Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Health & Fitness => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 04 September, 2012, 04:53:22 pm
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For about 4 years I've been attending a Taoist Tia Chi class, which was OK. Then it started to get a bit weird: I always had misgivings about the structure of the organisation (e.g. all instructors are unpaid volunteers who are expected to finance their own instructor training, which inevitably involves occasional trips to Canada, the global HQ. Lovely people, all of them, but there you go...). Recently the increased emphasis on the religious side was getting on my nerves and seemed to be to the detriment of the physical exercises. So I left.
I think I need more than just cycling for exercise. I started with tai chi because I had arthritis. Last year an X-ray revealed osteoporosis - my vertebrae had shrunk. I was sent for a dexa scan but that came back normal. I questioned the need for bone-strengthening drugs but my GP an rheumatology consultant were in complete agreement: my vertebrae had shrunk and the alendronic acid and chalk tablets were necessary.
Anyway, I've found someone who teaches pilates locally and I can join one of her classes for £5 per hour. I've opted for one on Monday evenings, about a mile from my house. The one drawback is that I will be the only man. How will I cope?
Does anyone else pilate?
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I teach it, although not as many classes as I used to.
Do it, and £5 is very cheap for pilates. I think you will get a lot from it, and really, do not worry about being the only guy, I've had a few regular guys at my classes- one class I have a guy who is the only one there and has been for the last 3 years. No stress. Just enjoy it :)
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Oh, and I actually think he loves being the only guy there ;)
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I was joking about being worried by the only bloke. I'm really looking forward to it.
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You should be :) An hour of watching pretty ladies. You starting Monday?
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You should be :) An hour of watching pretty ladies. You starting Monday?
Yes. 7.30 to 8.30. As I said, how will I cope? :D
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How will they cope?!
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mrsmike did pilates for about 10 years, it fixed her dodgy back completely.
I was the only guy doing yoga in our village hall class for a couple of years, it was bloody great apart from the farting (them!)
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There was always plenty of farting in our tai chi class.
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Farting and young women aside, I can't imagine that pilates will do you anything other than a world of good, Wowbagger.
Not so long ago I was stepping out with a young woman of a similar age to mine (so not so very different to your's, Wow).
She had been doing pilates for years.
[Rowley Birkin QC mode] I didn't notice the farting. However, her uncommon and exceptional flexibility is a memory that'll always stay with me. Remarkable. [/Rowley Birkin QC mode]
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Make sure that your pilates teacher is a Level 3 instructor. Also, you don't want any more than 12 in a class. Pilates has to be done right and the instructor has to watch what everyone is doing. More than 12 is just too much.
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I do a bit sometimes and I always like it. If you're doing it right, you won't be watching anyone else, you'll be too busy concentrating.
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But you don't even like air travel... ???
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But you don't even like air travel... ???
I think you're a bit muddled there Kim. As Wowbagger said in the OP, he's fed up with religion and is upping the anti and learning about the dude who sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. Or something like that, I think... ???
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£5 is very cheap. Me & No1Daughter did it for a while but at £14 a week for us, payable termly in advance, I couldn't really afford it.
We liked it. It was weird for me going to an exercise class where you didn't get all sweaty, but I certainly felt it afterwards.
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I too would benefit from something like this - Pilates or Yoga. Having sat in office chairs staring at screens for an enormous chunk of my life, I'm famously unbendy and have trouble getting my leg over (fboab's bars) these days.
The farting sounds fun. Is it obligatory?
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I have a theory.
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I really enjoyed my Pilates classes. They were good for my core strength as well as my balance (which is crap) and my co-ordination (which is worse).
If you're doing it right, it should be slow and steady and using muscles you didn't know you had (and therefore have possibly never used). It may at times feel as though you're doing very little, but you'd be surprised...
£5 is a bargain and at that price I'd take it back up again as a class! :thumbsup:
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I do a class once a week at my local leisure centre. The stretching and core work helps my lower back, a good complement for cycling & rowing/erging.
