The benefits of pilates for men
If it’s crossed your mind that you might be the only man in your pilates class, then think again!
With the likes of Andy Murray, the All Blacks and Tiger Woods all using pilates as part of their training, there has been a definite rise in the number of men attending pilates classes and the benefits for them are huge.
So why should men do Pilates?
There are so many benefits for men who practice pilates that you are certain to find something that you’d like to work on … here are three great reasons to find a pilates class near you:
- Increased flexibility – stretch out tight muscles and improve the movement in your joints. From putting on your socks in the morning to getting out of your chair at lunchtime, improved flexibility makes every movement in your day to day life feel more comfortable.
- Increased strength – precise, focused movements help you to increase your core strength and general fitness. Whether you are a runner or lift weights, these deep muscles are often neglected. It’s not all about the abdominals either … good core strength is achieved by developing the muscles around the hips, pelvis, lower back and abdominals, so they work together well and each take up their fair share of the load. You’ll be able to lift more and perform better, with fewer injuries.
- Reduced stress and better mental focus – there’s no time to think about the stresses of everyday life during a pilates class. The breathing patterns and steady, structured pace of a pilates workout means you have to think about what you are doing to achieve good form. You’ll leave feeling physically tired, but mentally refreshed!
So whatever your reason for starting, Pilates is a great way for men to exercise and contrary to popular belief, we don’t insist you wear lycra. Unless of course you want to.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions,
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Why does my hip click and how can I stop it from happening?
If you listen closely during a Pilates class you might hear a faint ‘pop’ or ‘click’ every now and again. This noise is most likely coming from someone’s hip.
It’s very common to find that one of your hips clicks or pops with certain movements, particularly when you are lowering your leg from a raised position.
The medical term for this problem is ‘snapping hip syndrome’ and although it can be disconcerting, there’s usually nothing to worry about. Your hip isn’t dislocating and you’re not causing any immediate damage. That said, it’s not a good idea to repeatedly cause your hip to click as this might cause irritation of the tendons around your hip and some soreness.
What causes clicking or popping hips?
There are a number of reasons why people experience this problem. For some people the shape of the ball and socket of their hip joint on one side is slightly different to the other. For others there might be some normal, age-related change within one or both of their hips, affecting the way the joints move. People with excessive flexibility (hypermobility) experience clicking in their joints due to a lack of muscle control around their hips.
In our experience, whatever the underlying cause, improving the strength of you buttock muscles (glutes) muscles will often help to reduce the click.
What exercises are best for snapping hip syndrome?
In the short term, if you attend a Pilates class, try to stop the leg movement just before your hip clicks instead of pushing through the full move.
Try these three moves to strengthen your glutes in the longer term:
Lie on your front over 2 pillows with your knee bent. Lift your thigh off the floor a couple of centimetres, without arching your lower back. Hold for 10 seconds then lower. Repeat to fatigue.
Side leg lift against a wall
Kneeling on all fours, take your tailbone and feet to the left and look around. Hold to stretch the right side of your body for 3 breathes and repeat to the right.
Back massage
Lie on your side with your leg bent underneath. Straighten your top leg in line with your body. Lift your leg upwards, then return. Try not to move the leg forwards as you lift it, the leg must stay back in line with your body. If you are unsure you can try doing it against a wall. Repeat 8 – 10 times.
Clam
Lie on your side with your knees bent to approximately 90 degrees, feet back in line with your bottom. Keeping your ankles together, lift your top knee up into the air then slowly lower back down and repeat. Only lift your knee as high as possible without rolling your pelvis backwards. Repeat 8 – 10 times.
Bridge
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet hip width apart and close to your bottom. Push down through your heels and lift your bottom up into the air. Hold for 5 seconds then lower again. Repeat 8 – 10 times.
Following these simple exercises regularly at home will strengthen your glutes and make it less likely theat you will pop and click during your pilates class!
Get in touch if you have any questions,
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Should you use heat or ice for pain?
It’s a very common question! Generally it’s recommended that heat works best on aching muscles and chronic pain and ice is applied to early injuries when the area is hot and swollen.
That said, it’s often down to personal preference because either or both might help. This blog post outlines some of the similarities and differences to help you to decide.
