life, that’s all. Each person must experiment to find the type of exercise she likes. It will work for her because if she likes it, she’ll do it.
You might have heard of my personal choice; it’s called Pilates.
The Pilates phenomenon has been catching on in most parts of this country, not to mention Canada, Europe, and even Asia. It’s a method of exercise created to balance, stretch, tone, and strengthen the body. Designed by a boxer and a performer named Joseph Pilates around 1914, it involves equipment that incorporates spring tension, straps to hold feet or hands, and supports for the back, neck, and shoulders. There are more than five hundred controlled, precise movements, and the exercises require concentration, as you might guess. Pilates also encourages mat work, which is exercises done on the floor. Joseph Pilates believed that consistent deep breathing was integral to good, stronglungs and bodies. He believed that strengthening what he called the “powerhouse”—the muscles of the lower abdomen, lower back, buttocks, and pelvic floor were the source of great health and a firm, trim body.
Strength and flexibility (particularly of the abdomen and back muscles) are a big Pilates goal. Keeping the spine in neutral alignment works deep muscles safely even as it protects against back pain. Muscular and emotional coordination are integral to the program, which promises (and delivers) great posture and balance, increased bone density, and joint health, not to mention stress reduction. Don’t be put off by the fact the machines have names—sometimes scary ones like the Reformer. Another is the Cadillac, and yet another is the Wunda Chair. You really need an instructor, at least in the beginning, to conquer the Reformer.
I love it. It’s a great way to tone and slim troublesome spots like waist, hips, upper arms, and thighs. I needed that.
Here’s the bad news: it can get pretty pricey. I do my Pilates three to four times a week in a Pilates studio with special Pilates trainers Julie Rose of Power Pilates and Lesa Salvano of In Balance Studio. A less expensive way to do it is to join one of the myriad gyms that offer Pilates along with other kinds of exercise equipment, including, perhaps, a pool; the Pilates classes usually come along with the price of yearly membership.
General Exercise
Let’s talk general exercise: the best exercise is the one you’ll do, and I need to be motivated and definitely not bored. Again, I went back to my doctor to ask her to recommend something that would step up my exercise program but still give me a Pilates experience. Her suggestion? Core Fusion. If Pilates changed my life, Core Fusion at the Exhale spa is helping me live it to the fullest.
Core Fusion, developed by Elisabeth Halfpapp and Fred DeVito, is a tightly choreographed fitness class that flows from weight work to ballet-based moves to exercises that borrow from Pilates, yoga, and orthopedic smarts. It’s geared toward strengthening your core—the area between your butt and your abs—but believe me, every part of my body feels stretched and buffed when I finish aworkout. Core Fusion is actually a mind-body class in many ways because a sense of peace and relaxation accompanies the resulting long, lean muscles and more flexible body. A tough but wholly efficient workout—I love it.
Finally, I have also gone the route (and still do, sporadically) of general exercise, and that can work wonderfully if your main priority is to keep at it. This is what I now know about exercise in general:
Small goals
Whatever exercise you choose, make sure you’ve got a realistic plan. If you’ve never worked out in your life and then say you’re going to go to the gym five days a week for the rest of your life, you should know your plan is ridiculous and dumb—because you’re not going to show up. If you make unrealistic goals, you’re going to set yourself up and get all geeked up and be excited the first two or three
You might have heard of my personal choice; it’s called Pilates.
The Pilates phenomenon has been catching on in most parts of this country, not to mention Canada, Europe, and even Asia. It’s a method of exercise created to balance, stretch, tone, and strengthen the body. Designed by a boxer and a performer named Joseph Pilates around 1914, it involves equipment that incorporates spring tension, straps to hold feet or hands, and supports for the back, neck, and shoulders. There are more than five hundred controlled, precise movements, and the exercises require concentration, as you might guess. Pilates also encourages mat work, which is exercises done on the floor. Joseph Pilates believed that consistent deep breathing was integral to good, stronglungs and bodies. He believed that strengthening what he called the “powerhouse”—the muscles of the lower abdomen, lower back, buttocks, and pelvic floor were the source of great health and a firm, trim body.
Strength and flexibility (particularly of the abdomen and back muscles) are a big Pilates goal. Keeping the spine in neutral alignment works deep muscles safely even as it protects against back pain. Muscular and emotional coordination are integral to the program, which promises (and delivers) great posture and balance, increased bone density, and joint health, not to mention stress reduction. Don’t be put off by the fact the machines have names—sometimes scary ones like the Reformer. Another is the Cadillac, and yet another is the Wunda Chair. You really need an instructor, at least in the beginning, to conquer the Reformer.
I love it. It’s a great way to tone and slim troublesome spots like waist, hips, upper arms, and thighs. I needed that.
Here’s the bad news: it can get pretty pricey. I do my Pilates three to four times a week in a Pilates studio with special Pilates trainers Julie Rose of Power Pilates and Lesa Salvano of In Balance Studio. A less expensive way to do it is to join one of the myriad gyms that offer Pilates along with other kinds of exercise equipment, including, perhaps, a pool; the Pilates classes usually come along with the price of yearly membership.
General Exercise
Let’s talk general exercise: the best exercise is the one you’ll do, and I need to be motivated and definitely not bored. Again, I went back to my doctor to ask her to recommend something that would step up my exercise program but still give me a Pilates experience. Her suggestion? Core Fusion. If Pilates changed my life, Core Fusion at the Exhale spa is helping me live it to the fullest.
Core Fusion, developed by Elisabeth Halfpapp and Fred DeVito, is a tightly choreographed fitness class that flows from weight work to ballet-based moves to exercises that borrow from Pilates, yoga, and orthopedic smarts. It’s geared toward strengthening your core—the area between your butt and your abs—but believe me, every part of my body feels stretched and buffed when I finish aworkout. Core Fusion is actually a mind-body class in many ways because a sense of peace and relaxation accompanies the resulting long, lean muscles and more flexible body. A tough but wholly efficient workout—I love it.
Finally, I have also gone the route (and still do, sporadically) of general exercise, and that can work wonderfully if your main priority is to keep at it. This is what I now know about exercise in general:
Small goals
Whatever exercise you choose, make sure you’ve got a realistic plan. If you’ve never worked out in your life and then say you’re going to go to the gym five days a week for the rest of your life, you should know your plan is ridiculous and dumb—because you’re not going to show up. If you make unrealistic goals, you’re going to set yourself up and get all geeked up and be excited the first two or three
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