It takes a bit of getting used to for butch he-man types like myself. Leaving aside the fact I doubt I'll ever be best friends with my pelvic floor, the first few sessions are a bit frustrating as you come away thinking that you haven't really 'done anything' aside from discover you cannot perform apparently simple movements like rock forward and backwards onto your heels and toes, but as you get into it you become more bendy and the exercises more strenuous (and yes, you do come away feeling taller).
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........and yes, you do come away feeling taller.
I had been reading this thread thinking this sounds a good idea (Chris S's comments struck a particular chord, except the bit about getting his leg over ;)) But then I read Mr T's comment. No thanks! Plenty tall enough already.
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I have been doing pilates for about 5 years now. I am certain it has improved my riding due to core strength and stability, of which I had none prior.
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Serendipitous thread - a Viking is advising Wow on becoming a pirate! :D
Seriously for a minute, about the Tai Chi - I did some of this a few years ago, in India (yeah, go to India and take up a Chinese martial art ???) and there was nothing religious about it. Nothing even 'spiritual' beyond stillness, concentration and quiet. So I wonder if you just fell in with a dodgy organisation? Anyways, I enjoyed the Tai Chi because it made me concentrate on coordination and balance, but gave it up because the Sunday morning classes were eating into riding time.
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Serendipitous thread - a Viking is advising Wow on becoming a pirate! :D
Seriously for a minute, about the Tai Chi - I did some of this a few years ago, in India (yeah, go to India and take up a Chinese martial art ???) and there was nothing religious about it. Nothing even 'spiritual' beyond stillness, concentration and quiet. So I wonder if you just fell in with a dodgy organisation? Anyways, I enjoyed the Tai Chi because it made me concentrate on coordination and balance, but gave it up because the Sunday morning classes were eating into riding time.
The Taoist Tai Chi Society is pretty big. I'm amazed at how many members it has. They seem to be congregated around SE England (there are hardly any members in the north) and there are amazing numbers in Essex. I think our branch alone, SE Essex, had something like 400 members. It's not the only tai chi organisation around, but it seems to be the biggest.
From the outset I had some misgivings about its structure. It seemed pretty "cultish" but with some very praiseworthy and altruistic aspects. We paid an annual subscription, but as I mentioned, none of the instructors is paid - they do it entirely out of altruistic motives. When they have instructor training, they have to pay for their travel out of their own pocket, even if this means going to Canada, which it does, reasonably often.
Its founder, Moy Lin Shin, also founded the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism. When I started about 4 years ago, I had never heard of this. However, in the past year or so it seems to have taken over and the religious element has come to the fore. I didn't want to be any part of this, so I left. I was somewhat disillusioned as, when this takeover was first mooted, our instructor (whom I think is a really good guy, and often would bring in a copy of Gray's Anatomy to explain which joints/bones/muscles a particular exercise was improving), as well as a number of others who occasionally attended our class, seemed to me to be pretty much unanimous that if the religious crept in, they would walk out. This clearly didn't happen.
Every so often there would be a subtle, or not so subtle, change in the exercise we were doing. It was a bit Orwellian: that way of doing things had never existed. The new way of doing things had always existed. The clear question was: if the new way is doing us loads of good, and the old way wasn't why did we ever do things in the old way? I never felt that this question was properly addressed.
Ultimately, it seems to me that the TTCS is not welcoming to people who ask awkward questions or have a tendency to rock the boat. As you can probably imagine, I didn't really feel as though I fitted into such an organisation.
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Spooky! I don't recognise either of those organisations, but I couldn't remember the name of the Tai Chi school or organisation I attended briefly. All I remember is that it was based in Chennai and you had to keep your feet parallel. Different schools of Tai Chi were mentioned but the differences seemed to be mainly in how you did certain exercises. So I thought I'd check my email in case I had some old mails from them, to see their name, and... there's a new mail in my inbox, an invitation to become their Facebook friend! :o Which I am not going to do, but here they are. (http://www.taichiacademyindia.com/)
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The TTCS seemed to make loads of money. Our membership allowed us to participate in any class. For us, with the oldie concession, it was £100 a year each. That's a lot of cash when about 30 or 40 people seemed to attend each class and the instructor doesn't receive a penny. The TTCS seemed to be able to spend a lot of cash on property: the European Headquarters in is Colchester, they've bought a new place in Maldon and I understand that another new place has opened in Madrid. Mostly, groups met in school premises for which they paid rent. Classes are normally of 2 hours' duration.
