The Fitness Guru

If it’s July, it must be Pilates in the Park!!

Join the Guru Gang on Tuesday nights at 7pm, now thru the end of August (with the exception of July 20) for an hour-long Pilates Mat Class. Blow off some steam and build up some muscle, all in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge in the fabulous new park at Pier One!

THE CLASS IS FREE!! (Can’t beat that with a stick) and a limited number of exercise mats are available for those who haven’t brought their own. All levels are welcome to attend.

IF you haven’t taken part in the Experience before, it is a fantastic time and a brilliant class! Tell your friends (especially your Manhattan friends who still have yet to venture over there).

PIER ONE, TUESDAY NIGHTS, 7PM

Here’s a Map

View Pilates in the Park at Pier 1 in a larger map

ALL SUMMER LONG!!!!

Rock on!!!!!

(VIDEO BELOW)
The good folks at the Wall Street Journal finally caught up with the hottest trend in fitness, Core Training. Its all the rage. Really.

“I worked my core!”
“Oooh felt that in my core!”
“Yeah, its a core-intensive workout!”

The word “core” has emerged like cicadas during a Midwest summer. Did you know cicadas are the among the few insects that sweat? Its true! And core training can make you sweat! Did you know that cicadas are relatively benign. True enough. Except that they can also do a great deal of damage to certain crops and trees. And did you know this “core training” is relatively benign– except for the incidents where it can do damage to various individuals who are leaping at it with eager feet?

“Core” is simply the latest in terms that have been latched onto by the industry in an attempt to capture the public imagination. And, because of that, it leads us down many wonderful paths– and many paths that are equally as dangerous. For many people, it has become a catch-all phrase for an abdominal-intense workout, in much the same way that “guns” would refer to anything having to do with the arms. But the “core” is made up of numerous muscles including but not limited to the muscles of the abdomen and back. And what a great deal of “core training” completely ignores is the need for stability and alignment in the skeletal structure underneath those muscles.

I have a new client: great guy, eager student, 49-years old. This guy has been training for his whole life. He has an abdominal wall that many 19-year old surfers would give their eye teeth to have: ripped, powerful six-pack sitting on a narrow waist, not the slightest hint of a “middle aged paunch.” He started coming to me because of intense pain in his hip. He was confused and irritated, primarily because he felt he was getting old and he couldn’t simply “train the pain away”. What we discovered was that, as he was training his “core” he was holding himself out of proper alignment and all that power he was generating was serving to build greater and greater imbalances in his joints– for him that meant stabbing pain in his hips when he would try to run. As we set about realigning his body, the pressure dissipated. He still had an amazing abdominal workout, but all the pressure that he had created was gone. And that story is repeated over and over and over again.

Ask any engineer: if you build a bridge with tons and tons of steel, and the pressure is only slightly off on one of the joints, it is only a matter of time before that bridge falls. That’s physics.

Many trainers understand this and will work their clients to get them to understand form and alignment before they increase the intensity of the workout. But many trainers simply increase the intensity on the core– greater repetitions, greater weight, greater use of gravity– in order to make their clients “feel the burn.”

The immediate result for the exerciser is fantastic. “Oh Nelly, I worked my core so good!” But, depending on the joints thresholds for pressure, it can just be a trap waiting to be sprung.

The Journal suggests that all this “core training” is something that can be done on one’s own. But, just as you probably wouldn’t try to do your business’ taxes or fix the transmission in your car on your own, I would strongly suggest getting some professional advice. Find a trainer who has some knowledge and understanding of alignment. Sign up for a couple of sessions to find out, not simply what to do, but how to do it properly. It is money very well invested, particularly if you are interested in both results and longevity. My 49-year old is going to be running better, stronger and faster in the next decade than he has at any other point in his life. That’s how it works. It’s not a miracle. It’s exercise science.

Here’s a video where Lawson discusses proper alignment and how to achieve it while exercising. She is aided by Michael (different Michael). The video is from our upcoming DVD, “Everyday Pilates”. For those of you wary of the word “Pilates” (as the word was yesterday’s “core”), fear not: it is simply a science of alignment and balance. Watch and learn, my friends.

Rock on!

January 19, 2010 1:30 pm

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April 5, 2010 4:30 pm

The Fitness Guru Teaching Lab Pilates Apparatus Certification is a 600 hour course covering the Reformer, Wunda Chair and Cadillac Pilates apparatus. Our extremely contemporary approach focuses of the on the development of the eye and intellect of the instructor to properly access postural imbalances and apply the most effective exercise selection possible to rebalance the body of each individual client. Students are encouraged to utilize the primary principles of Pilates to innovate new exercises using the incredibly versatile equipment.

Classes will begin on Tuesday, April 6, 2010.

Classes will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm for twelve weeks.

For more information, click HERE

To sign up, click HERE

February 27, 2010

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May 8, 2010

The Fitness Guru Teaching Lab Pilates Apparatus Certification is a 600 hour course covering the Reformer, Wunda Chair and Cadillac Pilates apparatus. Our extremely contemporary approach focuses of the on the development of the eye and intellect of the instructor to properly access postural imbalances and apply the most effective exercise selection possible to rebalance the body of each individual client. Students are encouraged to utilize the primary principles of Pilates to innovate new exercises using the incredibly versatile equipment.

Classes will begin on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

Classes will be held on Saturday afternoons from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm for twelve weeks.

