“Do Pilates because you love your body, not because you hate it.”
Jay Grimes
pilates x strength
Human Physiology: Strength training not only increases strength and muscle mass, but also has a positive effect on bone density and connective tissue. In addition, it reduces the risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease while promoting a healthier mindset and improving overall mental well-being. Maintaining bone density is crucial because strong bones support your body, protect vital organs and reduce the risk of fractures as you age.
Peak bone density is usually reached between 25-30 years of age. After about 35 bone mass gradually starts to decline, in women bone loss accelerates after menopause due to lower estrogen levels. Weak bones can lead to Osteopenia and Osteoporosis, increasing the risk of fractures especially in the hips, spine and wrists. These fractures can cause chronic pain, loss of mobility, reduced independence, and in older adults a higher risk of serious complications and disability.
Fascia: is a specialized web of connective tissue that surrounds and infuses every muscle, bone, nerve and organ in the body. Long dismissed and mere physiological wrapping paper, modern medical science recognizes fascia as a highly dynamic, sensory- rich organ system essential for moving fluidly and staying pain-free as you age.
The Pillars of Fascial Health: mobility, flexibility and longevity. Healthy Fascia allows different layers of muscle and tissue to slide over one another effortlessly, enabling full active range of motions in your joints. Fascia dictates passive stretch capacity; when it stiffens it acts like a tight straitjacket around your muscles regardless of how much you stretch the muscle themselves. Age-related stiffness is largely a story of Fascial Decline. Keeping Fascia healthy prevents the structural compression, joint wear and chronic pain that typically limit human lifespan and healthspan.
The “Aging” Fascia: Densification and Dehydration: As we age or experience physical inactivity Fascia undergo a process called densification. It is a viscous ‘gel’ state, sticky, dry and glued together. Random and chaotic cross-linking that binds tissues together and a rigid brittle grid requiring heavy muscular effort to move.
How to train Fascia for lifelong mobility: with varied multi-directional loading; linear movements like running or cycling condition Fascia in only one plane. Change angles by incorporating yoga, Pilates or agility work to stimulate a resilient, multi-directional collagen lattice. With slow, sustained stretching; muscular reflexes release within 30 seconds, but targeting the plastic deformation of fascial tissue requires slow, passive hold lasting 3-5 minutes. With sharing and hydration; Fascia cannot absorb water from drinking alone, it behaves like a sponge that must be compressed to squeeze out waste fluid. The use of foam rollers therefor or a dynamic movement to mechanically force fresh fluid and hyaluron back into the tissue matrices.
Fascia and Stress: Your nervous system and Fascia exists in a constant, two-way loop. Fascia contains up to six times more sensory nerve endings than muscle making it one of our richest sensory organs. When you experience mental or emotional stress your sympathetic nervous system signals the fascia to contract and tighten. Over time this chronic stress locks your body into a rigid, painful posture, while a stiff body loops back to signal danger to your brain. Here is how it goes down;
chronic mental/ emotional stress > Sympathetic Nervous System Activation (Fight-or-Flight) > Myofibroblast Cells Contract (Fascia tightens independently of muscles) > Restricted Tissue Glide & Compressed Sensory Nerves > Brain receives chronic pain and danger signals = Loop Repeats
5-minute Daily Fascial Mobilization Routine: Perform such movements slowly and focus on relaxed and continuous breathing to down-regulate your nervous system and melt the fascial matrix. We learn these movements in class or during an individual training, incorporate them into our sessions.
Fascia is responsible for graceful and pain-free movement and therefor longevity. Take good care of it with simple, easy-to-do home exercises!
Pilates on the mat
Mat Pilates is like in fitness when working solely with bodyweight, with the option to use occasionally free-weights like dumbells, to incorporate muscle work as well, versus Reformer Pilates which would be equal in fitness with working out using equipments. Both ways will bring you results yet training on the mat makes you work harder, requires more focus which is necessary for muscle-mind connection. Doing Pilates DOES require thinking, because the brain directs the motion and only this way we can work on stability and balance. Believe me, once you do Mat Pilates you never go back!
Joseph Pilates invented his movement method originally named ‘Contrology’ to overcome his own childhood illnesses and later to rehabilitate bedridden prisoners of war. He designed his method to transform weak, sickly bodies into resilient, perfectly balanced machines. He believed modern lifestyle caused poor posture and shallow breathing which ‘Contrology’ corrected through deliberate and mindful movements. Which is why a full mind-body control is the foundation of this method.
As to everything and all knowledge in life we collect and filter the most vital information possible and at times we combine these to shape a system to our needs and liking. This is how my 3-pillar-method was created. It is a well researched and practiced-until-perfection method to help you navigate with ease towards a healthier and happier body and mind!