I have joined a pilates class

[Manotea]

I've been doing pilates for a couple of weeks now. It is undoubtedly helping me. Although I don't really get up much of a sweat, as that is not the attention, I do fond myself being quite tired after a class, later in the day.

Its a funny thing but I found that; starting out feels frustrating because it doesn't feel like I've actually done very much but at the same time it's strangely knackering..

[Cudzoziemiec]

Mrs. Wow says "That's a highly appropriate image!"

I say "Git!"

Well he does seem to be a favourite character you mention frequently. 

[Sergeant Pluck]

strangely knackering..

Indeed. So far (beginner's classes), it seems very focussed on the glutes and all the muscles around the hips and lower back. Which is good, but I am hoping that once I advance a bit that my abs will get more work. Like all of these things, technique is critical. A few times I've felt that I haven't got a particular exercise quite right on one side or other which is a bit frustrating when the class moves on to the next thing.

[mr magnolia]

Having got bored with the drop in class that coincided with magnoliette swimming activities, I've done sod all for a long time now, but now just home from the second weeks episode of a Pilates class that makes me sweat, and feel sore enough to want to stop, which must be a 'good thing'. More men = less chat = more fun though, I say. This class has just two chaps, and too much chat for my liking...
I'm going 'back to back' with Mrs m as she goes to the class immediately before mine, so we can have some complaintively poorly moments as we scoff our late tea.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I think I overdid it with the hip circles tonight. I'm expecting to need to use my stick tomorrow. 

[spenceey]

I've been considering pilates for a little while now, since my knee pain won't disappear.

Do you think Pilates would help with knee pain on the inside of the knee?

[Sergeant Pluck]

I suppose it depends on the nature and cause of the knee pain, and it would be best to determine that first.

Ifthe knee pain is somehow related to your posture or pelvic alignment, for instance, then it is possible that pilates could help as it seems to improve posture and to improve the strength of postural muscles that may not be activated or used much without doing exercises specifically designed to do so.

But I'd suggest determining the cause of the pain first, if not known, and take it from there. If the pain is due to some tendon, muscle or postural problem then my bet would be that specific stretches or exercises prescribed by a physio could be more effective. While my pilates classes involve ITB stretches, there aren't many other exercises that focus on such things specifically, though there are lots of variants of lunges and what not that presumably improve stability.

I'm still going to my pilates classes, 2 or 3 times a week - that's nearly 9 months now which is pretty good for me. I've no doubt that it has improved things on the back, er, front (touches wood), and I haven't injured myself or got bored with it. Even after all those classes, almost every class includes some move that I haven't done before. This is reformer-based pilates and the possibilities seem endless.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I try to go Monday, Wednesday, Friday and swim after Monday and Friday, plus a couple of other days. There was no Friday class yesterday so I went to today's lunchtime class. Different teacher, very tough class, she made a point of not doing the exercises herself but coming round and correcting our alignment. So from that point of view, a good class, but I don't think I like the teacher. I declared my hip problems at the start of the class and explained that I find too much hip flexion very painful, and she told me that she has arthritis and her hip flexion is fine, and her words and tone implied that I'm making it up. Apparently because I can sit in a chair and tie my shoelaces, I don't have pain in hip flexion.