Pilates for Men - Why Pilates Works

I still can’t figure out why more men don’t do Pilates. It’s challenging, but not impossible; you don’t have to be flexible like yoga; it gives you awesome abs and the classes are full of hot, fit women. What’s not to love about Pilates? I think perhaps some men are intimidated by Pilates. It does have an aura around it that’s generally built on myth. It’s not just for dancers. Anybody can do Pilates and everybody should do it. It’s functional fitness – letting you build strength and endurance to do all the things you want to do.

Pilates was, after all, started by a man – Joseph Pilates. He was a boxer and trained athletes. And there is nothing wimpy about Joseph! Many pro athletes are turning to Pilates for rehab after injuries, but the smarter pros are doing Pilates to prevent injuries and to build strength, balance and endurance. Pilates works from the inside out – building a strong core, helping to lengthen and strengthen, correct muscular imbalances and increase agility and range of motion. I personally have clients who have improved their race times and increased their golf drive by 30 yards (yes! its true). Add to that improved flexibility and posture and what are you waiting for?

Pilates is an excellent foundation and rather than working parts, like you would at the gym, it emphasizes the whole body. A typical class or session would involve some warm-up and stretching, followed by core exercises and work for back, arms and legs. One advantage of Pilates is that there are many modifications that can take into account injuries or restricted flexibility. Generally, men are tight in the hips and hamstrings, making some actions difficult. Pilates makes allowances for this and a good instructor will modify the exercises for you and not expect you to stretch like a pretzel.
And if you’ve ever watched a Pilates class and were perplexed thinking they didn’t look like they were doing anything – give it a try.

Pilates is a lot of subtle work – connecting with deep muscles – but it also has challenges. You can definitely work up a sweat and feel it the next day. Pilates doesn’t require any special clothing or attire and you don’t even need shoes. Gym clothes will do. So the investment is only the class cost and your time. Pilates can be done on both a mat and with specialized Pilates equipment. Both have benefits, but I generally recommend starting with a mat class – an introduction to Pilates course is even better. Those subtle moves involving the deeper core muscles are crucial to making sure you work properly.

As an added bonus, you carry what you learn in Pilates with you – getting rid of back pain, improving posture, strength and balance. Not to mention flat, strong abs. Oh, and did I mention the hot, fit women in the class? As an added bonus – I’ll let you in on a secret –women generally like men who show up in a class that’s mostly women. It doesn’t even matter how well you do in the class! It shows a confidence and willingness to try new things that’s very charming and impressive. What’s not to love about that?

*Originally published for www.gengo.ca July 2010

What is Pilates?

A lot of people have heard of pilates, but have never tried it and don't really know what it is. They know its about the core. Its kinda like yoga. It has this vague mystery and aura about it.
Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates. Its original name was "contrology" – yeah, quite a mouthful. Joseph grew up as a sickly child in Germany, suffering from rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever and dedicated himself to improving his physical strength and health. He moved to England in 1912 and worked as a boxer, gymnast and self-defence trainer.
During the war, he was interned in a prisoner of war camp on the Isle of Man. Being a highly active man with not much to do in a war camp, he began to intensely study movement, including the movement of animals, and trained his fellow inmates in fitness and exercise. Stories abound that the inmates survived the pandemic of 1918 due to their strong physical health.
In 1925, Joseph met his wife Clara on board the ocean liner that took him across to New York. Joseph and Clara opened a studio and began training and working with dancers recovering from injury, and two legends in the history of movement were born.
To me, pilates makes more sense than anything else I've ever tried. The main focus is on the core, but breath, stabilizing and mobilizing of both the muscles and the bones are also important. Its not about how many reps you do, but how well you do them.
Movements tend to be slow, which often makes pilates look "easy". And its anything but. It can take hours of training to learn how to properly engage the deeper core muscles. And a set of 10 pilates ab exercises, if properly executed, can bring on the burn. Which is why its important to take pilates from a certified instructor, either one on one, or in a small class where you can get some attention to make sure you're doing it right.
What I love most about pilates is that anybody can do it. Its so adaptable and adjustable. I think of it as helping you build strength to do the things you want to do, as efficiently as possible. Lets face it, a 60 year old recovering from knee surgery is going to want different strength and mobility out of her life than a 20 year old cyclist. Pilates will help each of them get the most of what resources (their bodies) they have available to them.
Pilates uses both mat-based and equipment-based exercises to achieve this. All in, there are approximately 600 exercises, and most can be modified to allow for a person's individual needs (limited mobility, height, flexibility).
One of the key benefits of Pilates is that the core work will help alleviate back pain. Most back pain is a result of the core not being used effectively and as a result the back muscles become over-worked and stressed.
As well as building strength, Pilates also focuses on alignment and correcting muscular imbalances. It helped me correct my own mild scoliosis (muscular, not structural) and I've helped many clients deal with everything from foot, knee and hip problems to frozen shoulder and neck issues.
Pretty much anybody can do Pilates. I've worked with iron man athletes to 75 year olds with double hip replacements. And they've all found pilates challenging and rewarding.
Pilates can improve posture, build strength, create longer, leaner muscles without bulk, correct muscular imbalance, improve endurance and make you feel good. What's stopping you from trying it?
(This article was originally published in May of 2011 for www.gengo.ca)

