Enjoy this moment of movement motivation and inspiration!  If you’ve been considering new recreational sports, but think that perhaps you’ve waited too long in life and you’re too old to participate, check out this video clip of gymnast Johanna Quaas who currently holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest gymnast in the world! 

Born in 1925, 86 year-old Johanna Quaas from Germany is an 11-times German Senior champion of artistic gymnastics.  She began her gymnastics training in her fifties, and participated in her first competition at the age of fifty-six.

She hopes that by being included in the Guinness Book of World Records that she’ll inspire others to realize that it’s never too late.

Also included in this video clip is inspiration from Britian’s Sharran Alexander, the world’s Heaviest Sportswoman.

Dust off your “bucket list” of sports, hobbies, and recreational activities you’ve always wanted to do, and pick one that you’re ready to try and start training…  Who knows, you may find yourself in the Guinness Record Book one day too!

The post A Moment of Movement Motivation and Inspiration – You Are Never Too Old to Take Up a New Sport appeared first on Centerworks.

Practicing hanging exercises and handstands can be a valuable part of your Pilates (and Fitness) workouts.  We typically spend a lot of time developing strength for the arms and shoulders.  Are we really making progress with this goal? We may have nicely toned arms, but do we have good functional movement and an upper body we can depend on for a healthy, active life? 

·        If you were being chased by a bear in the woods, do you think you have enough upper body strength to climb up a tree? 

·        Do you have the hand and grip strength to hold on to a tree branch and dangle in mid-air? 

I realize that for most of us we’ve got a pretty low probability of running into a bear in the woods, but does that mean we should skip out on the important training benefits of hanging?  And for the arm and shoulder strength that hanging exercises develop right-side up, handstands help develop upside down.

I didn’t realize how much upper body flexibility and strength I’d lost until on a whim I decided to attempt a swing across the monkey bars on the playground at a local park.  The moment I let go with one hand to swing forward and grab the next rung I felt a strange ripping and tearing sensation in my arm and shoulder alerting me that an additional thirty pounds of body weight and a 30 year hiatus from swinging on the bars was a tad too long for my body to have retained the muscle memory, strength and flexibility to execute this move safely!

I thought since I’d retired as a gymnast and HAD experience with both hanging and handstands that with my many years of Pilates training and weight lifting experience I was strong, fit and flexible and it would be no big deal to hang from my arms, but even a plain and simple full hanging position was more than my arms and shoulders could handle getting started. 

What do you do when you have realizations for things you’re doing (or have stopped doing…) in life?  Do you cry, whine and wish you’d taken better care of yourself?  Or do you commit to take on the challenge to start figuring out what you can do about it?

Personally, I look at these “Oh crap, I can’t do THAT anymore…” moments as wake up calls for body awareness.  It’s a blessing and opportunity for me to ask key questions and make a decision…  How important is it?  Am I willing to put the effort in to work on it and get results?  If the answer is YES, then it’s time to fine-tune my workout program and figure out the baby-steps I need to take to be able to safely and successfully execute and achieve whatever the goal might be.

*Note to Self – Important Training Principle:  Sport-specific training is required to improve athletic conditioning and performance.  If all you do is walk 2 miles, 3 days a week, it would be unwise to attempt running a marathon!  If you want to improve your golf game, playing ping-pong probably isn’t going to help.  The body only gets stronger and more flexible in the range of motion that we’re training in.  If there is a specific task or movement you want to improve, at some point you have to DO IT to improve it!

Parkour Training and “obstacle course” races are hot events in the big cities these days.  They both look like a ton of fun and a heck of a workout. There is scrambling up brick walls, leaping or flipping between buildings, jumping over or crawling under fences, pushing and challenging your body to reach new levels of fitness.  But it’s not wise to sign up for a race and expect to rope climb over a wall if you haven’t been practicing.

Participating in these types of programs may not be in your future, but wouldn’t you like to have the upper body strength, stamina and body control to do it if you wanted to?  Hanging exercises and handstands can give you options for exciting new activities in your weekly workouts!

For improving upper body strength for BOTH hanging and handstands, what better place to “hang out” and practice than your favorite Pilates Studio!