Thermotherapy (heat treatment)
If you experience some pain relief after a hot shower in the morning, then it’s likely that using a heat treatment during the day will be helpful to you.
Heat can be applied in many different ways. It could be a hot shower, a self-heating stick-on patch, a hot water bottle or a wheat bag. It doesn’t matter how you achieve the heat, as long as you don’t cause a burn (15 minutes is a good guide).
Heat therapy works by increasing blood flow to the area. The increased blood flow washes away any chemicals that have built up, relieving pain. Heat also helps improve flexibility in the muscles, tendons and ligaments (soft tissues) to relax tight muscles and make stiff joints move more comfortably.
This soothing effect lasts for a short period afterwards and it’s an ideal time to practice some gentle stretches and exercises.
If you have a fresh injury and the area is very hot and swollen, you should avoid putting heat directly onto the injury as this will increase the swelling and make the problem worse.
Cryotherapy (ice treatment)
Ice is often recommended when an injury is fresh, hot or swollen.
The cooling effect initially decreases blood flow. This helps limit bleeding within the tissues if it’s applied immediately after an injury. Ice should only be applied briefly at this stage – no longer than 5 minutes. Any longer and the opposite starts to happen – your blood flow actually increases, which isn’t helpful in the first few hours.
After 4-6 hours have passed, the bleeding within your tissues will have probably stopped. At this stage, then ice can be applied again to dull nerve activity and relieve pain. You can keep the ice pack on for up to 20 minutes (until the skin becomes pink). You can actually repeat this stage several times over the course of a day to relieve pain and excessive swelling.
If you are using an ice pack it’s best to use something that can be moulded to your skin, like a reusuable gel pack or bag of frozen peas.
Make sure you wrap your ice pack in a plastic bag or wet towel to prevent direct contact with your skin. Keep checking and as soon as the area feels numb or has turned pick, remove the pack to avoid an ice burn. If you need to ice your foot, ankle or hand you might find it easier placing some ice cubes in a bowl of cold water to immerse the whole area.
A few precautions…
There are some exceptions to the above advice, which is why it can be down to personal preference.
For example, some chronic back or neck conditions might be better relieved by using ice compared to heat. On the flipside, a swollen knee caused by a flare-up in osteoarthritis will sometimes respond better to heat than ice.
So the take-home message is that it’s fine to try heat or ice for pain relief and see which works best for you. But remember that timings are important whichever you use. If you are using heat then 15 minutes is a good guide and if you’re using ice, apply immediately after the injury for no longer than 5 minutes, then wait for between 4-6 hours and the apply for up to 20 minutes (you can repeat this second stage up to three times a day).
As always, please give us a call if you have any questions,
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Pilates for posture
There’s no such thing as the ‘perfect posture’ … no one set way that we as individuals should all be aiming to stand or sit that’s been scientifically proven to prevent pain.
Indeed, we are all different and just like having blue eyes or brown hair, some people are born with tight hamstrings or a larger curve in their lower back.
The internet and social media are full of exercise programmes to ‘fix your bad posture’. Well, if there are some things we can’t fundamentally change about our bodies, then how do they work?
I think their success is down to getting people to move their bodies more often through a range of different movements, rather than trying to force your body into the ‘perfect’ way to stand or sit.
Your body makes adaptive changes to make the positions you spend most time in feel more comfortable. So if you spend a lot of time slouched at a computer then your upper back, neck and shoulders can become so used to this posture that it may feel uncomfortable to move out of it. So exercises aiming to move the bits of your spine that feel stiff and stretch out the muscles that feel tight will be helpful in restoring comfortable movement in all directions again.
However, the effects of any exercise programme will be short lived unless you also address the cause and incorporate ways of changing position more frequently during the day to maintain the benefits.
Essentially the best posture is your next posture and what that means is your body was designed be on the move. Even if it was possible to establish a ‘perfect’ sitting position, you’re not designed to remain still for long periods of time.