For more information, click HERE

To sign up, click HERE

December 4, 2009 6:00 pm

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December 6, 2009 6:00 pm

This 19 hour Pilates Mat Certification course is recognized by the Pilates Method Alliance. It is a comprehensive course encompassing anatomy as it pertains to the Pilates exercises, the16 fundamentals and 27 mat exercises. The Fitness Guru believes in teaching contemporary Pilates utilizing a neutral spine. The course is given over 3 days the hours are as follows: Friday 7:30pm-9:30pm Sat. & Sun.10am-6pm all testing is done on Sunday afternoon. Study materials include: study binder with written descriitions of all information and photos, 1 DVD of the fundamentals and 1 DVD of the Mat Exercises.

This comprehensive weekend will take place at Harmony Pilates, 720 Monroe St. E508, Hoboken, NJ, under the brilliant and caring supervision of Mary Vogt.

For sign up information, please click HERE

If you have any questions regarding this or any of our certifications, please email us at answers@fitnessgurunyc.com.

Good question, Rick. Here is the answer. As we are in the midst of training the first Guru Marathon Team, I have spent a great deal of time recently explaining the reasons. Let me start by saying that Pilates is not for everyone. You should do what works for your body. But having done this training thing for a couple of decades now, I have become very frustrated by the number of people who had to give up running because the doctor has told them it is no good for their bodies. I find that attitude infuriating. Most pain and injuries stem from the combination of repetitive use and bad habits. Get rid of the bad habits and the injury will go away. Or at least that is what I have found in the people that I have worked with.

The key to all the Pilates work is finding a good instructor. Just because someone has hung a shingle on their door doesn’t make them good. First, make sure that your instructor is certified. There are different levels of certification, from a couple years of study down to a weekend on the internet, so you may want to research exactly what sort of certification the instructor has acquired. This is your body that your placing in his or her hands and you want to make sure that you are receiving quality care. Next, make sure you speak to your instructor at the very start of your relationship. Explain your present condition and your goals. Look them straight in the eye and listen to their answers. If you like what you hear, if it seems well thought out and intelligent, give it a try. If it sounds slapdash and confused, turn and walk. Bad Pilates is not only a waste of time, it can actually be injurious.

There are three main reasons that runners can benefit from Pilates:

1. One of the key elements of Pilates training is the balancing of the body: balancing the left side of the body with the right, balancing the top with the bottom and balancing the front with the back. Injuries (non-acute, accident –related injuries) tend to stem from a lack of balance in the body. A good Pilates instructor can help you focus on realigning your body and activating muscles that are underused. For example: a great many runners put a great deal of stress on their quadriceps, the large muscles that run across the top of the thigh. Focus so much on the quadriceps may bring tension to the outside portion of the thigh and start to draw the tracking of the knee away from the midpoint of the body. As the body tries to right the problem, tension starts to develop in the knee joint, particularly around the ACL on the inside (medial) portion of the knee. With Pilates, balance can be brought to the quadriceps, adductors (inner thighs), and hamstrings (backs of the thighs) so that the tension on the knee is greatly reduced.

2. As I am sure you know from reading the fashion mags, Pilates is a great “core” workout. As “core” is the most grossly overused word in the English language these days, let’s take a look at what that means. To maintain an ideal running form, the majority of the work is given over to the legs and, to a lesser extent, the arms. The torso will not propel you forward no matter how much you rock it side to side. So, ideally, the torso must remain stable throughout your run. This stability is achieved through a balance of the abdominal muscles – the Rectus Abdominus, inner and outer Obliques and, most important, the Tranverse Abdominus—and the muscles of the lower back—the Quadratus Lumborum and spinal erectors. Combine these muscles with the underused muscles of the pelvic floorand you are creating a very powerful torso that will remain stable throughout the duration of your run. Also, that torso stability will allow you to drop your center of gravity forward, creating forward momentum, without putting a great deal of pressure on your lower back.

3. Finally: flexibility. You wouldn’t believe the number of terrific runners that I meet who are unable to touch their toes. They see no correlation between their flexibility and their rate of injury. However, passive stretching, like drawing your heel toward your buttocks and holding it there, can cause more harm than good. Pilates offers you the opportunity to build functional strength through a wider range of motion. The key is eccentric muscle activation, when you focus on activating a muscle while you continue to lengthen it. It is this sort of activation and muscle work that originally drew the dance community to the work of Joseph Pilates in the 1940’s: dancers realized that they didn’t need to give up strength for flexibility or flexibility for strength. They could have their cake and eat it too. If dancers ate cake.

Check out our Runner’s Exercises video!!

If you have further questions about Pilates or instructors, please feel free to ask. Also note that the Guru offers both a Mat certification and Apparatus certification for instructors.

Good luck and run like the wind!!

The Fitness Guru is going to be offering FREE Pilates Mat Classes in Brooklyn Bridge Park every Tuesday evening through the Summer, beginning July 7th!! Come and join us for a terrific workout at the base of the Beautiful Brooklyn Bridge. Sign up is at 6:30pm with the Class starting at 7pm on the dot!!

The Countdown To Class!!

No dates present

July 7, 2009 7:00 pm

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August 25, 2009 7:00 pm

The Fitness Guru brings Pilates classes back to Brooklyn Bridge Park for another exciting summer of evening classes. Classes will take place every Tuesday evening, with registration beginning at 6:30pm and the class starting at 7pm. Class is FREE. Come and enjoy!! And check out the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Web Site while you’re at it!!

January 13, 2009
1:30 pm	to	4:30 pm

Been pondering that career change? Always wanted to teach Pilates but you just didn’t know where to begin? Did you even know we offered a Certification?

Check out the Instructor Certification Page for specifics.