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I've never tried Tia Chi. From what very little I know about martial arts, some martial arts seem to be a lot about learning a culture while others are entirely about the exercise etc.
From what you say, I think that pilates will be much better. Any pilates instructor worth going to will be able to answer any questions.
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I go to Tai Chi once a week which is under the banner of Lishi, which is another Taoist setup. They seem to be international with members in Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia. The main base appears to be in Leeds. Their internet presence is there in the Uk, but no depth or substance as regards the hierarchy.
Although I've been going for about a year, I'm trying to maintain a healthy separation between the excessive aspects and the 'other' aspects (vegetarianism is the only example I can put my finger on, but I strongly sense there's more in there somewhere). Although I enjoy the classes, and it's a great group of people, I sense a cult-like infrastructure lurking in the shadows.
The annual fee is £50 and the classes cost £6 for 2 hours.
They run weekend and summer schools which I have no intention of attending.
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I did tai chi classes for a while. I have no idea what type it was, but Wu rings a bell. I didn't get on with it particularly well. I always came out feeling hunched up and compressed, whereas yoga leaves me feeling stretched and longer. I have a friend who is a tai chi teacher and she gets very irate at a lot of classes - she says it's a martial art and it should be taught as a martial art, not just as a series of moves with breathing, or as a spiritual exercise.
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That was good. There were about 20 people in the class. The average age was a fair bit lower than the tai chi class, and the average waist measurement was a hell of a lot lower. Is that an indication of the respective merits of each discipline, I wonder?
I worked up quite a sweat and I wouldn't be at all surprised if something or other didn't ache in the morning. There wasn't anything I didn't feel that I couldn't have a go at, but that's not to say that I executed everything perfectly - far from it. I've signed up for 6 weeks.
I've no idea what any of the exercises were called, but our instructor spoke clearly and there wasn't anything much I missed. She spent probably 90% of the time at the front, demonstrating the exercises, but wandered round two or three times in the hour to give a bit of individual help when it was needed. An hour was plenty of time.
I didn't hear anyone fart.
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I didn't hear anyone fart.
So I assume it was smelly instead then? Silent but...
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both yoga and pilates are excellent for strengthening core, pelvic and back muscles, and improve flexibility. only after yoga classes i realised why i was struggling to get myself comfortable on the saddle after few hours of riding and it was a revelation. heavy leather saddles are usually very good for cyclists with poor core fitness and flexibility (myself included, to some extent), but with strong core and back sporty saddles become just as comfy being 1/3 of weight; there will be less weight on your wrists; and sitting on a bike will just feel right. your fitness will be the best "bike upgrade" you can get!
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both yoga and pilates are excellent for strengthening core, pelvic and back muscles, and improve flexibility. only after yoga classes i realised why i was struggling to get myself comfortable on the saddle after few hours of riding and it was a revelation. heavy leather saddles are usually very good for cyclists with poor core fitness and flexibility (myself included, to some extent), but with strong core and back sporty saddles become just as comfy being 1/3 of weight; there will be less weight on your wrists; and sitting on a bike will just feel right. your fitness will be the best "bike upgrade" you can get!
Hi Z. Interested in your post, and I also read a recent post of yours along the lines of "until I learned to sit on a bike properly". Can you expand on this? What were you doing wrong before and what are you doing now?
I've been advised to do Pilates too, so I'm going to be looking for classes in a couple of weeks after I move flat.
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Pleased to hear it went well :)
5 quid a session's pretty good (assuming a decent instructor, of course !) - where I go (my localish gym - N surrey/Greater London) it works out about 6 a session, for a block of 5-7 sessions, as a member - but double that as a non-member. I don't think I'd get *too* worried about class size unless it's all beginners - a decent instructor will probably just keep a bit more of an eye on the beginners and a bit less on the more experienced bods... tho' ours seems to have eyes in the back of her head ::-)
YMMV, but half-dozen or so sessions is probably about right to get to grips with the breathing and body-awareness elements - it's not unusual to hear beginners not finding it doing anything, but it's usually 'cos they haven't worked out what they're doing. There's different versions of each exercise according to ability/injury, so there's always a challenge of some sort - and even some of the basic exercises can be as good as -or better than- the supposedly more tricky ones if you focus correctly.
