When you first see a pilates reformer, you could be forgiven for thinking it looks as though it was built for torture, rather than exercise. But don’t think of it as something that will cause you pain – in fact, it might end up preventing future pain, by giving you added strength and flexibility.
Pilates, as an exercise system, has gained a lot of attention for producing long, lean muscles that so many people want. But the core of the philosophy, if you’ll forgive the pun, is strengthening the “powerhouse” muscles – the abs, lower back, hips and glutes. And that’s exactly where the reformer can help make the biggest difference.
While it’s true that you can practice pilates on an exercise mat, the reformer gives you added resistance to work against as you build your strength. A reformer essentially consists of a frame, inside of which is a padded platform for you to sit on. The platform can glide back and forth, but the frame is also equipped with springs, a foot bar and straps that you’ll use to push, pull and create resistance.
Because these are expensive pieces of equipment and can be complicated to use, it’s a great idea to take pilates reformer classes. Not only will you learn the most effective ways to use the reformer, giving you the best results, but a certified pilates instructor can ensure that you’re working your way through the exercises safely.
There’s also an advantage in working with a trainer in private pilates classes. One-on-one sessions can help you specifically address your needs and goals, which is particularly helpful when you’re trying to overcome injury or take your athletic skills to a higher level. Studio U offers a variety of options for pilates reformer classes, so you can find the class that’s right for you.
The Twin Cities metro has earned a national reputation as one of the best places to enjoy bicycling. As the cities have developed biking infrastructure and moved to support bicyclists with new lane designations and even bicycle boulevards, the sport is gaining even more popularity.
If you’ve ever thought about commuting to work by bike, or if you’re just looking forward to hitting the trails on weekends, it’s important to prepare your body for the very thorough workout that biking will give you.
Now that the biking season’s arrived (or warmed up, for those who brave the winter winds), take your biking to the next level with these tips.
Get your muscles ready. Doing exercise that conditions the muscle groups used during biking is a great way to get your biking season started. Focus on calves and hamstrings as well as hip flexor flexibility. Strengthening your postural muscles and core is essential to support your spine in a bent-over position.
Consider clips and cages for your pedals. When you push and pull through your pedaling stroke, you’ll be moving more efficiently. Add clips or cages to facilitate equal work during the push and the pull motions. Give yourself time to get used to clips and cages if you’ve never used them before.
Find out how you can be a better biker. Seeing a physical therapist or a personal trainer can give you insight into bad habits you’ve formed and how to correct them so that you can bike comfortably and safely. One-on-one personal training gives you more opportunities to address your unique needs, but group training is also an option.
Studio U’s personal trainers and physical therapists can help you get ready for the biking season, whether you’re pursuing top performance or simply a pain-free leisure ride.
If you’ve ever had a golf injury, you know that you might get teased for it – plenty of people who don’t play see it as a leisurely game in which it’s impossible to get hurt. But for those who know birdies from bogies, a golf injury is a serious thing that can put an end to the season. That’s why it’s important to prime your body and maintain it throughout the coming months.
Follow these tips as you prepare for your foray on the course:
Work the right areas. Focus on hip rotator flexibility, core strength and postural muscles. Your core will help you to drive the ball, adding extra power to your swing. Exercising the postural muscles helps to decrease excess work in the shoulders, which is a fairly common habit among golfers.
Don’t overestimate your fitness. Think you can start off where you stopped last summer? Think again. Jumping back into your golfing routine at full force is almost asking for trouble. Start out with shorter rounds, or just trips to the range, to get your body warmed up again. And don’t worry – you’ll be back to playing 18 holes in due time, as long as you don’t rush it and cause an injury.
Start from the ground up – literally. Focus on connecting with the ground – distributing your weight across your entire feet so that you have real stability. The ground is the only stable point you have to move away from – use it as a springboard of sorts to power your movement as you swing and connect with the ball.
Get a little guidance.One-on-one personal training is a great way to address your unique physiology and those bad habits – and we all have them. If you’ve had injuries in the past, physical therapy training can get you safely back in the game. Adding classes like CoreAlign and Pilates reformer can help you learn how to work away from the ground to create added power, while Power Plate can increase flexibility.
Even after a very mild winter, spring sunshine and warmer temperatures are downright irresistible. The urge to get outside is as strong as ever, and everyone is looking for a good excuse to be outdoors. Naturally, the opportunity to exercise outside is one that most of us want to capitalize on, but jumping back into a routine just because the sun is shining isn’t the best strategy.
