Pilates is Mindful Exercise
Nowadays, almost everyone from football players, to celebrities, to rehab clients and aging populations are looking to regain mobility see and feel the benefits of including a mindful type of workout in their exercise regime. Is mindful Pilates exercise right for you? Continue reading Pilates and the Concept of Mindfulness
Is Pilates good for Low Back Pain?
Often people ask me if Pilates is good for Low Back Pain. My answer is a resounding YES. But there are many important variables to consider. Not ALL Pilates exercises are great for ALL back pain sufferers because not all low back pain originates from the same structures. Your choice of Pilates exercises depends on specific individual variants. Read more to find your answers to “Is Pilates is good for your low back pain” Continue reading Is Pilates good for Low Back Pain?
People often ask when they book Pilates Classes, what is the appropriate level for me?
If you have never danced tango before, would you book into an intermediate class? NO, right? Same in Pilates. Pilates exercise was created by Joseph Pilates who was influenced by professional dancers, gymnasts and athletes. The repertoire is complex and requires mastering. Very few actually get to master the advanced repertoire. Continue reading Pilates Classes appropriate level for me
How can I choose the best Pilates Personal Trainer?
If you are looking for the best Pilates personal training experience here are a few tips that you need to know Continue reading How to Choose Your Pilates Personal Trainer?
Is Reformer Pilates Exercise for Back Pain Beneficial?
Yes, absolutely, it can be. However, One size doesn’t always fit all. Read more…
Improved core strength, improved posture, increased flexibility are widely advocated benefits of regularly practising Pilates reformer. These will help you improve and prevent bak pain. Pilates exercise is focused on your abdominal muscles, preferentially recruiting the deep ones. The goal is to retrain your muscles to fire when they are required, with the right amount of force at the right time in order to stabilise your spine. At the same time, maintaining your entire spine mobile. Remember, “You are only as old as your spine is” Joseph Pilates…
Intelligent Exercise. You have to think
Concentration is crucial to Pilates exercise! Mindful movement means that you have to be present in the moment without distractions and focus on the task in hand.
So if you are looking for exercises to fix your back without having to think about what you are doing, Pilates is not for you. If you are willing to put the effort and voluntarily learn how to recruit your muscles by concentrating and focusing on precision and learning anatomically how your body needs to work, Pilates is definitely for you. #intelligentpilates
Working from the Inside Out.
As with every rehabilitation programme, local stability means that the joints in your spine are preferentially recruited before calling on the big power producing ones. Deep stabilising muscles work close to the joint and need to work before targeting the big mobilising ones. Learn how to do this with our Pilates Exercise for Back Pain classes.
How Does the Spine Degenerate?
As we age and sometimes through injury, the spinal segments degenerate. Spinal Degeneration Happens when the spine is put through stresses that the discs are unable to withstand. Poor posture, sitting for prolonged periods slumping will speed up this process. A weak support system can cause also the spinal segments to shear, compress the discs and it’s contents. (annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulpous.
Compression of the discs cause small tears to appear on the outside portion of the disc (fibrillation). These tears heal with scar tissue. Scar tissue is weaker than the original architecture of the disc.
Overtime, the annulus and nucleus lose its water content, the disc loses height and the vertebral segments come closer to each other. This causes the facet joints in the back to overlap and twist into an unnatural position. In an attempt to stabilise the spine, the body creates bone spurs on the vertebral bodies and the facets. These spurs can cause pain, ache or discomfort as they lose their ability to move properly and may irritate the joint capsule as you move without support.
Pilates as Prevention For Further Damage
Pilates Exercise for Back Pain can help maintain your spinal segments mobile, strengthen your deep abdominal musculature in order to stabilise your spine as you move around in your daily activities.
Prevention is better than the treatment!
We Can Help
If you suffer from episodic mechanical, non-specific back pain, a Pilates programme may be beneficial for you.
Book now an assessment. We can diagnose, treat and help you get strong through Pilates exercise.