Ideal pilates exercises if you work at a desk
Arm openings
- Lie on your side with your hips and knees stacked and both arms out stretched in from of you, palm to palm
- Tighten your pelvic floor muscles and deep abdominals to about 50% and breathe in to prepare
- Breathe out and turn your breastbone up towards the ceiling, allowing your arm to follow the movement
- Breathe in at the end of the movement and stretch through your chest.
- Breathe out to roll your breastbone back to midline, allowing your arm to follow the movement back again.
- Repeat 15 times on each side
Swan dive
- Lie on your front with your arms bent to 90 degrees
- Tighten your pelvic floor and lower abdominals slightly
- Breathe out and draw your shoulder blades back gently and hover your breastbone up off the floor
- Breathe in to lower again
- Repeat 8 -10 times
Dumb waiter
- Hold a resistance band between both hands
- Breathe out and draw your shoulder blades back to open your hands, pulling on the band
- Breathe in to relax
- Repeat 8 -10 times
Lie on your back and allow your pelvis to turn to one side, let your knees follow the movement and turn your head away. At the end of the movement your feet should be on top of each other.
None of these exercises should cause any pain but you should gently push the movements into a stretch sensation. Repeat the movements 5-6 times.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
How to use a foam roller and what exactly does it do?
It can be a love-hate thing but if you’ve tried self-massage using a foam roller before, you’re probably already convinced of the benefits.
Reduced muscle pain, increased flexibility and improved joint mobility can all be achieved using a foam roller and it’s not just for rehab after an injury either. You can foam roll before a workout to help warm up your muscles and after exercising or a run to reduce soreness.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying that I think it’s an essential piece of kit for anyone who takes part in sport or who exercises regularly.
What type of foam roller should I buy or avoid?
A high density foam, smooth roller is the best choice. Avoid gimmicky rollers with bumps and knobbly bits that don’t roll very smoothly. They can be more uncomfortable to use and don’t have any proven benefit over a smooth roller.
How does it work and should it hurt?
There are studies that demonstrate that foam rolling produces improvements in flexibility, pain relief and joint movement but there’s no definitive answer as to why. It’s thought that it may help by:
- Disrupting the nerves that transmit pain signals (like rubbing your leg when you walk into something)
- Increasing blood flow to flush out the chemicals that cause inflammation or pain
- Redistributing water to dehydrated muscles and the soft tissues wrapped around them (fascia)
- Releasing sore spots in your muscles (trigger points) and tight fascia. This is often referred to as ‘myofascial release’
Foam rolling isn’t always for the faint hearted. It can be uncomfortable but using a good technique means it shouldn’t be unbearable or a test of your tolerance of pain.
Essentially you are applying compression to your muscles and fascia by leaning on a roller and moving your body backward and forward over it, moving it along the ground.
I’ve seen lots of videos on YouTube of people working on foam rollers really rapidly but it’s much more effective (and comfortable) when applied slowly and in small sections along the muscle, using a moderate amount of pressure. When you find a sore spot, hold for a moment until it relaxes and then move on to the next section.
Where? … for how long? … and how often?
Lots of people are familiar with foam rolling exercises for the muscles around their hips and in their legs but you can use a foam roller to work on the muscles around your shoulders, upper back and neck too. Avoid foam rolling on your lower back. A tennis ball or spiked massage ball is more comfortable in this area of the spine.
Start with 30 seconds to a minute, rolling each muscle group and increase your pressure gradually … you shouldn’t be gritting your teeth. In fact, if it’s too painful over a specific area, work around it initially until it feels more comfortable. Build up to rolling each muscle for up to 1 minute, twice, with a break of 30 seconds in between.
If you are working on a specific pain or tight problem area, then I’d recommend foam rolling every 48 hours if tolerable. When the condition has resolved then I’d recommend foam rolling after training and on your rest days to maintain healthy muscle tissue. Three times per week is usually about the right level for most people but you can use a foam roller as often as you like as long, as you aren’t being too aggressive and causing pain.
A foam rolling exercise routine for your hips and legs
Most painful conditions affecting your legs will be helped by foam rolling your calf muscles, thigh muscles at the front (quads) and back (hamstrings), as well as the IT band and buttock muscles (glutes). So I’ve put together a programme that targets these muscles groups … just follow the instructions above to get the most out of it:
Calf rolling – support your weight through your arms and push and pull using your supporting leg.