The combination of feeling out of shape after winter and eagerness to start a new routine can tempt you into pushing yourself hard right away. Though the temptation to challenge yourself is strong, so is the possibility that you’ll over-do it and end up with an injury that could put a damper on your plans for spring and summer activities.
Taking a gradual approach is always the smartest idea, whether you want to increase your activity level or try a new fitness routine. However, knowing where to start and how to incrementally raise the intensity of your workout can be difficult. By working with a personal trainer, you can get customized advice that’s right for you and your body – and you can get it whether you choose one-on-one personal training or group personal training.
Working with a professional – either a personal trainer or a physical therapist – is even more important if you have been recovering from a past injury. Either can help you focus your efforts in a way that will both keep your recovery on track and allow you to work toward your new fitness goals. Studio U offers both personal training and physical therapy options that will help get you ready for a healthy return to outdoor activity.
So you followed Mom’s advice and resisted the urge to go off and join the circus – but doesn’t swinging through the air still sound like a lot of fun? For those who might have harbored dreams of being part of a flying trapeze act, you can get a taste of that thrill, all while getting a good workout, by trying out aerialates.
Aerialates is the meeting point of pilates and the aerial arts, in which you use pilates techniques while suspended, using trapeze or fabric bands for support, the way circus performers would. When you consider that Joseph Pilates, founder of the Pilates method, was an acrobat and circus performer, it makes sense that aerialates would be the next step beyond pilates.
What’s surprising about aerialates is that it can be done by virtually anyone. It might sound extreme, but people of all ages and fitness levels have started from scratch and found benefits – as have people of higher fitness levels.
However, if you’ve never tried aerialates before, it’s important that you work with one of Studio U’s trainers to get started the right way. You won’t be able to jump right into the most impressive moves, but instead, you’ll begin work on a process that builds strength and coordination gradually and safely. With a little patience and some satisfying aerial workouts, you’ll work your way up to more challenging exercises that will satisfy your inner circus performer.
When you first think of kickboxing, you might picture muscle-bound extreme fighters. But look a little deeper and you’ll find a fun exercise that’s tough to beat, when it comes to working multiple muscle groups.
Kickboxing, in many different forms, is popular all over the world and has been for ages, but kickboxing fitness training is a relatively recent development. The sport combines elements of karate and other martial arts with traditional boxing techniques, all of which encourage the development of agile muscles, balance and strength.
Kickboxing appeals to a lot of people because, when done correctly, it burns calories at a fast rate and works the shoulders, arms, core, thighs and glutes, all at once. However, going it alone isn’t the best approach.
By going to kickboxing classes with an instructor or trainer, you’ll be getting the most benefit out of the exercise. A trainer can set up a cardio kickboxing routine that maximizes the aerobic quality of the workout. It’s also important to remember that not just any old kick or punch will do. A kickboxing personal trainer can show you the most effective and safest way to move through the workout so that you’ll get the best results while minimizing the risk of injury.
And it’s not just for men; kickboxing for women has grown greatly in popularity. But no matter who you are, it’s worth looking into aerobic kickboxing to get a high-energy workout that burns calories, builds strength and relieves stress. Contact Studio U for more information about upcoming kickboxing classes.
It might sound like an indulgence, but in truth, having a personal trainer can be the make-or-break factor when it comes to reaching your fitness goals. And considering the costs that go into failed fitness routines, a trainer can actually provide better value by helping you avoid mistakes.
A personal trainer can provide assistance in many situations, both by laying out a plan to achieve your goals and by helping you work through your program, tracking your progress and encouraging you. It’s also important to remember that it’s possible to find both one-on-one and group personal training – check with Studio U to find out more details.
If you’re in any of these situations, consider why having a personal trainer on your side could make a real difference.
Recovering from an injury. Once you’ve been through an injury, it’s only natural for you to be cautious – the last thing you want is to end up hurt again. However, knowing when to push forward and when to back off is difficult to understand on your own. A personal trainer who is well versed in physical therapy has the knowledge to help you safely bring your body back into shape without risking re-injury.
For weight loss. Losing weight is inherently challenging, and the pressure to simply get the pounds off might lead to making some unhealthy decisions. If your goal is to get to a healthy weight, it’s important to take a healthy approach. A personal trainer can help guide you through a program that safely and effectively works toward your goal and helps you maintain the results you achieve.
