Personal Fitness Professional - March 2008 - (Page 24) PILATES MADE BY PJ O ’ CLAIR J Essential exercises and principles for trainers fitness trade journals report a 50% growth in Pilates from 1999. Both consumers and trainers have been educated by fitness journals, magazines and the standard media hype. Pilates has been touted as the secret to flat abs for Madonna, Sting and other Hollywood actors, and even professional athletes join in the Pilates movement. As the demand continues to increase, we as fitness professionals have an enormous career potential. As trainers, there are some easy and effective ways in which to incorporate basic Pilates moves or principles into your one-on-one sessions or group exercise classes. Below, you will find the exercise along with the cuing used for the most foundational Pilates exercises, but first, let’s briefly review the differences between Pilates and traditional resistance training. PILATES VS. TRADITIONAL TRAINING One of the major differences is the manner in which we use the muscles of the body. With an entry-level traditional resistance program, the goal is to strengthen all of the major muscles of the body using the overload principle: • Do between one to three sets of each exercise for the major muscle groups. • Perform 10-15 repetitions, bringing the muscles to momentary muscle failure. Those guidelines are perfect for most deconditioned clients, and they can expect to achieve favorable results for a combination of muscular strength and endurance. With an entry level Pilates program, our primary focus is on joint mobility and dynamic stability and less on strengthening the prime movers of the body. We do not perform sets and reps. The following concepts are incorporated: 24 MARCH2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM
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