Blog written by Carlo Yanez
Registered Osteopath B.A.(Hons.), B.Ost.(Hons)
Fully certified STOTT PILATES® Instructor
Core Kensington Pilates Studio Relocates
We are on the move! Core Kensington’s Notting Hill location will be relocating. We have had a great 2.5 years, grown leaps and bounds and it’s all because of you, our great clients. Our last trading day at 110 Kensington Church Street will be Friday 24th of February. Thereafter, we will be offering the same fantastic group classes at a near location within walking distance. We will announce this location next week. Continue reading Core Kensington Pilates Studio Relocates
Continue reading Pilates for Pregnancy in Kensington & Chelsea
Super advanced Pilates for men
Do you think you are advanced because you can lift a heavy load, or you can hold a plank for 30 minutes?
Think again.
In this workout you will need strength, flexibility, endurance, control, precision, coordination and fluidity. Not easy!
We can challenge our super advanced Pilates clients with a variety of exercises. Pilates is not just for women. In this video have a look at this amazing video of our own Max Ziegler performing an incredibly challenging exercise we call “Jacknife into lower plank” Only for the super advanced. clients.
Continue reading Super advanced Pilates for men
Pilates Reformer gluteus workout
The Pilates Reformer offers numerous possibilities for gluteus activation and workouts.
What are the gluteus muscles?
Three muscles make up the gluteal muscle group. The deepest is the Gluteus minimus, overlapped by the Gluteus medius and finally, superficially covered by the Gluteus Maximus muscle.
Their actions are individually unique, but they work together in concert to stabilise and move the hip joint into extension. The deeper layers, the medius and minimus work to stabilise the hip joint, abduct the hip and assist in medial rotation, flexion and some fibres extension. So, side splits with tension is a great example of how these two muscles work.
The larger gluteus maximus forms what you can see as your buttocks. This muscle is a prime hip extensor and lateral rotator and assists in abduction as well.
Side splits on the reformer adding hip extension with a flex band resistance forces to engage all the fibres of the gluteal muscles, as the movement is abduction and hip extension.
By adding a posterior rotation/tilt of the hip along with the added resistance of the flex band encourages the hip to further extend to its end inner range of hip extension, thus adding a greater challenge for the client.
In this video, Side Splits is shown on the reformer from a neutral stance with an anterior to posterior pull to increase gluteus activation.
Additional cues are to tuck the tailbone underneath to increase a posterior rotation or tilt of the pelvis.
Various variations can be added to this exercise, such as Plie in, and Plie out or skating from the classical repertoire.
To find out how to do this, book into our of our group classes or schedule your Pilates personal session today.
Blog written by Carlo Yanez
Registered Osteopath B.A.(Hons.), B.Ost.(Hons)
Fully certified STOTT PILATES® Instructor
Pilates Classes Queensway London. Just 8 minute walk away from Queensway London
We offer Pilates Classes Queensway London and Pilates Personal Training sessions.
Our studio offers small classes. Only 5 participants per session.
Pilates Studio is open:
Mondays-Thursdays: 6:30am-9:00pm
Fridays: 6:30am-5:00pm
Saturdays: 9:00am-3:00pm
Sundays: 9am – 4pm
For after-hour trainings we will strive to accommodate any request.
See our weekly Pilates classes timetable.
We have a team of highly qualified experts in Pilates. Our team is trained in STOTT Pilates and classical method. We can accommodate special populations, such as pre and post natal, elder populations, people with back pain, knee pain, and other joint problems.
Our method is a contemporary approach to the original teachings of Joseph Pilates. This method incorporates new information in sports science, physical therapy, kinesiology, and it is anatomically based. However, it preserves the original exercises of the classical method.
Whether you are an elite athlete or someone recovering from an injury Pilates is an effective non-impact exercise that can be adapted for anyone.
Book online or on our app.
Please note that Personal Training sessions and group classes cancelled or rescheduled within 24 hours of the time booked will still be charged.
All Pilates classes are held at:
64 Porchester Road
W2 6ET
CORE KENSINGTON LTD
CALL US 020 7854 1934 -- Click here to find us on a map
© 2019 Core Kensington. Pilates Reformer Classes, Kensington, Holland Park, Hammersmith W14
