Introduction Pilates, the 90- year old internationally recognized method is an all-encompassing workout, offering itself to just about everyone from the sedentary office worker to the professional dancer. The Method compounds muscle groups & trains the whole body, coordinating the upper and lower musculature with the body’s center. All the 500 odd exercises are designed to get the body to work through it’s full range of motion, using every single bundle of the 800 voluntary muscle-motors that each of us has been given to alter ourselves. The Method combines the best of the Western and Eastern traditions, blending the mind and body, and viewing them as a unit working in complete harmony with one another. The Eastern approach to exercise is a path to calmness, being centered and whole, with an emphasis on stretching and limbering. The Western approach emphasizes motion, muscle tone and strength. Joseph H. Pilates emphasized both these approaches in his Method. There is no free play of movements made quickly or jerkily. There is no impact, & no violent movements. Heavy weights are not involved, and in most cases movements are only repeated a few times each. Any straining to the point of exhaustion is considered counterproductive.

Conditions the whole body

While Pilates takes a “whole body” approach, other programs take a “body parts” approach to conditioning, with specific isolated exercises for each muscle group. The balanced body method elongates as it strengthens & stretches, resulting in long, strong & lean muscles. The exercises are totally non-impact and non-weight bearing, producing fast results. No muscle group is overtrained or undertrained. The entire musculature is evenly conditioned. This style of exercise is well known for producing sleek, strong, muscular bodies. Little wonder that actors and celebrities Cameron Diaz, David Beckham, Madonna, Katherine Hepburn, Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Megan Fox, Elizabeth Hurley, & Martina Navratilova, to name a few, have turned to this system. The Method should be combined with effective aerobic/ cardio activity such as an aerobic class, jogging, walking or cycling for a complete programme of both muscular & cardiovascular fitness.

Some History

In 1923, German-born Joseph Pilates introduced his novel & revolutionary method of physical & mental conditioning to the U. S. A. As a child, Pilates was an asthmatic and suffered from rickets. This acted as a motivator to him, to improve his strength and physique. Pilates' method was the product of his life-long observation of the human body and its natural functioning. He was a gymnast and pugilist who had brillant & creative ideas about fitness & rehabilitation following physical injury. In a British internment camp in World War I, Pilates rigged a hospital bed so that patients could begin their recovery while still flat on their backs. This idea evolved into one of the main components of what was to become a whole method of exercise, which Joe called "Controllogy".