Quads rolling – support your weight through both elbows and use your shoulders to push and pull.
Hamstring rolling – support your weight through both arms and push and pull with your supporting leg.
IT Band rolling – lean on one elbow and use your supporting leg and your shoulder to push and pull.
Glutes rolling – sit on the roller and cross one leg over the other (you can use your hand to hold it in place it you need to). Roll a few inches back and forward.
To sum up I highly recommend foam rolling to everyone … it’s affordable, easy to do and just two minutes applied to each area will improve flexibility, relieve pain and prevent injuries.
Get in touch if you have any questions and we’d be very happy to help you,
The Pilatesfit team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Healthy, pain free knees – best exercises and advice
Take care of your knees and they’ll help you get up off the floor, walk downstairs, balance on uneven ground and walk for miles without pain.
It’s not all about muscle strength either … in fact, that’s only one part of the picture.
Flexibility, good control of the way you move and balance are all equally important for fit, healthy knees. Here are a few of our favourite exercises to target these key issues and help you maintain your knees for life.
Quadriceps and glutes strengthening exercises
Bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Breathe out and lift up your hips. Hold for a breath in at the top and lower again slowly and with control. Repeat 10 times
Squats with ball
- Lean against a wall and place a ball between your knees, just above your knee joint.
- Breathe in to prepare.
- Breathe out and slide down the wall, bending your knees to squat
- Breathe in to hold for a moment and breathe out to rise again, repeat 10 times
Lateral band walk
- Tie a band around your knees, just below the knee joint.
- Tighten your abdominals and Hinge through your hips and bend your knees slightly into the squat position and hold.
- Breathe out and step sideways with one foot.
- Breathe in to follow it with the other.
- Breathe out to step back again and in to finish.
- Repeat 10 times without straightening up.
Stretches to improve flexibility
Hip flexor
- Place one knee on a rolled towel and the other out in front.
- Tuck your tailbone under and press forwards slightly to stretch the front of your hip
- Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times on each side.
Glutes
- Lie on your back and place one foot on the opposite knee
- Lift the leg underneath and reach through and around your underneath thigh to hold it with your hands and support the stretch
- Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times on each side.
Seated hamstring
- Sit with one leg straight out in front of you
- Hinge through your hips and keep your back straight as you lean forwards to stretch the back of your thigh.
- Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times on each side.
Quads stretch
- Lie on your side and bend your top knee.
- Take hold of your ankle or trousers and press forward through your hip to stretch the front of your thigh.
- Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times on each side.
Control
Single leg squat
- Stand on one leg.
- Keep your pelvis level as you bend your knee slightly.
- Focus on keeping your knee in line with your toes as it bends.
- Straighten again and repeat 10 times on each side with good control.
Tips: practice in front of a mirror first
Balance
Star excursion
- Stand on one leg and imagine the points of a star around your leg on the floor
- Reach along one of the points with your other leg. Move as far as you can with good balance and control then lift it back and repeat in each direction
A physiotherapist will be able to make adjustments to your programme to focus more specifically on the areas where you are weakest, so you get the most out of it!
Contact us if you have any questions
The Pilatesfit Team
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Strengthening exercises for healthy hips
Following on from our last blog post about the most effective stretches for your hips … this week we’re focusing on the best exercises to strengthen the muscles the support and control your hip movement.
Weak, buttock muscles can contribute to lots of different painful hip and leg conditions, so here are our favourite exercises to strengthen these muscles:
Clam
- Lie on your side with your hips slightly bent and your knees bent to 90 degrees.
- Press your top hip away slightly to lift your wait underneath away from the floor
- Breathe out to lift your top knee keeping your heels together
- Breathe in to lower again. Repeat 10 times each side.
Donkey kicks
- Lean on your elbows and knees. Tuck your tailbone under slightly so your spine is straight.
- Breathe out to tighten your abdominals and lift one leg out behind you with your knee bent
- Breathe in to lower, tap down through your knee and breathe out to lift again.