I’ve helped numerous clients over the past twenty years recover from a variety of shoulder issues, from frozen shoulders to fully “shredded” rotator cuffs.  One of my favorite moments was getting a phone message from a client whose orthopedic surgeon told her he’d never seen such a severely injured shoulder!  (But she declined surgery…  Allowed it to heal, and then started her “get my arm and shoulder healthy” Pilates program). We BOTH new she was back to health when I received this message, “Hi Aliesa, just wanted to call and say Thank You!  I’m in Alaska and spent the day ice-pick climbing…  and my arm and shoulder feels great!” 

And another client who due to health limitations missed out on the fun of somersaults, handstands and cartwheels as a child, but got to experience handstands and backbends to be upside down as a young adult through Pilates!  How powerful is the life-change for self-confidence when you’re able to achieve things you had never dreamed possible!

If I can help my clients get from zero arm mobility, to ice pick climbing, to swing dancing, to doing handstands when they’ve never been upside down a day in their life, I know how capable the body is to be upside down, and right-side up, to enjoy the benefits of a healthy full range of movement.  It’s all in the training plan and progressions…

We just have to start where we are today, and pick the best (and safest) exercises for our current level of fitness in our training program.  Plus, having an idea of the next couple of progressions to keep moving things forward to that ultimate goal – hanging out on the playground, doing a handstand, quickly climbing up a tree to avoid an angry bear, or whatever the task may be that requires a healthy, strong, fit and flexible upper body.

Are hanging and handstand exercises something you’d like to eventually add to your workouts?  I’m planting the seeds of possibility.

Stay tuned for my next article with Pilates tips to progress to hanging with ease.  And in the near future, I’ll also share with you my tried and tested tips to help you tackle handstands.

Remember, baby steps…slow and steady progress with your ultimate goal in mind.  Wanna play?  Start thinking about what sports, recreational and daily life activities might be easier for you with stronger more flexible arms and shoulders because you’re incorporating hanging exercises into your weekly workouts.

The post Are You Ready To Start Incorporating Hanging Exercises and Handstands Into Your Pilates Workouts? appeared first on Centerworks.

This is one of my favorite twisting exercises to strengthen the oblique abdominal muscles and improve body awareness for efficient, sequential rotation of the spine.  A lot of the times I see clients initiate rotation for Abdominal exercises by pulling with the head, arms and shoulders.  BUT, the arms have nothing to do with getting stronger Abs!  Yes, perhaps if you do enough repetitions, eventually you’ll start to feel that your Abdominals work too, but they’ll work better if they initiate the movement.  Watch this video demo for twisting exercise tips to improve your core support.

What makes this Pulse Power™ twisting exercise different?  Focus on spiraling the spine and ribcage, like you’re a chicken on a spit, maintaining the rotation and deepening the twist with every pulse, helps to cue the brain that BOTH the back muscles AND the Abdominals have to work together to rotate the spine.  By maintaining the curl with the head and shoulders up off the mat, like in the Hundreds exercise for Pilates Matwork, and initiating the rotation of the spine from the lower back up to the top of the head, the Oblique’s automatically start working harder, even though you may not even be focusing on using your Abs!

Watch this Pulse Power exercise training video to get a better idea of how to execute a great Rotisserie Pulse, and give it a try!  You’ll love the way it makes your belly work.  This effective twisting exercise will help strengthen your core AND help you keep your back muscles healthy.

Video Training: Twisting Exercise Tips
(An excerpt from the book: Pulse Power The Daily Dozen – Rotisserie Pulse Exercise)

********

Are you ready to learn more about the exercises in this quick and effective Pulse Power training program?  The Pulse Power exercises are a great way to start your day!  Use as a warm-up before your Pilates training, or as a warm-up or cool-down for a walk or a run.  Prepare your body to have the right muscles working for ALL of your physical activities.  Improve strength and body support to stay safe and injury-free.  Fine-tune your fitness and develop better healthy movement habits with Pulse Power workouts.

Click here to get your copy of the book, Pulse Power™ The Daily Dozen – 10 Minute Workout.

Looking for the Kindle Version?  It’s available on Amazon, Click Here NOW!

Pulse Power Fitness! The Daily Dozen: 10 Minute Workout Plan

The post Twisting Exercise Tips – Improve Core Rotation for Strong Abs and A Healthy Back appeared first on Centerworks.

So many people are “grippy” at the hips because the muscles they’re using, and the way they think about hinging is actually restricting movement instead of helping it.

When you’re doing Pilates (or any other activity) where is your focus to lead the movement of the hips to hinge forward?