For building general fitness. If you’re a fit and active person, it might seem logical to think that a personal trainer wouldn’t be able to help you. But because fitness is progressive, it’s important to have someone show you the best ways to further develop your abilities and work toward the next level of fitness – and a trainer can do just that.
If you’re just getting started with pilates, you’ll soon find out that a range of exercises fall within that broader method. And if you’ve been at it for a while, you’re likely curious about how you can expand your repertoire to continue building on the strength you’ve established. In either case, you’ll want to know about CoreAlign.
CoreAlign is a device that fits seamlessly into a pilates exercise plan. The CoreAlign machine is composed of a frame with two tracks; on each track, there is a moving platform – one for the left side of your body and the other for the right. It’s commonly used in tandem with a ladder or other frame that allows you to grab on for counterbalance.
CoreAlign training is perfect for working on developing good, upright posture while also developing balance and core strength. It was developed by physical therapist Jonathan Hoffman to help those recovering from injury as well as those seeking a workout that will fine-tune their athletic abilities.
The dual capability of the CoreAlign makes it a versatile addition for clients at Studio U. Whether you’re training with a physical therapist to overcome an injury or seeking a core-strengthening exercise for better performance, it can be a great addition to your routine.
Pilates – you’ve heard celebrities mention it a thousand times, read about the results it produces and probably have seen DVDs at the store, just waiting to be taken home and tried out. But for those who don’t know where to begin, it’s important to get to know pilates a bit better before jumping right in.
The pilates fitness method owes its name to its developer, Joseph Pilates. In the early 20th century, he developed the system to strengthen the body, and it was enthusiastically taken up by a small group, many of whom were dancers who benefitted from its emphasis on core strength, flexibility and flowing movements.
Fittingly, the “powerhouse” is at the center of the pilates ideology. This term refers to your core, the muscular center from which your pilates movements should originate, including your abs, lower back muscles, hip muscles and glutes, among others. That fundamental idea is one that runs through all pilates exercises, and it’s the first thing anyone interested in pilates should learn.
A full-fledged pilates routine involves working on a number of exercise apparatuses developed by Joseph Pilates. And since those machines cost thousands of dollars and take up quite a bit of room, it makes sense to start by going to pilates classes aimed at beginners. Not only will you have access to a complete workout that you can’t quite get at home, having a trained pilates instructor will make sure that you’re doing the exercises safely and effectively. Studio U offers private pilates classes with personal trainers and physical therapists as well as group classes.
In the never-ending quest to find new ways to work our bodies into better condition, new exercise methods are constantly in development. But sometimes, those innovations have a long background.
Take TRX, for example. The unique suspension training system that’s been getting more attention was fully developed in the Navy Seals, but some of the ideas related to it stretch back to rope training that’s been around for centuries. However, because of the demand for finely-tuned athleticism in the SEALS, it was developed into a workout that’s ideal for building strength and agility.
So, what exactly does TRX involve? The program is based around using straps with handles to harness your body weight and use it as resistance, building your core, muscular strength and overall endurance. TRX workouts can vary quite a bit and even be specialized to maximize performance for specific sports like golf or soccer.
TRX exercises can be adapted for beginner, intermediate or advanced workouts, but to make sure that you’re not pushing yourself beyond a healthy limit and working within your body’s current abilities, it’s a good idea to work with a personal trainer. If you want to combine physical therapy and TRX, it’s important that you work with a professional who can guide you through an appropriate program. Studio U’s trainers and therapists can help get you started with TRX, or, if you’re already a fan, they can guide you through new, advanced TRX exercise that will get you into top physical form.
When you first see a pilates reformer, you could be forgiven for thinking it looks as though it was built for torture, rather than exercise. But don’t think of it as something that will cause you pain – in fact, it might end up preventing future pain, by giving you added strength and flexibility.
If you’re just getting started with pilates, you’ll soon find out that a range of exercises fall within that broader method. And if you’ve been at it for a while, you’re likely curious about how you can expand your repertoire to continue building on the strength you’ve established. In either case, you’ll want to know about CoreAlign.
Pilates – you’ve heard celebrities mention it a thousand times, read about the results it produces and probably have seen DVDs at the store, just waiting to be taken home and tried out. But for those who don’t know where to begin, it’s important to get to know pilates a bit better before jumping right in.
In the never-ending quest to find new ways to work our bodies into better condition, new exercise methods are constantly in development. But sometimes, those innovations have a long background.