- Repeat 10 times on each side
Bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor
- Breathe out to curl your tailbone under and lift your spine up off the floor bone by bone
- Breathe in and open your hips at the top of the movement
- Breathe out to sink through your ribcage and melt down into your lower back, bringing your tailbone down last
- Repeat 10 times
I hope you enjoy them. When they start to feel a bit easier, you can tie a resistance band around your thighs (just above your knees) and work into the band to step up the challenge.
Get in touch if you have any questions,
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Stretch out for healthy hips!
Lots of painful conditions around the hips can be improved with an effective exercise programme to improve flexibility in your hips joints.
Try our healthy hips stretching routine … we’d recommend working on it at least three times per week.
Hold the stretches for at least 30 seconds on each side and complete the whole routine 5 times.
Tips: A mild – moderate level of stretch discomfort is normal but don’t push into sharp or persistent pain.
Buttock muscles (Glutes)
- Lie on your back and place one foot on the other knee.
- Lift the underneath leg and reach around your thigh to assist with your hands
- Pull in gently to stretch your buttock muscle
Inner thighs
- Lie on your back
- Place the soles of your feet together and allow your knees to fall apart
Spine twist
- Lie on your back with your knees bent
- Allow your pelvis to tip to one side and turn your head away to stretch through your spine
- Breathe in and hold for a beat
- Breathe out and roll back slowly moving your ribcage first, then your waist, hips and finally your knees as they follow the movement
Groin stretch
- Place a rolled up towel under one knee with the other leg out in front
- Tuck your tailbone under slightly and lean forwards until you feel a stretch at the front of your hip
Quadruped rocking
- Place a rolled up towel under both knees
- Rock back into your hips by pressing gently with your hands
- Stop when you feel your tailbone tucking underneath
As always, don’t hesitate to get in in touch if you have any questions
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Best exercises for shoulder pain
Our shoulder joints are specifically designed to allow an amazing range of movement. The drawback to this design is that they require a lot of support from the muscles around them to keep them healthy and pain free.
Lots of painful conditions around the shoulder are caused by sitting for long periods in the same position, often while using a computer. This allows the muscles around the front of your shoulder (which are often being used) to become tight and strong, whilst others around the back of your shoulder are underused and become weak.
Try these two moves to rebalance your shoulders and prevent shoulder pain from developing:
Shoulder blade press ups
- Kneel on all fours with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders
- Place a band around your shoulders and trap it under your hands
- Draw in your abdominals slightly and breathe in to prepare
- Breathe out to press the floor away with your hands so your ribcage is lifted slightly
- Breathe in to relax again keeping your elbows straight
Shoulder rotation with resistance band
- Hold the band between both hands, keeping your elbows tucked into your waist
- Breathe out to tighten your abdominals and move your hands apart pulling on the band
- Breathe in to relax
I hope you like these exercises but remember that it’s really important if you work at a desk to try to move as often as you can throughout the day. Even if you were able to be set up in the most perfect position, you’re still designed to be on the move!
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.
The Pilatesfit Team!
Call us on 01223 914415 to book a private class or book online for group classes.
Pilates exercises for neck pain
Neck pain is often accompanied by shoulder blade pain, tight muscles and headaches. So its not surprising that having an issue with your neck can impact significantly on your feeling of wellbeing.
Quite a number of the clients we see with neck pain have symptoms that can be attributed to accumulative strain on the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support the spine. This is often due to sitting for long periods which causes the postural muscles to become weaker.
For people with neck pain we normally recommend a postural strengthening programme targeting muscles that support the neck as well as the upper back. Here are a couple of our favourites:
Swan Dive
- Lie on your front with your hand resting under your forehead.
- Breathe out an hover your breastbone off the floor. Allow your head to follow the movement but withouy lifting (imagine holding a soft peach between your chin and chest).
- Hold for 5 seconds. Relax and repeat.
Breast stroke prep
- Lie on your front with your hands resting down by your side and your forehead resting on a folded towel.
- Breathe out to slide your shoulder blades down towards your hips you and float your arms off the mat to hip height. Keep your head resting on the mat. Hold for 5 seconds. Return and repeat.
The stronger your muscles, the better they can tolerate the stresses and strains of your working day.
As always, call us if you need any advice.
The Pilatesfit Team