• Do you hinge forward by pulling the front of the hip (ASIS) closer to the thighs?
• Do you lead by moving the shoulders and upper body first?

These seem to be the two most typical methods clients use thinking they’re doing a great hinge.  But neither of these really helps you execute fabulous functional movement from the hip.

Here Are 3 Training Tips to get a great Hinge from the Hips:

1.  Keep your “Clam” on and take it with you to move the pelvis.
2. To Hinge Forward, lead the movement from the back of the body.
3. To Hinge Backwards, lead the movement from the front of the body.

What’s the “Clam?”  Your pubic bone to tail bone connection (Front to back of the Pelvic Floor.)   And if it’s working well, your Rectus Femoris (the grippy hip flexor will release and let go!)

• When you hinge forward from the hips, the whole pelvis has to move…  So lead from the BACK of the Hip, but be sure to allow the pubic bone to move too.
• When you hinge backwards from the hips the whole pelvis is still moving…  But now you’ve got to take the Abs with you, move the tailbone, and open the angle between the thigh and the hip.

There are lots of great Pilates exercises to practice this on, here are just a few to get you started:

In Mat Class

• Do a hinge version of Spine Stretch forward or the Saw.
• Practice Lifting Up (hinging the pelvis forward) in Open Leg Rocker when you’re balancing
• Hinge to roll down out of Neck Pull
• Lift up out of the Scoop in Teaser 1 & 3

Reformer Exercises

• Find a little more “hinge” to sit up tall for Stomach Massage Hands Back
• Rowing II (facing the shoulder rests)
• Flatback Elephant
• Short Box – Tall (and Twist)

Hinging Homework:

A wonderful place to practice your hinge is seated in a chair!  You can practice at home in-between   Pilates workouts to reinforce your new healthy hips hinging action!  Often, I have my clients just sit on the edge of the Reformer or Cadillac and we practice “Hinge and Round Forward,” rolling up  through the back to sit tall.  Or “Hinge and Round Forward” and lengthen out to flat back to “Hinge Back Up.”  Both are excellent ways to practice without any special equipment needed.

Hope you’re inspired to focus on improving, or fine-tuning the movement from your hips for a healthy hinge.  Drop me a line and let me know what you’ve noticed by paying attention to keeping your “Clam on”, leading from the back of the hips to hinge forward, and opening the angle of the hips to hinge backwards.  Can you feel a difference in the freedom of movement with these simple cues?

The post Pilates Exercise Tips: Healthy Hips and Hinging Exercises appeared first on Centerworks.

Improve Your Foot Fitness to Stay Safe and Injury-Free with Better Ankle Movement

Healthy feet and ankles aren’t just for athletes…  Everybody needs to pay attention to foot fitness to stay healthy, active, and pain-free, and having a good hinge from the ankle is what helps us balance better, and push off the ground to propel the body forward when we move.

Yes, calf stretching plays a part in effective ankle hinging, but if you think about it, getting a good stretch is a side benefit of finding a good free hinge action from the ankle joint.  Using the springs on the Reformer, Tower and Chair in Pilates is a great way to free up the ankle and get your “hinge” moving well.  Pilates exercises like Footwork, Stomach Massage, Running, Tower, Monkey and even some Matwork are perfect opportunities to practice a good flexed foot!

Here is ONE Simple Secret to Improve Your Ankle Mobility for a Better Hinge:

Lead from the HEEL when you flex your ankle.

Are you aware of what you’re doing when you flex your feet?

When you pull the toes back first to flex the foot (whether you’re stretching, walking, or running) it actually restricts your movement from the ankle.  And, if you walk and run a lot (1/2 marathon or full marathon distances) and have trouble keeping your toenails on, leading from your toes to flex the foot when you heel strike may be a contributing factor for your pretty, purple and falling off toenails!

For a free and easy hinge, the tendons and ligaments in the front of the ankle have to release.  (Similar to the grippy Hip Flexor muscles at the other end of the leg!)

• Lead from the toes and the front of the ankle will grip.
• Lead from the heel and you’ll discover mobility for a whole new hinge at the ankle!

Of course you might discover that your calf or hamstring flexibility is a limiting factor in how far you can hinge, which is something else to work on…  But aside from that, the goal is a good open joint that has freedom of movement available for you for everything you want to do.

Here’s Another Tip:  For any joint, if you want to improve range in one direction, it’s best to work the joint in all directions!  And the ankle is definitely a multi-directional mover.  You may discover by stretching and strengthening medial/lateral ankle movement, that your hinge to flex the foot and stretch the calf will improve more easily.