The class I go to tends to be the less circumferentially (?)-challenged...mebbe just we're a bit more aware of putting on weight than anything, not everyone is a member of the gym it's held in. You're certainly not going to lose much weight doing Pilates but it's a good complement to other activities - and the improved body awareness helps with balance and posture. Certainly kept me ticking over when I had 3 or 4 years of not doing much regular cycling or other gym work.
In theory our class is about 16 or so but at any point about 10-12 turn up - there's usually 2 or 3 of us blokes nowadays - we're mostly (nowadays) in the 35-55 range but most of us have been going for 5+ yrs (about 10 in my case) - it's an improvers/advanced class - not so much ability, so much as we all know what we're doing, we occasionally get relative beginners and they cope fine.
At least a few have come to it from having back injuries - as did our instructor, who was badly injured in a car crash when she was younger - IIRC expectations were she'd never walk properly again. Dunno how much of a recovery she'd have made otherwise - she was an aerobics instructor already - but you certainly wouldn't know it.
>I doubt I'll ever be best friends with my pelvic floor,
I must admit without the anatomy (or at least, active anatomy) to help identify it, it's a bit tricky. Our instructor uses the 'lifting a towel' analogy..which is ok if you currently have an..erm...towel rail to hand. And I don't think assisting in that department is part of the session fee...
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I don't think I'd get *too* worried about class size unless it's all beginners - a decent instructor will probably just keep a bit more of an eye on the beginners and a bit less on the more experienced bods...
The place I go is a dedicated pilates studio with all the pilates equipment and if you wanted to become a pilates instructor, this is where you'd go to learn how to become and instructor and where you'd take the exams to qualify. They have a policy of no more than 13 per class because the instructor simply cannot watch everyone close enough if there are any more in a class. One of my previous instructors refused to take a class in a chain gym because there were too many and she couldn't do her job properly. I do notice that the instructor has trouble keeping an eye on everyone when there are more than half a dozen in one class. Even those who have been doing it for years need correcting and that includes instructors. Pilates is a very precise set of exercises.
That is what I've been told by several pilates instructors.
Pilates is a set of (32 I think) exercises, designed by a German geezer called Joseph Pilates just before WW2 (he fled the country before the war because he didn't want to get involved with it)
Those complete exercises are very hard to do (even the instructors can't do all of them), so they are modified so that you can build up to the full exercises. A bit like not being able to do press ups on the floor, so you do them leaning against a wall and build up from there until you can do them on the floor.
I don't think it is much good for fat burning, but it all helps.
You could very well be benefitting from doing pilates in a big class, just because you're doing some exercise and may even be getting it right.
I see it more as learning how to use my body efficiently than purely as exercise, so I'm much more interested in getting the exercises as close to form as I can get them. If I just wanted the exercise, I'd joing a gym and do weights. I can do that anyway, but now that I do pilates, I can apply that to how I move, which will make workouts more beneficial and be much less prone to injury.
I certainly do think that my cycling has benefitted from it, which is why I still do it.
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Even those who have been doing it for years need correcting and that includes instructors. Pilates is a very precise set of exercises.
I certainly wouldn't disagree with that ;)
Smaller classes are indeed preferable, but as I wrote - depends on the class makeup/ability and the instructor. What I was trying to get at was Wowbagger shouldn't get too put off by people saying anything over 'n' is automatically bad - there's a big difference between a dozen beginners and a dozen with some years of experience - it sounds like our instructor only gets through about half or 2/3 of what she covers with us, in the class before ours. I'd be more concerned if the instructor's simply issuing instructions and not checking people for engagement/alignment, etc.
If you haven't seen them, the original book(s) - published as "Return to Life Through Contrology and Your Health" - are an interesting read but not much use as an instructional aid - and Joseph Pilates had some..errr..curious ideas (IIRC not exactly that w*nking makes you go blind, but close !).
