Pilates – Look Good, Feel Great, Live Well

The Jewish Exponent
The Good Life Special Supplement
May, 2005

Pilates is one of the hottest trends in fitness. Actress Julia Roberts claims Pilates helped her shed all the weight from her recent twin pregnancy. Pop star Madonna credits her still awesome body (at 46) to rigorous Pilates workouts (two hour sessions in a superheated room!). But Pilates is not just for the young and fabulously famous.

Sylvia Glassman, 67, a rubber-stamp artist from Elkins Park, enjoys her weekly Pilates session. She credits Pilates with keeping her active.

“The fact that I’m still able to be as active as I am has got to be because I do Pilates,” she says. “It makes me feel better. I’ve seen an improvement in my flexibility, and I think it enables me to move more freely. I like the mental picture I have of myself as someone who doesn’t move like some older people do.”

Glassman, a lifelong exerciser who also walks, lifts weights and does yoga, has been practicing Pilates since before it was fashionable. Like many seniors, Glassman suffers with muscular-skeletal conditions including osteo-arthritis and osteoporosis. On the advice of doctors and “just my own common sense,” she has modified her exercise routines over the years. Pilates helps her stay fit despite her limitations.

“I couldn’t do some of the things I liked to do anymore,” she says. “I couldn’t exercise and work my muscles in the usual way, so I began to look for other ways to work those muscles.”

Pilates is an excellent form of exercise for active seniors. Not only can it help seniors look and feel better, but practiced regularly and properly, Pilates also helps prevent orimprove some of the conditions that can occur as our bodies age – stiffening muscles and joints, postural changes, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis.And Pilates exercises can be modified for the individual abilitiesof the exerciser, makingit a great choice for people with injuries or limitations.

“Pilates is good for everybody!” says Carol* Rachel Shore, a certified Pilates practitioner and owner of THIS IS PILATES!™ in Jenkintown. At least sixty percent of Shore’s clients are over 55.

“Pilates is designed for any level of health and fitness,” Shore says. “In fact, the assisted work on the equipment was originally created for people who were bedridden.”

Rob Kiewe, Health and Fitness Director for the Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, also recommends Pilates as a fitness activity for seniors.

“Pilates is a safe, non-impact, non-stress exercise,” he says. “It’s good for flexibility and balance, which is important for preventing injuries and falls. And it makes the whole body feel great.” (see Other Fitness Options for Seniors for Kiewe’s other recommendations).

Small, Precise Movements

Pilates is the method of movement designed by Joseph Pilates to strengthen, stretch and balance the body. From about 1912 to 1926, Joe (as he is known to Pilates devotees) developed the system of original exercises, which are performed on the floor (mat work) or on spring and pulley based equipment (the reformer, a low platform on a track with adjustable springs, the cadillac, a padded table and frame with springs, bars and straps and the chair, a padded box with a spring-loaded footrest).

Although it sounds like a cross between yoga and circus arts (some of the more advanced exercises do look like a trapeze act), Pilates is neither. Pilates emphasizes form and alignment. The movements are performed precisely, in a smooth, slow, controlled way, and are coordinated with specific breathing patterns. The exercises work the muscles efficiently, so each movement is repeated only a few times.

Pilates is also progressive and adaptable. Everyone starts out learning the basics – the movements, alignment, breathing, concentration and flow – essential to Pilates. Then specific exercises are added according to individual needs, abilities and limitations.

“Anybody can do Pilates,” stresses Naomi Mindlin, a certified Pilates instructor at THIS IS PILATES!™. Mindlin, 56, admits she is “technically” a senior and adds, with a wry smile:

“For those of us who have gained a little weight as the years have passed and are not our twenty-something selves, Pilates is a safe way of moving. You don’t have to be at an ideal weight, or have an ideal body type. It’s supposed to be for regular people.”

Big Benefits

Pilates, done properly, stretches and strengthens muscles at the same time. Unlike traditional strength training – weight lifting machines – which may shorten and tighten muscles, Pilates lengthens muscles, increasing strength and flexibility.

Pilates focuses on the core muscles of the body, which both Shore and Mindlin quickly explain are not the stomach muscles everyone thinks of when they hear the popular fitness term “core strength.”

“Like the core of an apple,” Mindlin suggests. “The core of an apple is all along its center. The core of your body is your spine. The core muscles are the muscles closest to and supporting your spine, including your deep abdominal muscles.”

Core strength is important for everyone but especially for older people, says Mindlin. “One reason people fall forward, collapsing in on themselves, is that gravity is winning. When you strengthen your core you’re fighting gravity.”

Pilates can help counteract these changes in posture and the loss of height that can occur with age by strengthening the smaller stabilizing muscles of the trunk that are weak or out of balance.

Pilates, properly practiced, also improves alignment, balance and body awareness, all of which are crucial, not only to helping seniors look and feel better, but also to preventing injuries and falls. The muscles in our bodies can become out of balance from age and improper use, explains Shore. Some muscles are overused and others are underused. When the underused muscles are strengthened the balance and alignment of the whole body is corrected. And when the body is aligned, movement becomes easier.

“It’s like when you have your tires aligned, the car runs better in all ways,” Shore says.

Correcting muscle imbalances also improves joint movement. When the muscles surrounding and supporting a joint are out of balance – one set is stronger than the opposing set – the joint doesn’t move properly or easily, and may be compressed. Retraining and rebalancing those muscles increases space in the joint, improves joint function and stability, and can help reduce pain, even where osteo-arthritis is already present.