One of the best tools I’ve found to work on freedom of movement at the ankle (in all directions) is the Super-Ankles Foot Fit Board.  Stretching is great (but we’re usually non-weight bearing.)  Pilates is great, working the springs can be non- to semi-weight bearing.  A traditional “wobble” board – when you’re standing and balancing (whether it’s one leg or two) you’re actually tensing up at the ankles trying to find your balance, more than working on functional mobility for the foot and ankle, so it’s an entirely different purpose.  PLUS traditional “wobble” boards aren’t designed for you to really work on safe and healthy movement of the ankle – with most boards, the range of motion your ankle would move in if you wobbled to one edge of the board might increase rather than reduce your risk of injury.  The Super-Ankles Foot Fit Board is designed to help improve functional MOVEMENT.  It can help you develop stronger, more flexible ankles in a standing position – where we really need healthy movement habits for the feet and ankles to stand, balance, walk, hop, skip, jump, and run well.

A free and healthy hinge at the ankle may help eliminate plantar fasciitis problems, alleviate Achilles tendon issues and will help your knees and hips stay healthy.   Lots of good reasons to focus on your feet and ankles to fine-tune your footwork for a healthy hinge!

Do you have Super-Ankles, and a healthy hinge?

*******

Click Here To Get YOUR Super-Ankles Foot Fit Board NOW!
(Includes Super-Ankles Foot Fit Board, Exercise Booklet, and Workout DVD.)

OR, Get a RunFit Kit  Perfect for walkers and runners.  Filled with everything you need to keep your feet fit!  The RunFit Kit includes the Super-Ankles Foot Fit Board AND MORE…

The post Ankle Mobility for a Healthy Hinge to Walk and Run Well appeared first on Centerworks.

Are you training your deep squat muscles and lunging muscles in the gardening off-season?  Or just expecting them to kick in and start working when you start doing the million-and-one deep squats and lunges you have to do when Spring arrives and it’s time to get out to the yard to start planting and pulling weeds?

How Low Can You Go?

Typically in life, there are very few things we do daily that involve a full squat.  And I know when I was teaching in the regular fitness world, we actually encouraged clients NOT to ever squat past 90 degrees to avoid knee strain.  This might be a good rule of thumb if you’re recovering from any sort of traumatic knee injury or have a physical reason to limit your range of motion, but our knees are supposed to bend and if we don’t work the range, we won’t have it!  (Can you imagine what life would be like trying to get up and down off the ground, sit in a chair or climb stairs if we didn’t have knees…)

Getting to the Ground for Gardening

A full deep squat will keep your hips and legs working evenly to train in the lower and deeper ranges of motion.  But when you’re working in the yard, chances are you’re doing more 1-legged lunging to get to the ground, than 2-legged squatting.  Are you able to work both legs easily in the same full range of motion to get all the way down, and back up again?  Ideally we should be able to do a “campfire” 2 legged squat to sit close to the ground, and also a deep 1 legged lunge (on both sides).

Pilates Exercises to Train the Back, Hips, and Thighs

Joseph Pilates has numerous deep, full squat exercises in the Pilates repertoire – the Squat on the Wall, the Squat and 1 Leg Squat with the Roll Dow Bar on the Cadillac, the transition to get in and out of a traditional Mat class (the cross-legged sit to the floor into the Hundred, and roll up to a stand out of the last Seal), all the Deep Plié exercises on the Pilates Chair, even the Frog with the leg springs, or knees to the chest for single bent leg and double bend leg in the Series of 5 are opportunities to bend the knees in a deep, full range of motion…

And for one-legged work the Pilates chair is fabulous!  Going Up Front, Going Up Side, Mountain Climber….There are lots of exercises on the Pilates Chair and Reformer that can help you work on maintaining good hip alignment, and strengthening the legs for deep 1 leg squats and lunges.

Remember, our muscles only get stronger in the range of motion that we work them in, so if you avoid doing any exercises that take your knees past 90 degrees, or the exercises I’ve mentioned above aren’t in your Pilates training program (which for most clients I’d say they’re not) there’s a good chance that gardening will have you bending in deeper ranges of motion than you’re used to, so expect some muscle soreness!