For reference, some videos of the lot (I *think* pretty close to the originals - turns out there's 34) are here http://www.perfectbalancepilates.com/exercises.htm
- usual caveat of 'don't try this at home folks' 'cos there's a good likelihood of doing yerself a mischief with some, done incorrectly.
With assorted traceability back to Pilates himself I *think* the main 'schools' boil down to Winsor, Stott, Body Control, Michael King (and probably traditional Pilates).Our instructor's mentioned Michael King (+Malcom Muirhead) quite a bit in the past so I guess that was her route - but I guess with some degree of commonality and shifting best practice it's probably a bit incestuous.
I think it used to be easy to just do a matwork instructors course and call yourself an instructor (cue instructor spitting feathers), but (if I've got this correct) most courses are now CYQ (Central YMCA)approved/REPs (Register of Exercise Professionals) accredited. I've looked at instructor qualifications in the past - more out of interest re the underlying physiology rather than the tuition element, but I find it a little confusing - not to mention a little curious - that say a Stott level 3 CYQ certificate requires 30 hours of matwork experience and 3 yrs of fitness teaching, whilst another level 3 CYQ diploma only (?) requires 5 weeks of matwork class attendance. (A bunch listed here: http://reps.training.exerciseregister.org/search?subject=191).
Answers on a postcard...
Oh, latest little fad (?) coming to a gym nr you - barre pilates (or isobarre or summat like that) - adds a bit more dance-related stuff wrt wall bars. Our first session yesterday after the summer break had a few bits. But back on the qualification front, our instructor - an early adoptor I think - was grumbling about another teaching it without accreditation (IIRC). I guess that'll all shake out in due course..
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My view is that, as someone completely new to these exercises, anything is better than nothing. When you are completely new to something, progress tends to be rapid.
Having said that, some of the stuff we were doing was similar to some of the exercises we did in tai chi. Tai chi is pretty good for improving balance, but it's pretty easy just to go through the motions without putting the effort in. My first impressions were that most of the Pilates exercises we did require more effort just to make an initial stab at the movement. All of tai chi is done whilst on your feet.
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For anyone looking for classes, adult education centres and university sports centres are worth a look - may well bring the price down to something sensible compared to purpose-built studios - I've found one locally (here in surrey) for about 6 quid a time, tho' it looks like you need your own mat*, and at Manchester Uni at various sites for a less than 6 as a nom-member - I assume that means non-student too. (OTOH, Surrey Uni ain't so cheap...)
*one of the guys in our class does yoga too, and uses his own yoga mat for pilates, but that's a bit on the thin side compared to normal gym mats, which are more like 20mm thick and that bit more comfy.
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I borrowed Mrs. Wow's second yoga mat. We are in a church hall which also has a couple of tai chi sessions each week.
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I pay £7.50 a go. I reckon that's very good VFM considering that
there are usualy fewer than 8 per class
it's a specific pilates studio
the knowledge and ability of the instructors who I trust to be giving very good instruction
I only need to bring a towel (I'm the only one who does, cos I'm a sweaty monster) and the studio is fully equiped.
My view is that, as someone completely new to these exercises, anything is better than nothing. When you are completely new to something, progress tends to be rapid.
That's very true, you do progress much faster at the beginning in most things. It's where you are progressing to that you sometimes need to be careful of.
Much better and so much easier to get it right from the off IMO. I'd use the analogy that you may be learning to ride a bike with stabilisers and may need to re-learn how to ride a bike again when you take them off.
When you know for sure that you are doing it right, you will be able to do them very well without any guidance and going for a good cycle tour. Or you could end up going cycling with your stabilisers on, so to speak.
You could, of course, be getting just as good, or even better pilates lessons than I am. It's just that the people who I trust about teaching pilates all say that there should never be more than 13 in a class at a time with one instructor and from my experience, it rings true, so it rings alarm bells with me.
