jacks, or chase the cat. But warm up for at least 5 minutes.

Pick from these great topics:

• Avoiding injury.
• Calorie Karma. The secret use of other people's momentum in weight loss.
• Easy start on your fitness.
• Nordic walking.
• Pilates.
• Pilates DVDs.
• Pilates Videos.
• Pilates Specifics - some basic exercises.
• Reiki.

Pilates Videos

The intention of each Pilates exercise is to engage the abnominals fully and therefore strengthen the body's core.

• [Beginning.] "Hilary Burnett's Pilates Basics". An excellent 24-minute tape that demonstrates breathing and a brief series of stretches, and then introduces a flowing sequnce of 10 basic Pilates mat exercises:
  1. Hundred.
  2. Roll Up.
  3. Single-leg Circle.
  4. Rolling like a Ball.
  5. Single-leg Stretch.
  6. Double-leg Stretch.
  7. Spine Stretch.
  8. Saw.
  9. Side Kicks.
  10. Seal.

• [Beginning.] "Pilates Beginning Mat Workout VHS". This tape introduces the Pilates method for working the body's central muscles (the abdominal and back muscles in your body's core) to improve your strength and posture and to develop a long body line. Also available as DVD.

• [Intermediate/Advanced.] "Pilates Target Specifics" (The Method Series)

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  Good features:

  1. Challenging yet [somewhat] attainable variety of stretches and movements.
  2. A pleasant non-gushy, non-squealy instructor (Jennifer Kries), who uses her 60 minutes to maximum effect.
  3. Combines methods and exercises from yoga, dance, and Pilates.
  4. Uses 6 demonstrator dancers, including one who shows easier steps in the workout, to help beginners.
  5. Energizing yet non-invasive live music (percussive) accompaniment.

  Jennifer Kries leads you through four quick (15-minute) Pilates sequences to tone different areas:

  1. Abs. Targets the muscles that support the lower spine and the abdominal muscle groups that shape your waist.

  2. Arms. Firm your triceps, biceps, and shoulders. Use light hand weights (1-to-3 pounds) to avoid bulking up.

  3. Hips. Perform these toning exercises from yoga, dance, and Pilates, to trim and firm your hips.

  4. Thighs and buttocks. Perform these standing and floor exercises from yoga, dance, and Pilates, to trim and firm your thighs.

• [Various levels.] "Power Pilates" (book) by Dianne Daniels.

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  Buy "Power Pilates"

  Advice includes:

  • Advice on how to position your body to begin and how to scan it for "unnecessary tension".
  • "Always start with the Beginner exercises."
  • Enhancements that you can make to improve "ease, fluidity, increased range of motion".
  • Feldenkrais movement re-education as well as Pilates.
  • How to develop appropriate intention in your mind, by thinking about "doing the exercise with a body that's light, flexible, and responsive."
  • Breathing cues: on the indicated inhale, imagine that you lengthen your entire body; on the exhale, expel all the air "through pursed lips as you contract your abdominals and perform a Kegel".
  • Powering down, to perform the exercises without strain.
  • Powering up, to intensify the work.
  • How to listen to your body and "distinguish between 'good hard work' and 'pain'".
  • How to stabilize the pelvis and the spine.

• [Various levels.] "Pilates for Dummies" (book) by Ellie Herman.

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  A chatty introduction to Pilates. It includes a sensible series of loosening stretches to do before. Then, its basic sequence of Pilates mat exercises is:

  1. Coccyx Curls.
  2. Upper Abdominal Curls.
  3. Hundred.
  4. Balance Point (Teaser Prep).
  5. Hip-Up.
  6. Rolling like a Ball.
  7. Single-leg Stretch.
  8. Rising Swan.
  9. Roll Down, which the book calls a beginning version of the Roll Up.
  10. Bridge.
  11. Spine Stretch.
  12. Side Kicks.

  See the book for the intermediate series and the advanced series.

• Additional Pilates resources of less good quality.
  • [Beginning.] "Pilates-Inspired Matwork Foundation". Demonstrates matwork and includes use of extensible band to aid matwork. Lacks motivation for the viewer.