Even though you’ve been doing Reformer and Matwork, and perhaps some Chair work to strengthen your hips & legs, getting down to the ground and back up again to pull weeds and dig in the dirt will have you challenging your fitness in new and different ways.

Be Prepared:  Start Adding Squats and Lunges to Your Workouts

Get ready for gardening season, and be sure that you’re adding some deep squat exercises to your Pilates and fitness training workouts.  Maintaining the right amount of both strength and flexibility in your hips, back, and legs will help reduce the shock to your system and keep your low back and knees healthy and happy when it’s time to head to the yard and get started with your Spring gardening.

It might sound silly to start pre-training for Gardening season, but by consciously adding squats and lunging exercises to your workouts, you’ll be developing the strength and flexibility needed to support your efforts to get down on the ground, dig in the dirt, and have will enjoy having healthy, pain-free knees, hips, and lower back when you get back up again.

Listen to Your Body!

I’ve shared that squats and lunges will be helpful exercises to get you in shape for gardening.  But that might not mean you go out tomorrow and start doing full range of motion, deep, low exercises!  (Think about it – that’s what you’ve been doing when gardening season starts…  and how’s that been working out for you?)

It might take some time to progress your body safely into lower ranges of motion.  Get with your Pilates teacher or trainer and make a plan.  Know that the long-term goal is that your body can safely and easily execute a deep squat and low lunge.  That might be full-range for your body, if you’ve got healthy muscles and joints.   It might be a limited range if you’ve got injuries, or health challenges that you’ve got to work around.  Be smart, and be proactive.  To get to the ground and garden, we’ve got to get our legs strong in low deep squats and lunges.  Progress with caution as it’s appropriate for you!

Have fun and stay healthy, use deep squat exercises and lunges to get strong and enjoy your Spring and Summer gardening season.

The post Getting Ready for Gardening Season: The Importance of Deep Squat Exercises and Lunges in Your Pilates Training Program appeared first on Centerworks.

It’s that time of year again; Mother Nature is calling us outside to play in the garden.  It’s time to pull weeds, plant and clean things up so that we can enjoy a lovely yard and watch things bloom and grow.

I know that even with my small city lot, it usually takes me two or three full weekends of solid effort for Spring clean-up, just to get the weeds pulled, shrubs trimmed and everything ready for the planting and growing season.  I wish I had more space for fruit trees and a big vegetable garden, but right now my yard is filled with perennial flowers and herbs – things that don’t require too much time and effort for me to maintain and enjoy.

But even so, after a day in the yard, my feet, hands, legs and back always seem to remind me that I’ve done something out of the ordinary and found and used a few muscle groups that don’t get worked in my normal everyday Pilates and weight room workouts.  So how do we stay healthy and avoid knee, hip and back pain while having fun working in the yard and gardening? 

I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve seen over the years that come crawling into the studio after a weekend of gardening complaining that their back hurts!  And while I can’t promise that you’ll be able to completely avoid the possible soreness or awareness of new muscles when you start into gardening season, there are some things you can pay attention to, to help keep your body remain well-balanced while you’re digging, chopping, raking and having fun “green thumb” experiences working in the yard.

Pilates is the perfect off-season gardening training program!  We do exercises standing, seated, kneeling, face up, upside down, focus on hip mechanics, core support, stress-free arms and shoulders, and so many things to help you become well-balanced and aware of how you’re moving your body.

Pilates Exercise Tips for Gardening without Back Pain

Here are my top five Pilates tips to pay attention to, so you can stay pain and injury-free as you get out and enjoy gardening.