Better balance and alignment create better body awareness – a better understanding of where the body is and how it moves in space. Both Shore and Mindlin stress that Pilates is functional fitness.

“If you think about the principles, not just the movement of the particular exercises, you can apply it to everyday life,” says Mindlin. “After all, you live with your body 24/7.”

Glassman agrees. “Pilates work is complimentary to everything else. I’m starting to pay attention to how I keep my body aligned, whether in my other workouts or daily life. How I stand, lift, bend. Pilates creates more body awareness. You’re not just doing Pilates for the hour that you are doing your program. You take it and use it in the rest of your life.”

In fact, Pilates can help active seniors stay in the game – the tennis or golf game. Sue Trichon, 59, of Meadowbrook, plays tennis two to three times a week.

“I do Pilates so that I can play tennis actively without having to take Advil,” she says. “I’m not stiff in the morning. And when I finish playing, I’m fine.”

In addition to improving strength and flexibility, Pilates can help golfers improve their spinal extension and rotation, and increase their Y-score. Martin “Dutch” Duchovnay of Jenkintown knows Pilates has helped his golf game.

“I’ve gone from horrible to very bad,” he says with a laugh. Duchovnay took up Pilates over three years ago to improve his swing.

“As you age, your ability to turn from the waist and the shoulders is impeded,” he explains. “It was difficult for me. Pilates made it easier. Pilates also made me feel like a million dollars.”

Because Pilates focuses on the connection between mind and body, it also offers meditative benefits – increased energy, improved concentration and better coordination.

“There’s a certain challenge to Pilates,” says Glassman. “It takes a lot of concentration, dedication and patience. As you get older it’s important not only to keep moving, but also keep your mind active. I like the idea of having a challenge.”

Getting Started

“Seniors shouldn’t just pop in a video or drop into a class at the gym,” cautions Shore. “You need to know your teacher is certified through a comprehensive training program.” (See Is Your Pilates Instructor Qualified?)

Although this advice applies to everyone beginning a Pilates practice, it’s crucial for seniors who may have conditions (osteoporosis, osteo-arthritis, hypertension and some eye conditions, for example) for which certain movements are contraindicated.

“You want a teacher with experience working with various ailments,” advises Shore. “Or who is willing to do some research. You want her to know what your physical considerations are.”

With a properly trained instructor, both group classes and one-on-one sessions have benefits. With private sessions, you get the instructor’s complete attention.

“It’s all about that one person’s body,” says Shore. “Whatever that body needs today, whatever I see when the client walks into the session. I might have to throw out what I prepared and do something different. I’m not teaching from a list and the goal isn’t to get through a specific number of exercises. My goal is to have the person walk out stronger, taller, and more open, with more ease and less pain.”

Although Pilates group classes are an invention of the fitness industry, they have some advantages for seniors. Classes are less costly and more accessible. They also provide an opportunity to socialize, notes the JCC’s Kiewe. With a properly trained instructor, a group class can also be a challenging workout.

Many instructors do recommend having some Pilates experience before attempting a group class. Shore requires clients to have at least three private sessions before attending her mat class. She uses these one-on-one sessions to evaluate her clients’ physical conditions, identify their individual needs, and familiarize them with Pilates principles, movements and terminology.

Never Too Late

Mary Bert Gutman of Elkins Park took up Pilates at 83. Gutman, who also plays tennis and does aerobics, was familiar with Pilates exercises from dance classes decades ago. She had always wanted to try Pilates and, at the urging of friends, recently began private sessions.

“I have to unlearn everything I’ve been doing wrong,” she says, laughing. “Everything I ever knew. It’s hard. I’m thinking about it all the time. But with just the few sessions I’ve had, certain parts of my body are freer, lighter. I’m delighted and thrilled with it. I know Pilates is good. I hope I can stick with it.”

Sidebars:

Is Your Pilates Instructor Qualified?

With the rise in popularity of Pilates, the training and certification of instructors has become an issue. Although no national certification currently exists, the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), a not-for-profit international trade organization, is working to establish national standards for training and a national certification exam. The PMA website (www.PilatesMethodAlliance) offers information and advice to people looking for qualified Pilates instructors.

Some basic questions you might ask before taking a class or working with an instructor:

How long has the instructor been teaching Pilates? How long has he or she been practicing it?

Was the instructor trained through a comprehensive training program that included more than just mat work? Did the training program include lecture, observation, practice and apprentice hours? Did the training program have written and practical tests? How many total hours was the training program?

Is the instructor involved in any kind of continuing education?

Does the instructor have a specialty? Can she handle special needs, injuries and limitations?

Does the instructor have the full range of Pilates equipment and does she have training in all of the apparatus?

What is the teacher to student ratio in the class? Lower is better, especially for classes where equipment is used.

Other Fitness Options for Seniors:

The Katz JCC in Cherry Hill serves a very large senior population and offers a full range of fitness options. Rob Kiewe, the JCC’s Health and Fitness Director, recommends these exercise activities for active seniors.

Walking. “A-plus cardio” whether on a treadmill or outside. Weight bearing to help combat osteoporosis. The treadmill is the easiest of all the cardio apparatus to work and understand.

Water exercise. Less stress on the body than exercising on land, but not weight bearing. Includes a variety of classes like Hydro-size, H2O arthritis, and Hydro-kinetics, as well as pool walking.

Low impact aerobics. A good choice for older people who like group aerobics. Cardio and weight bearing.

Weight lifting. Traditional resistance machines or light free weights. Weight bearing. Also helps improve stamina and balance.

Yoga/Tai Chi. Great balance training. Improves flexibility. Promotes mind/body