Pilates hacks: 4 tips for a smooth start

Pilates is an increasingly popular, low-impact form of exercise, incorporating specific movement to improve strength, mobility and proprioception* (body ‘balance’ if you will). In the 1920s, a clever man by the name of Joseph Pilates created a form of the exercises that are now taught by instructors all over the world. Below is a quick list of questions to ask yourself before you take up this fantastic, yet often challenging, type of exercise!

1. What are your goals? Short term? Long term? This will determine what you WANT and GAIN from Pilates. Is this to compliment training for that triathlon? Do you want to be able to plank for 2 minutes or improve your push-ups? Whatever your goal, try and make it ‘SMART’. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and within a Timeframe (my next post will help with goal setting in this way!). For example, “I would like to complete 20 consecutive toe push-ups in 10 weeks.”

2. Are you in pain? Pain is the body’s warning sign. When our pain receptors or ‘nociceptors’ are switched on, the natural response is to stop what we’re doing. Presence of pain will impact how you practice Pilates and you should always inform your instructor if you have any current pain or pre-existing medical conditions. Listen to your body and STOP an exercise if it’s hurting your back or shoulder, for example. It makes me sad to hear that people are in pain from Pilates and that this puts them off – remember that if the exercise is painful, you can change it! Don’t be afraid to tell the instructor and they’ll give you a ‘regression’ (less difficult version). This is how you build up to the trickier stuff.

3. How often am I able to practice? The bottom line is, frequency of exercise will affect your results. But going back to the ‘SMART goal’ setting above, it depends what you want out of it! If you want real strength results, 3-4 times per week of a consistent exercise regime is ideal. Give your body enough of a chance to heal (and build new muscle tissue!), so don’t do it everyday if the session is heavy. For those new to exercise, perhaps twice a week for the first few weeks will help your body become accustomed to something new. If mobility is your aim (eg your mid-back or hip is stiff), everyday practice is a good idea.

4. What is your current fitness level? It’s important to find your ‘baseline’ in collaboration with your physio/instructor, as this determines how far they can push you in your first few sessions and helps to progress you towards your goals. If you start with exercises that are too difficult for you, you might hurt yourself and we obviously want to avoid that! For example, if you’ve just started squatting, you’re not going to load the rack up and try 70kg, are you?! I hope not! That’s the stuff physio nightmares are made of! In the same respect, if you do some exercises that you haven’t done before or in a long time, you’ll probably be a bit sore for the next couple of days! 48-72 hours after this type of exercise is the worst (see Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or ‘DOMS’ in a later post)!

*Proprioception: In this instance, this is the body’s innate ability to keep you on your feet, kind of a fancy word for balance. You don’t have to consciously think about the fact that your foot is going to support you on the floor, and that your foot/lower leg muscles around your ankle joint work to stop you from falling. Try standing on one leg (hold something if you’re worried you’ll fall), pay attention to your ankle and FEEL how hard it’s working to keep you standing, this is proprioception at work!