1.  Use Your Core MORE.  That strong low abdominal support you’ve been developing is critical when you’re bent over and working in the yard.  Not only do your Abs need to work as you’re digging pulling, and lifting, but they need to stay engaged the whole time you’re bent over to support your lower back!
2. Alternate the Leg You Squat Down With.  We tend to always put our dominate leg forward.  If you do this while you’re gardening, there’s a good chance you’ll be doing 100+ full squats going down and getting back up on one leg and zero full squats on the other side.  This will overdevelop your strong side, and continue to weaken your weak side, shifting your hips, pelvis, and back out of alignment.  Think equality!  Alternate legs to work both legs evenly to get to the ground, and you’ll find your body feels better when you’re done in the yard.
3. Alternate the Hand you’re Using to Do the Work.  Again, balanced muscle development.  It’s important to think about strength training to develop both sides of your body evenly.  It’s a challenge to use your weaker hand, arm and shoulder to pull weeds.  Can you do it?  Squat down with your left leg and pull weeds with your right hand.  Squat down with your right leg and pull weeds with your left hand.   It can be as much of a brain-game as a whole-body workout to be consciously working the body evenly while you’re digging in the dirt!
4. Coordinate Your Breath with Your Effort.  It’s always easiest and you will have maximum support to exert on an exhale.  I know that little weed you might be pulling is small, but it’s tenacious.  So inhale, exhale, pull your abs in, pull your shoulders down, and then pull on the weed!  Develop a Pilates-style breathing pattern that supports your efforts, whether you’re pulling weeds, digging, pruning, everything you’re doing and you’ll be amazed at the difference.
5. Take at least 15-20 Minutes and STRETCH when you’re done.  I know you’re tired; you’ve been getting a workout!  Lots of leg work is involved in those deep squats.  You’re hips and back will be tight and tired; you definitely need to do some Hamstring, Hip, and Calf Stretches.  Lie on your back, grab a strap or Pilates Magic Circle, or prop your legs up on a wall.  Give your lower back a break and stretch your legs – Hamstrings, Quads, Inner Thighs, Outer Hips, Calves, Ankles and Feet.

And because gardening involves lots of bending forward…  be sure during your post-gardening cool-down stretch time you do some exercises that bend your spine in the other direction.  (Think BALANCE)  Your back needs some extension!  Swan prep from Matwork, back bending over the Arc Barrel or a Fit Ball.  Do a few side bending stretches too – Mermaid, standing or seated side bend, Arm Waves side lying on the Arc Barrel.  And for a healthy back we also need to twist, maybe a few easy Knee Drops side to side, the Saw, Standing Arm Strokes, Seated Twist with a Hinge and Roll Up, or your favorite twisting exercise with the Arc Barrel.  Remind your spine what it feels like to move freely in all directions, because it’s spent the last hour or two (or full day) bent forward in the yard!

And lastly, take a few minutes to stretch your neck, shoulders, arms and hands.  Our hands probably are doing more unusual work that any other part of the body.  All that grabbing and pulling the fingers, hands and forearms have gotten a workout!   Bend your wrists forward and backwards, stretch each finger back one-by-one to stretch both the fingers and the palm of your hand.  Put one arm behind your back and take your ear away from that shoulder, to stretch both the arm and the shoulder.  What other upper body stretches are in your repertoire that you know will be helpful to relax sore, tired post-gardening muscles?

Gardening can be a fun way to put your Pilates body into action and apply everything you know about using and supporting your body to being well, and staying active.  Incorporate these 5 Pilates training tips to help avoid knee, hip, and back pain while gardening to your next fun day working in the yard and discover how valuable your Pilates training really is to keep you strong, fit, and flexible.   Avoid the annoyance of Spring “gardening” back aches, hip, or knee pain from a body out of balance.  Use your Pilates body, and keep these 5 important Pilates training tips in mind to stay healthy.  Enjoy every minute of your time in the great outdoors working in the yard, and gardening, AND still be able to leap out of bed the next day with a healthy body and happy back!

Have FUN  helping your garden grow!

The post Pilates Exercise Tips for Gardening without Back Pain appeared first on Centerworks.

We are only limited by our imagination when it comes to modifying exercises to challenge the body.  When I teach Pilates I do not add “toys” to distract from the work, but to enhance the understanding of how to tweak the body and improve Pilates technique.

When using a foam roller, magic circle or any other prop the goal is to find, feel and fine-tune muscle activation for better stabilization or movement so that when you get back to doing the “traditional” exercise without the prop you will be able to do it even better with all the right muscles working!

I thought it would be fun to see how many different ways I could find to use the Foam Roller for the Pilates Mat Roll Up exercise.  I have one or two ways I always use it when I teach a Roller-themed Mat class, but was confident that there were probably a lot of other ways it could be used.  So I grabbed my roller and a piece of paper and plopped myself down on the mat to play.  With about 5 minutes of thought, and about thirty repetitions (it was a nice Ab workout!)  I came up with 10 different ways to use the Foam Roller for the Roll Up. 

If you’re looking for FUN, variety and a new challenge, here are some tips so that you can use a prop with a purpose.  Use these techniques to get a great Pilates Roll Up… Try these 10 Foam Roller Fitness strategies, and let me know what you think!