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I used to do yoga at a yoga centre, taught by proper yoga teachers. For various reasons I don't go any more, but sometimes I do do a yoga class at the gym. I'm not clear whether the instructor is a proper yoga teacher or if she's a fitness instructor teaching yoga moves - the latter feels more likely to me, to be honest. I was chatting to one of the blokes in the class one day, and saying I used to do proper yoga classes and that what the gym offers is more like yoga as a fitness class than proper yoga. He wasn't really understanding what I meant - it's like the difference between doing a spin class and riding a bike. The movements might be more or less the same, but the whole concept is different.
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I'm off to the second instalment in a few minutes. I will report back.
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Well, it's much harder work than tai chi.
For some of the exercises I can see how much less supple I am than pretty well everyone else in the class. I'm thinking I might get a pilates book and do a bit of practice at home.
Generally I'm pretty pleased that I seem to be able to have a decent stab at pretty well all the exercises and I definitely feel better at the end of the class, in a stretched kind of way.
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I'm taking my aging bones along to beginners class tomorrow while magnoliette1 water polos. I hope to be gently stretched and still alive after.
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both yoga and pilates are excellent for strengthening core, pelvic and back muscles, and improve flexibility. only after yoga classes i realised why i was struggling to get myself comfortable on the saddle after few hours of riding and it was a revelation. heavy leather saddles are usually very good for cyclists with poor core fitness and flexibility (myself included, to some extent), but with strong core and back sporty saddles become just as comfy being 1/3 of weight; there will be less weight on your wrists; and sitting on a bike will just feel right. your fitness will be the best "bike upgrade" you can get!
Hi Z. Interested in your post, and I also read a recent post of yours along the lines of "until I learned to sit on a bike properly". Can you expand on this? What were you doing wrong before and what are you doing now?
From my (recent) experience I think he means that with good core strength, you can transfer more weight onto the pedals rather than rest on the saddle and bars like a sack of potatoes.
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Hi Z. Interested in your post, and I also read a recent post of yours along the lines of "until I learned to sit on a bike properly". Can you expand on this? What were you doing wrong before and what are you doing now?
I've been advised to do Pilates too, so I'm going to be looking for classes in a couple of weeks after I move flat.
hi SP, having good flexibility and good core strength helps to sit with pelvis rotated forward, making the "tail" part of your back more vertical, as in the photo below. this in turn helps to keep soft tissues between sit-bones tucked in and out of harm's way. when pedaling, strong core keeps lower back steady, which reduces friction in spinal discs(?) - no/less pain in lower back. strong and engaged core also helps to keep shoulders down and relaxed, head steady (no bobbing). fizi:k website has some good information about lower back flexibility and how it affects your pelvis position on a saddle.
(http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/07/22/1226431/918986-bradley-wiggins.jpg)
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Well, it's much harder work than tai chi.
Having my hips touched by a young lady talking about ribbons and Velcro made it feel far from hard work.
I'm going to repeat the experience again.
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Welease Woger!
Oh, Pilates.
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I think if I weleased Woger in my pilates class I'd be drummed out.
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"until I learned to sit on a bike properly". Can you expand on this? What were you doing wrong before and what are you doing now?
hi SP, having good flexibility and good core strength helps to sit with pelvis rotated forward, making the "tail" part of your back more vertical, as in the photo below. this in turn helps to keep soft tissues between sit-bones tucked in and out of harm's way. when pedaling, strong core keeps lower back steady, which reduces friction in spinal discs(?) - no/less pain in lower back. strong and engaged core also helps to keep shoulders down and relaxed, head steady (no bobbing). fizi:k website has some good information about lower back flexibility and how it affects your pelvis position on a saddle.
(http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/07/22/1226431/918986-bradley-wiggins.jpg)
That's really interesting. I only started thinking about this stuff when I first got a lo-pro bike, with the inevitable reading around time-trial positions. (I also noticed that Cavendish has a very different back-neck shape to other pros on their road-bikes, but that's another thread ... )
I tried thinking about my pelvis position more yesterday (on the Audax bike). It's certainly true that if you rotate your hips back, your "soft bits" get pulled a little away from the saddle, and your lower back has to bend more to keep your upper body in the same place. (I also found that when sitting really upright, this stuff seems to make almost no difference, but on the drops it becomes a big thing - might try the lo-pro at the weekend ... ) Whether this will reduce wear-n-tear I just don't know
So I'll look into this some more, I think. Trouble is, I can't see my lower back (and I'm not trained in what to look for) so it will be an imperfect process; but I'm sure thinking about it will help me a little, and it's always good to have a new perspective every few years. Although I've done 1000k+ rides in 'OK' comfort, I could do with more comfort, and I might be storing up problems for future decades.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-19729211
:facepalm:
Funnily enough, talking to one of our gym receptionists some years ago, she said she couldn't do a yoga class because of it's connotations, didn't seem very persuaded by my suggestion that she just view it as exercise (as most other people in the UK I'd imagine).
