Tag: Pilates reformer

If you are looking for great Pilates classes Notting Hill Gate W11, our boutique studio is just steps away from Notting Hill Gate station.

Bursting some Pilates Myths:1. Pilates is only for women? Pilates has never been “just for women” and its benefits are certainly not gender biased. After all, Pilates was developed by a man, Joseph Pilates, who from archive photos you can see was a very muscular, strong and fit man. He was a gymnast, a boxer, and a military trainer in his early years, and these same photos of Pilates even into his eighties, reveal a very strong physique. Men have always played an important role in maintaining the Pilates work and shaping its evolution. Many male celebrities and athletes break this myth such as Tiger Woods, Hugh Grant and the New Zealand All Blacks. Find out how Pilates can help your game in Pilates classes Notting Hill Gate W11.

2 Pilates & Yoga are the same thing?
Both disciplines are mindful forms of exercise. They both use breathing patterns to connect the mind to the body. However, there are quite different as football is to basketball. From a purely exercise perspective, these differences mainly have to do with how each discipline is practiced and what their primary goals are.
Primarily, Yoga is designed to facilitate serious contemplation. In other words, it tries to provide an integrated approach towards objective and transcendental knowledge. Stronger muscles, stress relief and improved circulation are essentially by-products of practicing Yoga.
Pilates on the other hand, primarily strengthens the body through focusing on the core stability muscles of our body to improve the way we function in our daily lives.
Yoga exercises themselves are typically static poses that are held for a period of time, say for one minute each for example. Pilates exercises are flowing and follow each other in a natural order. Advanced Pilates exercises are very athletic and were created for gymnasts and dancers.
A very important part of Yoga is the deep breathing that is done while holding each pose and while transitioning from one pose to the next. Breathing is also a very important part of performing Pilates exercises.
With Pilates, the breath is used more as a technique for providing the muscles with the energy they need to exercise effectively. Concentrating on the breathing technique throughout Pilates will help you to manage the quantity of oxygen coming into the body and travelling to the muscles to aid each exercise.
Pilates has only one basic style of breathing, deep ribcage breathing. The purpose of this style of breathing is to stabilise and protect our spine while we are in different positions by holding our abdominal muscles tight while still allowing us to take deep breaths.
Yoga, meanwhile, has many styles of breathing that are used for many different purposes.
Another difference between the breathing of Yoga and Pilates is that in Yoga, you use your nose to inhale and exhale while in Pilates, you inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. We offer Pilates classes Notting Hill Gate W11 that will allow you to see the difference between these two forms of exercise.

3. Pilates only works your abdominal muscles

Well, there is truth in this one that Pilates is a fix for flabby abs. Pilates is well-known for flattening tummies. The reason is that Pilates does focus on working from the core, especially the deeper abdominal muscles. Toning the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles provides stability and freedom of motion throughout the body. This is also one of the reasons that Pilates has been so successful for people who have back pain.
However, Pilates is much more than just an abdominal work out. If done correctly you can effectively tone and strengthen every major muscle in your body. Try Pilates classes Notting Hill Gate W11.

4. Pilates is easy.

As Pilates instructors we hear this myth often.
I think the idea that Pilates is easy comes from a few places. First, Pilates is very adaptable, it can be easy or very hard, depending on the needs of the individual. The ability to modify exercises for different populations is actually one of the greatest strengths of Pilates. Second, the soaring popularity of Pilates has meant that there are many beginner Pilates classes in practically every gym and studio around the country. This is a good thing, but it also means that people are not necessarily exposed to the intermediate and advanced levels of Pilates. Third, Pilates exercises are often done slowly. There is an emphasis on awareness and control that can make an exercise look easy to the casual observer.
Finally Pilates is popular during pregnancy so this can be perceived to the outsider as an easy exercise option. Of course we know this is not the case, it is just adapted to each individual.

Book your session today in our classes Notting Hill Gate W11, and find out how to strengthen your body,  look amazing and feel great with this mind-blowing type of exercise.