Exercise Variations:  10 Foam Roller Fitness Strategies for the Pilates Roll Up in Mat Class

1. Between the Hands #1 – Hold onto the middle of the Foam Roller firmly with both hands.   The roller will “stand” on end in the start and finish position with the arms overhead.  (This will limit the range of motion for the arms and shoulders as the arms go overhead, because the end of the roller will hit the ground.)  Lift the arms up and reach the roller (held vertically) to the toes.  Roll back and as the arms reach overhead.
2. Between the Hands #2 – Hold onto the ends of the Foam Roller for a wide grip to change the stretch for the arms and shoulders.  As you roll up, roll the Foam Roller along the legs twirling from your fingertips to reach out to your toes, if you can, roll it over your flexed feet for a nice stretch, before rolling it along the thighs to return to the mat.
3. Between the Inner Thighs – Place the Foam Roller on its end, so it’s held vertically in space, and squeeze the inner thighs against it to hold it in place.  This will limit the range of motion as you roll up, so Roll Up until your head touches the roller, then roll back down.
4. Between the Inner Thighs And Reaching to the Feet – Same as #3 above, but when you’ve come up to the roller, pick it up with your hands and reach it to your toes, as you roll backwards, place it between your inner thighs and squeeze, then finish rolling back to the mat.
5. Between the Ankles – Place the Foam Roller on its end and squeeze from the inner thighs to the ankles to hold it vertically in space.  Roll up and reach the arms past the roller, roll back and continue to squeeze the ankles against the roller, being sure the inner thighs are squeezing and the feet and Foam Roller stay firmly planted on the mat.
6. Between the Feet – Place the ends of the Foam Roller between the feet.  This will put you in a wider “straddle” stance for the exercise.  Keeping the legs on the mat, and the Foam Roller held firmly between the feet, execute the Roll Up exercise.
7. Lying Supine – Lay on the Foam Roller with the full length of your spine against the roller.  Legs straight and together if you can maintain balance.  Legs apart and knees bent if you need help with balance and control, or find it difficult to keep the low back against the roller.  Do the Roll Up without falling off the roller! (this can be a wonderful prep exercise for the full Teaser on the Reformer – when the legs drop below the body, and you still have to get the back down to roll up.)
8. Under the Heels – With the legs extended out straight and together, place the Foam Roller under your heels.  Without locking the knees, keep the legs firmly pressing down against the roller.  Do the full Roll Up exercise.  (The heels on the roller will have your feet 2-3 inches off the mat for the entire exercise.  The trick is holding them still here, not lifting and lowering the legs from the roller.)
9. Behind the Knees – This makes the exercise a little easier; if you’re low back muscles are tight.  Allow the knees to stay bent and gently against the Foam Roller as you roll up.  Once you’re up, sitting on your butt, straighten the knees to reach to the toes (calves and feet will be up off the mat.)  Bend the knees to put the feet back on the floor, then roll backwards to the start position.
10. Behind the Upper Back – This will give you the opportunity for some thoracic extension as the arms reach overhead (similar to the Arm Reach over the Barrel Exercise.)  Place the Foam Roller horizontally across your Mat somewhere in the mid to upper back – the bottom of the shoulder blades can be a good starting point.  As the arms reach over head, allow the upper back to “back bend” over the Foam Roller, lift the arms, curl the head  and shoulders up, and Roll Up to reach for your toes.  Roll back and backbend over the Foam Roller to reach the arms overhead in the starting position.

Would I do all of these in one workout?  Heaven’s NO!!!  Pick one of these ten options and play with it for a day, or a week’s worth of training, then pick another variation and try it.  Heck if you only used one version a month – you’ve now got almost a year’s worth of ideas to challenge your Pilates Roll Up exercise and we’re only playing with ONE toy!

Some of these Foam Roller Fitness variations will make the Roll Up exercise easier, and some variations might make the exercise more difficult.  Enjoy a challenge for your Abs, your arms & shoulders, legs, hips, thighs, and feet, depending on which variation you choose.

I would love to hear from you after you’ve played with your Foam Roller and experienced these fun Foam Roller Fitness variations for your Pilates Roll Up.

• Which of these 10 versions makes it easiest for you to do a good Roll Up?
• Which version gives you the biggest challenge?
• Which one do you LOVE the most?

Don’t have a Foam Roller Yet?  Click here to Get ONE NOW…

********

Looking for more Ideas to Incorporate the Foam Roller Fitness into Your Workouts?