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This seems to happen very regularly, while, in most cases, people just get on with it.
Yes, technically, Yoga is a Hindu discipline. But it is not conjuring Satan in the church hall, is it? ::-)
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I have heard of a few cases in Poland and Uk where priests (RC there C of E here) have refused to allow church halls be used for yoga - but are quite happy if it's described as aerobics or gymnastics. ::-) I even knew one person who did think that yoga was "un-Christian" but I'm glad to see only the one.
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My mum's church gave her a load of hassle when she had reflexology during her chemotherapy. Not satisfied with stating their disapproval out of the blue and ganging up on her even after she was obviously distressed when she was really quite ill, many of them proceeded to phone and hassle us some more for the rest of the week. I don't believe in reflexology, but it made my mum feel better and it gave her friend a Thing She Could Do and it was no one's business but my mum's.
Aromatherapy was also 'suspect' and "anti-religious" and I suspect yoga and meditation would have been as well. I guess they didn't know mum had a copy of the Koran which she'd bought during her teacher training "to learn more" about the faith of families of children she was teaching.
Thankfully the ex-curate's wife worked at the local cancer hospital and said "if it makes you feel better, it's fine" making it clear it was only a subset of Christians who really had an issue. We simply stopped answering the phone till they got bored and harangued someone else.
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Witch hunting lives on...
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Reflexology is where various ailments are 'located' in the sole of the foot and cured by massage? Well it's New Age but unlike yoga, does not even come from a specifically non-Christian culture - so the priestly opposition is even odder.
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I am in pain after my pilates session this evening. Embarrassingly, my gut is too big for me to lie on my front without considerable discomfort. Then trying to to some of the exercises our instructor presents to us was excruciating. The worst bit was that she noticed that I was deliberately doing them "sideways on" as it were, and asked me why.
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Wow, there are always alternatives to exercises that mean that you don't ever have to lie on your front. If it causes discomfort, then I'm sure she would be more than happy to run through the alternative options that will be more effective than trying to do anything sidewards.
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I am in pain after my pilates session this evening. Embarrassingly, my gut is too big for me to lie on my front without considerable discomfort. Then trying to to some of the exercises our instructor presents to us was excruciating. The worst bit was that she noticed that I was deliberately doing them "sideways on" as it were, and asked me why.
That doesn't sound good to me.
I'll assume it's your back that hurts.
The one thing that I'm told often is that if you even feel it in your lower back, then you should stop!
The idea behind using pilates is to strengthen the core muscles which support the back, is to not put strain on the back. It's the thing they seem to watch for more than anything else.
If your back hurts doing any exercise. You either can't do it, or you're doing it wrong and you need to stop!
Don't try and modify the exercises. The instructor should do that for you.
I think my instructor would blow a gasket if she read your post.
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Well I was trying to be diplomatic lol, but yes, most instructors would indeed be a little horrified!!
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No, it's not my back that hurts. It's my stomach! It feels bruised. It's just not used to me lying on it and then trying to do things with my limbs (now there's a statement that's open to smutty misinterpretation!)
I should add that I think I'm generally getting a lot out of these classes. I'm quite pleased in that I haven't yet found an exercise I can't do, although I find a lot of them difficult - balancing on one leg, for example. I did work up into a fair old sweat last night.
I also suffer pain in my knees when we do the exercise when you are on your hands and knees and then stretch out opposite arm and leg. I can alleviate this by putting a towel under my knees for extra cushioning, but I think if I were a stone or two lighter then this would be far less of a problem.
