For many of us September 1st feels like January 1st...a time to regroup and focus on goals, structure, and routine. I had two delightful clients early this morning, new clients buddy training on the Pilates equipment. Nearly every exercise brought gasps of disbelief, discovery and challenge as they reorganized their brain and body to accept a new way of sequencing movement. They happen to be great friends for decades even though living 400 miles apart so it was particularly inspiring that they would both be at my door at 6:15a.m. for the session. For me it's like hosting a party, entertaining guests with unique appetizers...sit and twist, short spine, standing pumping, leg circles. We discussed the importance of a varied exercise program and agreed bodies feel better with variety; i.e. walk, bike, swim, tennis, yoga etc. One commented on Martina Navratilova's observation that when she retired from tennis and began mixing up her workouts with basketball, yoga, general fitness pursuits her tennis game improved dramatically. The same can be true for any of us. When our brain is asked to learn new skills; whether physical skills like Pilates; cognitive skills like a foreign language; or a combination of the two, for instance playing a musical instrument, our brain centers ignite.
When we engage our body in a variety of movement experiences there is a complimentary trickle down effect to other skills. Auburn and Trey participated in a 90 minute "sibling" training with Concordia student/coach Brian Donaldson. They met with Brian about 8 times this summer to practice together. I was amazed to see them dribble the basketball low, medium, high while repeatedly catching a tennis ball with their non-dribbling hand...then they would repeat this drill on the opposite side. Sometimes they would pass/dribble the ball behind their back and catch the tennis ball with the free hand...repeat on both sides. With footwork and agility drills they would spin 360 degree, change directions, back-pedal, stutter steps, and weave between cones and obstacles while dribbling the basketball. Occasionally Brian would hold a large "body pillow" (Trey says in football they call it a "stunt shield") and push the kids from all sides as they concentrated on completing their plays. The footwork drills were essentially dance-like choreography where steps, dribbles, passes and shots had to be timed for perfect execution. High praise to their young coach Brian for the variety, encouragement, and well-planned lesson objectives he brought to each practice. (Brian will be student teaching at a local high school as well as coaching basketball...he inspired my kids. His students and athletes will be blessed by his integrity, character and discipline...Thank you Brian!) When football began a few weeks ago, Ron commented he was surprised by Trey's ease rolling-out, running and passing to his non-dominant side; his movements seemed well-coordinated and effortless. I couldn't help but think of the time I spent observing their sweat, exertion, and concentration at their basketball skills training---certainly this training has a carry-over effect to football.
We all need variety. September 1st begins fitness convention season for me. Numerous workshops, conventions, and certifications are offered in the Chicago area with hefty price-tags to boot. These courses and prices do bring highly respected, award winning authors, leaders, coaches and instructors...Leslie Bender of The Bender Method; Peter Twist of Twist Sports Conditioning, Douglas Brooks of BOSU fame; Beth Shaw, founder and CEO of Yoga Fit...the list goes on and on...and that is just the exercise realm at The Midwest Mania convention. The Pilates conventions host their own heralded instructors, Elizabeth Larkham, Cara Reeser, Tom McCook. The Pilates conventions typically are twice as expensive as the fitness workshops. Needless to say, I thank you for your patronage as I reinvest your commitment into my own education to bring you the latest trends, research and fitness to optimize your training outcomes. Fortunately, many of the classes are also now available through various online organizations and even though the energy is not quite the same, the information has proven itself to be thorough and complete.
I spent Saturday in my studio "breaking down" dozens of reformer exercises with the help of Pilates Anytime. Sunday I dedicated to my Wunda Chair workouts. Today I hope to explore mat class options as my home mat classes are full of women eager to return to core strengthening, flexibility and mindfulness.
Attending classes of TRX, Pilates, Barre, functional fitness can all bring positive change to your body. The same is true for instructor training. The best instructors are those open to new ways of thinking, new ways of moving, new training experiences. The instructor that thinks they know it all is probably not one that will serve your best interests. There are naturally Pilates instructors with more experience than my 10 years; some understand biomechanics at a greater depth; some have a stronger intuition about their observations; others can do advanced exercises that still cause me to tremble! All these areas I seek to develop through personal education and development.
A number of years ago I watched my tennis coach play in a tournament. After the match I commented that if I could play as well as he that I would certainly gloat and wave my tail-feathers! (maybe I din't say that exactly...but something to that affect.) His response, "You stay humble...there is always someone who plays better than you." My goal is to learn from those who "play better than me" and pass the information to you the consumer so that your experience is invigorating and purposeful. Don't be afraid to inquire about your instructor's training, their continuing education, their values. Even great instructors get injured from time to time, however, if they are always complaining of pain; wearing multiple shoulder, neck, and knee braces; if their workouts never change; if they don't bring variety or new considerations with your practice then perhaps it's time to reconsider your investment.
Attending classes of TRX, Pilates, Barre, functional fitness can all bring positive change to your body. The same is true for instructor training. The best instructors are those open to new ways of thinking, new ways of moving, new training experiences. The instructor that thinks they know it all is probably not one that will serve your best interests. There are naturally Pilates instructors with more experience than my 10 years; some understand biomechanics at a greater depth; some have a stronger intuition about their observations; others can do advanced exercises that still cause me to tremble! All these areas I seek to develop through personal education and development.
A number of years ago I watched my tennis coach play in a tournament. After the match I commented that if I could play as well as he that I would certainly gloat and wave my tail-feathers! (maybe I din't say that exactly...but something to that affect.) His response, "You stay humble...there is always someone who plays better than you." My goal is to learn from those who "play better than me" and pass the information to you the consumer so that your experience is invigorating and purposeful. Don't be afraid to inquire about your instructor's training, their continuing education, their values. Even great instructors get injured from time to time, however, if they are always complaining of pain; wearing multiple shoulder, neck, and knee braces; if their workouts never change; if they don't bring variety or new considerations with your practice then perhaps it's time to reconsider your investment.
“Due to different schools of thought among industry leaders, functional training is often pitted against modalities like bodybuilding. The result is a gang-like environment where the strength coaches think functional training is a circus act, and the functional advocates think strength training is for “no-necks” just interested in aesthetics or lifting heavy stuff. Then, of course you have the yoga and Pilates crews that look at the other two groups and think they are nuts. It is always: function vs. strength, bodybuilding vs. Pilates, Yoga vs. who knows what. These comparisons aren’t even accurate; they are like asking what do you think is best to eat for optimal nutrition: apples or broccoli? Of courses, “both” is the right answer. Eating only one or the other, although each is nutritious, leaves one without the nutrition of the other. Bringing this simple example to the world of physical training drives home a very important point. Every training method has its benefits (i.e. nutrition), and combining the most effective methods (i.e. combine apples and broccoli) will provide better training than exclusively using any one training method…. Therefore it behooves the fitness and conditioning professional to learn as many different training disciplines as possible, keep an open mind, and continuously re-examine the efficacy of one’s training philosophy and continuously push to develop a “system less system of training.” Juan Carlos Santana http://www.ihpfit.com/component/comprofiler/userprofile/jcs.html
Thank you for reading! Hope to see you this week !
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