Pasta doesn't have to be bad for you!

Mmm... Pasta. Who doesn't love it? If we're being honest, we know its not the best thing to be eating. But pasta can be a pretty decent carb. And depending on what kind you buy, it can actually have pretty good nutritional value.
I love pasta and could probably eat it every day. So I'm always searching for ways to make it better.
I've recently discovered some fantastic new pastas, as well as an absolutely delicious *new* way to cook pasta that helps retain more flavour and nutritional value as well as taking way less time and less water too!
Lets start with the pasta - if you are choosing good old regular dry pasta, its still worth checking the ingredients list and nutritional value. Most are semolina wheat, sometimes with egg. Nutritional values of semolina pastas are often bumped up with added iron and minerals. If so, its listed on the ingredients.
If you want more bang for your buck, or have gluten or wheat intolerance issues, there are some great options out there. Rice pasta has been around for simply ages. Its okay, but not my favourite. Corn pasta is good, and has the closest taste to semolina pasta, if you miss the taste. Nutritionally, its not great, although its not any worse than regular semolina pasta.

There have been some recent additions of multigrain pastas on the market that have excellent nutritional value, are gluten and wheat free, and have a great flavour. Made with kamut, spelt, quinoa, rye - they've got tons of fibre and a fair amount of minerals. These organic pastas can be a bit pricey compared to regular pasta, but remember that you're paying for nutrients and quality. You can often find non-organic, multigrain pasta and gluten free pastas at Bulk Barn that come with an easier to digest price tag.
Any of the above pastas can be cooked as described below - as long as they are dried pastas. This method won't work for fresh pastas.
Now... on to the most excellent way to cook pasta!
Have you ever made risotto? Did you know you can make pasta the exact same way?
To start, you heat a little bit of oil in a deep pan at a low-medium temperature (4 on my stove, which is electric) then add the pasta. Stir until its hot and coated with oil (about a minute). Then you slowly add stock or water, a little bit at a time. Keep stirring until the water is absorbed and keep adding water or stock until the pasta is done. Ensure the pasta doesn't entirely dry up and the pan doesn't get too hot and dry. You can actually burn the pasta if this happens. The pasta does need to be kept moist.
I find it takes about as long as the pasta usually needs to boil in water.
What's amazing is that:
!. you're not losing any of the nutrients in the water;
2. you can add flavour by using whatever type of stock you want;
3. you use way less water - for my two person portion, i use about 3/4 a cup of water. Perfect if you're camping or at the cottage, and water usage is limited.
4. you don't have to wait for the water to boil - saving a heap of time.
5. i find it gives me better control over the tenderness of the pasta - much easier to get a perfect al dente this way.
6. for rice pasta, it results in way less glutinous stickiness - the thing I hate most about rice pasta.
You can also get creative and throw in towards the end of the cooking cycle anything that you might want to mix in - spinach, herbs, tomatoes, spices. Allowing for better blending of flavours.
The possibilities are endless! My latest creation involved multi-grain pasta with kale tossed in towards the end to cook and steam the kale a little. I then added left over tofu, roasted veggies and garlic, fresh parsley and sun-dried tomatoes. Mmmm.. Delicious!
Give it a try! Let me know what you think.

And I'm Back....

I started this blog 7 years ago! 7! And obviously got distracted by other things, including blogs and twitter.
Well, I'm back! And am looking forward to sharing my Pilates adventures with you. Feel free to send me questions! I love questions. :)

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