Join Aliesa for these two upcoming online workshops!

• Foam Roller Fitness –Exercises Tips & Core Training Techniques, May 29^th, 2013 at 8-10pm CST
• Pilates Teachers TELE-CHAT: Foam Roller Training for Pilates Pros, June 5^th at 8-10pm CST 

Click Here To Get Details and Register NOW

The post Foam Roller Fitness: 10 Fun Ways to Use a Foam Roller for Your Roll Up Exercise in Pilates Matwork appeared first on Centerworks.

Awareness is such a cool thing!  We all know the world is a little warped when it comes to looking at physical beauty.   Our perception on beauty and perspective needs a serious mind shift.

Models in magazines are itty-bitty, making us regular-sized gals feel like the curves that we’ve got or the “meat on our bones” makes us ugly and gives us the perception that we’re “fat.”   Or worse, that without breast implants, Botox, or other beautifying surgeries to change how we look, we’re not pretty.

Maybe we were teased growing up about our freckles, dimples, color of our hair, how our legs looked….
I can remember in Junior High having to scoot around in the lunchroom because one of the popular boys was always making comments  about my butt!

What we see in ourselves and what others see in us is sometimes is quite different.  I recently wrote an article about Features vs. Flaws.  Take a moment and think about what you see when you look at yourself?

• Do you see the things in yourself that make up your beauty?
  (Features – Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual)
• Or only the things that you think are “wrong” with you?
  (Flaws)

Shift Your Perspective to See Your Beauty

As a fun exercise to become more aware of your perspective about your body and what makes you beautiful, unique and special on the inside and out,  find a friend and take a few minutes to each write down on a piece of paper what you “see” when you look at yourself.  Then have your friend describe how they “see” you and write down on a separate piece of paper what they have to say about the beautiful qualities that make up YOU.   Swap and share with your friend what you “see” in them.   Compare the notes on what your perspective is, and what theirs is about you to see if you’ve got a warped perspective, or your personal beliefs about your beauty are truly in-line with your beautiful self!

When you discover what others “see” in you that you might not be noticing, it can help shift your mindset and create a healthier perspective for you “see” and believe the beauty of your true self.

Check out this very cool video from Dove, which helps to illustrate this mind shift beautifully!

The post Beauty and Perspective appeared first on Centerworks.

Shakes and smoothies are great, but if all you are drinking is concentrated fruit juices it’s more of a sugar shot than a healthy meal.   And adding a couple of scoops of protein powder to your breads, muffins, or pancakes can be an easy way to pack more protein into an otherwise carb-laden treat.

So how do you find a healthy and tasty protein powder supplement for your shakes and smoothies?

It involves A LOT of label reading, (and a few taste tests!)

Since discovering that I have numerous food allergies, finding a protein powder supplement that isn’t filled with a bunch of ingredients or additives that I can’t eat has been a real challenge.  And if I can find anything that is safe for me, most of the time it ends up tasting like cardboard.  If something doesn’t taste great – why waste time eating it?

I don’t recommend products often, but I’m down to the bottom of my jar of favorite – good tasting, safe and healthy protein powder and thought maybe somebody else out there is looking for options and might want to give this product a try.   It’s vegan, it’s raw, it’s “Gluten-Free”, and it’s a complete protein.  With only 1 gram of sugar and 15 grams of protein I’m a happy girl.  Gluten-free is great, but most gluten-free products are still filled with ingredients my body can’t tolerate!  And since I’m trying to pay closer attention to limiting my sugar intake to avoid a diabetes diagnosis, the protein to sugar ratio on this product is great.

There are 3 flavors available:  Natural, Extreme Vanilla Plus, and Extreme Chocolate Plus.  They all have slightly different nutritional values and ingredients, so the ratio I mentioned might be different depending on the product – read the labels to compare.  I’ve only used the natural, but am thinking I’ll be ordering all three this week so I’ve got choices and can try the other flavors too.

If you’re looking for a little extra, easily digestible protein in your life, give these Warrior Food™ Protein Powders a try.  They might be available at your local health food store (they aren’t in my area) so I’ve included the links below if you’re interested in trying these tasty protein powder supplements.

I’m placing my order NOW – can’t wait until my new flavors arrive…   Have a Healthy & Happy Day!

The post Finding a Healthy AND Tasty Protein Powder Supplement for Your Shakes & Smoothies appeared first on Centerworks.