  • [Advanced.] "Hilary Burnett's Pilates Advanced". A 23-minute tape of over 40 challenging Pilates mat exercises presented in a flowing sequence in a high-ceilinged room filled with cushions, tiger skins, and candles. Despite the decor, Burnett is instructive to watch. The two problems of quality are (1) the tape jammed my VCR and (2) with a single 23-minute program, this tape is skimpy.

Pilates Specifics

These are some of the more basic Pilates mat exercises.

For specifics, be sure to see the Pilates books and recordings listed above or check: Note: before exercising, be sure to do some loosening-up stretches, lying on your back with knees bent, with your spine in neutral. They include:

1. Breathing with neutral spine.

2. Shoulder shrugs.

3. Shoulder slaps. Reach your straight arms upward, lifting your shoulder blades off the lap, then letting them slap on your mat.

4. Arm reaches/arm circles. Reach your straight arms upward, back beside your ears, outward, down by your sides, then upward again.

5. Coccyx Curls.

6. Tiny steps. Exhaling, pull your navel to your spine and lift your right knee to your chest.
   Inhale, holding the position.
   Exhaling, pull your navel toward your spine and bring your right bent leg back to the mat.
   Repeat with alternate legs.

7. Upper abnominal curls.

8. Hip-Up.

9. C Curve Roll Down Prep.
   (1) Inhale, holding outsides of thighs near knees, sit tall.
   (2) Exhale, pulling navel to spine and hollowing lower belly to make a C curve of your lower back. Begin rolling down your spine, so your lower back presses the mat.
   (3) Inhale.
   (4) Exhale and press your back into the mat while keeping the C curve and returning to sitting on your tailbone, but now your head is at your knees.
   (5) Inhale and stack your spine vertically.
   (6) Exhale while sitting tall.

10. Modified Rolling like a Ball. In these preliminaries, wrap the hands around the outside of the thighs (instead of holding the shins). This exercise combines Hip-Up and Balance Point (Teaser Prep)

Different programs suggest ten or a dozen basic Pilates mat exercises, doing between 4 and 9 repetitions. Unless otherwise specified, begin by lying on your back with knees bent, with your spine in neutral. Usually the exercises include many of the following:

1. Balance Point (Teaser Prep).
   Basically a Coccyx Curl with your feet off the floor.

2. Bridge.
   Breathe in deeply, pulling your navel toward your spine, squeeze your lower butt muscles, flatten your lower back on the mat. Lift up your tailbone so that you form a straight line from shoulders to knees; this is the Bridge position.

3. Coccyx Curls.
   Breathe in deeply, pulling your navel toward your spine, squeeze your lower butt muscles, flatten your lower back on the mat. Roll up your tailbone slowly so that after 5 seconds you form a straight line from shoulders to knees; this is the Bridge position.

4. Double-leg stretch.

5. Hip-Up.
   Put arms above your head (by ears) is you have enough abdominal strength to handle this. Lie on your back with legs bent up in the air, and feet crossed.
   Inhale and rock back, pulling your navel toward your spine as you lift your hips off the mat, so that your knees are above your eyes.
   Exhale, pulling in belly and lowering your hips.

6. Hundred.
   

7. Rising Swan.
   

8. Roll Down, which the book calls a beginning version of the Roll Up.
   

9. Rolling like a Ball.
   

10. Roll Up.
    

11. Saw.
    

12. Seal.
    

13. Side Kicks.
    

14. Single-leg Circle.
    

15. Single-leg stretch.
    

16. Spine Stretch.
    

17. Upper Abdominal Curls.
    Pull your navel in toward your spine. Lift head. Roll up (as if squeezing a small orange beneath your chin), till your shoulder blades are just off the mat.

Avoiding injury

• June 2002 Consumer Reports lists 12 ways to avoid injuries. The list includes:
  • Stretch before and after exercise.
  • Warm up and cool down with a pulse elevated 15 beats/minute (i.e., only slightly) above resting.
  • Progress gradually.
  • If you have to lay off for a while, restart at 50% (or less) of where you were before.
  • Hydrate with 2 or 3 cups of water in the 2-3 hours before exercising. Sip during exercise. Replace all lost fluid after exercise is complete.
  • Get good shoes.
  • Let old injuries heal.

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Copyright © 2004-2016 by J. Zimmerman.