PILATES LOVE

We are not in love with sports. We said it! It’s hard to admit something like this in an era where building your body  is more important than many other things. Young girls are obsessed with fitness and they spend hours a day at the fitness studio. It’s trending! And it’s bigger and bigger every day. But the main idea is that sports is important. And a body with tonus is beautiful and especially after a certain age exercise becomes a MUST. It took us quite a while to find something to like and do with pleasure.

We are not gym fans, we don’t really like to run, we are not good at kangoo jumps and aerobic is just not our thing. Yes…We are complicated. It took us a long while to discover that there is a certain type of sports that we like and love to do, that is hard, but efficient. A friend told us about it and showed us on Instagram some videos, but when we meet Luminita from Attitude Pilates Studio and she explained and shown us how is Pilates Reformer we had to try it. And yes it’s pilates, but not the simple pilates, but #pilatesreformer. It’s not an easy pilates, but it’s efficient and the most important thing is that we do correct every exercise, we don’t force our backs and we breath like we should (this has always been a problem while doin exercises).  So if you like what you see and wanna try, we recommend the place where we do it because of the people that work here and because of the working space that it’s amazing. Light, nature and relaxation. It’s like a yoga class but with hard work. And it is called Attitude Pilates Studio. Enjoy!

SINGLE LEG KNEE STRETCH

START POSITION
Stand with one leg on the floor beside the Reformer and the opposite foot on the closest shoulder rest. Place both hands on the footbar in line with the shoulders.

EXERCISE SEQUENCE
Place the standing leg slightly behind the pelvis in a lunge position. Maintain a long, flat back with the head in line with the spine.
Exhale and press the carriage away from the stoppers while maintaining the position of the back and head.
Inhale to bring the carriage back in almost to the stoppers

KNEE STRETCH KNEES OFF-JACKRABBIT

STARTING POSITION
Kneel on the Reformer facing the footbar with the feet against the shoulder rests and the hands on the footbar. Maintain a long , neutral back with the head in line with the spine. Lift the knees off the carriage.

MOVEMENT SEQUENCE
Exhale : Engage the abdominals and press the carriage away while maintaining a flat back. Keep the knees as close to the carriage as possible to increase the challenge. Keep the shoulders and upper body in the same position throughout the exercise.
Inhale : Flex the hips to return the carriage to the starting position. Don’t bang the carriage into the stoppers.

PURPOSE
Strengthen quadriceps , hamstrings and gluteals.
Strengthen abdominals .
Strengthen the shoulder including the serratus anterior, lower trapezius, pectoralis major , rotator cuff, triceps and anterior deltoid.
Increase pelvic stability.
Increase scapular stability.
SLIDE APART, FACING FOOTBAR

STARTING POSITION
Step on the standing platform first, then place the heel on the platform and the opposite leg on the sholder support. Keep your arms on the footbar at the same level with your shoulders.

MOVEMENT SEQUENCE
Inhale as slide apart and press the carriage out.
Exhale to bring the carriage in without banging into the stopper

PURPOSE
Improve balance
Stretch anterior hip including psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris and Sartorius.
Strenghthen the torso including the abdominals, erector spinae and gluteus maximus
STANDING

STARTING POSITION
The mount the Reformer , step on the standing platform first , then step onto the carriage. Begin with equal weight on both feet and the torso centered over the legs.

EXERCISE SEQUENCE
Inhale , line the torso up over the feet and press the carriage out. Depending on the variation , the torso will remain evenly balanced between both legs or the weight will stay over one leg as the other leg moves.
Exhale to bring the carriage in without banging into the stopper.

PURPOSE
Strengthen leg and hip muscles including adductors, abductors and external rotation of hips along with quadriceps and hamstrings.
Improve balance .
Improve standing posture.

ARM WORK – FACING STRAPS

STARTING POSITION
Sit facing the straps with the torso lined up over the sit bones and the straps or handles in the hands. Adjust the straps so there is a small amount of tension on the ropes to begin the exercise. Hold one strap in each hand

EXERCISE SEQUENCE
Exhale. Rotate the torso to the right as you pull the right strap back , keeping the elbow into the body. Reach the left arm forward as the torso twists back to increase the rotation.
Inhale and return the arm to the starting position with control. Repeat to the other side.

D&A
Visuals: Tibi Vintur
Location: Attitude Pilates Studio

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