There are few enough blokes who do pilates, if my class is anything to go by: I'm the only one amongst about 20 women. Fat old blokes doing pilates must be very rare indeed.
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No, it's not my back that hurts. It's my stomach! It feels bruised.
Oh. My mistake.
:D
Still probably worth mentioning it to the instructor.
Glad it's doing you good.
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Interesting thread this, I've actually considered joining a pilates class in order to (a) improve my core strength and (b) get out the house of an evening....
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Hi Z. Interested in your post, and I also read a recent post of yours along the lines of "until I learned to sit on a bike properly". Can you expand on this? What were you doing wrong before and what are you doing now?
I've been advised to do Pilates too, so I'm going to be looking for classes in a couple of weeks after I move flat.
hi SP, having good flexibility and good core strength helps to sit with pelvis rotated forward, making the "tail" part of your back more vertical...
A belated thanks for your reply, ZigZag.
Right, I am now at the point where I need to do Pilates or similar soon, hopefully starting in the next few weeks. Any recommendations in the W4 region? Ideally, I'd like some small group or individual sessions. I've been advised to do the APPI-approved version.
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Is pilates much different than yoga?
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Is pilates much different than yoga?
Very. There are umpteen different types of yoga, ranging from lying on the floor and breathing, to very tough workouts. Some of the postures in pilates are the same or very similar to some yoga postures, but that's the only similarity really.
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So, pilates is all about stretching then?
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So, pilates is all about stretching then?
Not really. It's slow controlled movements and poses designed to strengthen muscles largely in your torso. There's mat-based exercises and resistance bands. I'm surprised Wow says he gets sweaty- I never did, it's definitely strength training rather than aerobic.
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So, pilates is all about stretching then?
Not really. It's slow controlled movements and poses designed to strengthen muscles largely in your torso. There's mat-based exercises and resistance bands. I'm surprised Wow says he gets sweaty- I never did, it's definitely strength training rather than aerobic.
I haven't done previously. I can't remember what it was we were doing Monday which broke me out into a sweat. We did quite bit of work with bands on Monday so it might have been one of those.
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Re sweatiness - it'll certainly warm you up a bit, and if you're working harder to maintain balance, then I imagine you could get a bit sweatier.
<googles APPI> - ah, Aussie version which has physios as instructors. Sounds fair enough, tho' a non-APPI instructor ought to be reasonably clued-up anyway - there's several schools/franchises (see my post #34 upthread). (Hmm, not sure this isn't a parallel of the helmet v non-helmet argument..)
APPI gets a mention here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2161301/Pilates-make-bad-worse-Experts-agree-help-reduce-pain-improve-posture-hidden-dangers.html
- tho' it does appear to be one of the usual Daily Fail whinges (not to mention a free ad for APPI*), whereas the problem simply seems to be that of a crap instructor.
*which is effectively yet another franchise...
<edit> - Wow - re sore knees, are you using a decent thickness of mat ? - yoga mats tend to be quite thin, whereas the mats we use are mebbe 15mm+. Putting a firm foam block under your knee(s) may help too, but keep your toes/foot on the floor (or not, if you want to work harder to keep stable)
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I often drip sweat when I do pilates but I'm a sweat monster anyway and it doesn't take much for me to start sweating.
Though it has to be said that those ladies do like their heating on.
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Tonight, I touched my toes. :D
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Fantastic! :thumbsup:
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(http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/229683649715916341_96s9VfRU_b.jpg)
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Mrs. Wow says "That's a highly appropriate image!"
I say "Git!"
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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 intention ::-), I do fond find ::-) myself being quite tired after a class, later in the day. I suppose one is working quite large muscle groups, some of which don't see a lot of action in my case. I definitely feel that it is already helping me on the bike.
Minor annoyance - background music can sometimes be a little loud so that hearing the instructor is more of a strain that it needs to be. Might make mention of it next time.
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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..
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Mrs. Wow says "That's a highly appropriate image!"
I say "Git!"
Well he does seem to be a favourite character you mention frequently. ;D
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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.
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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.
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I think I overdid it with the hip circles tonight. I'm expecting to need to use my stick tomorrow. :facepalm:
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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?
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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.
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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. >:( ::-) :facepalm: