Spring Break
Pilates: the workout that takes yoga up a level
Charlotte Young/Contributing Writer
Issue date: 3/9/08 Section: Health
Michael Wright, the owner of Body College Pilates, LLC, has trained over 2,000 students in the Pilates Method.
"Body College has been in business for over 10 years. When we first started, everyone was concerned about Pilates being a fad," he said. "I kept arguing that it was not. Why? Because Pilates works."
While many yoga studios concentrate on Pilates in a mat work out form, Body College takes Pilates off the mat and onto the apparatus.
"The mat work is really just using your own body weight. At Body College you start on the floor with the mat work," he said. "You eventually get up on your feet and do upright Pilates, then the machines give you advantage."
According to Wright, the machines help with posture and add extra challenge because they go beyond the body weight. It is also beneficial to those with injuries or issues with muscle imbalances.
"When you're on the machine you have mechanical advantage to choose which muscles you want to fire up," he said.
Though Wright believes that, "trying to learn Pilates from a video is like diagnosing yourself with a personality disorder," Body College Pilates allows students to bring in their Pilates or Exercise videos, so that an instructor may help them with the workout.
"Go at your own pace," Nichols gives as advice for beginning Pilates. "It is better to get the correct form on one repetition than not get it at all. Quality of movement rather than quantity. Breathe and have fun."
"Body College has been in business for over 10 years. When we first started, everyone was concerned about Pilates being a fad," he said. "I kept arguing that it was not. Why? Because Pilates works."
While many yoga studios concentrate on Pilates in a mat work out form, Body College takes Pilates off the mat and onto the apparatus.
"The mat work is really just using your own body weight. At Body College you start on the floor with the mat work," he said. "You eventually get up on your feet and do upright Pilates, then the machines give you advantage."
According to Wright, the machines help with posture and add extra challenge because they go beyond the body weight. It is also beneficial to those with injuries or issues with muscle imbalances.
"When you're on the machine you have mechanical advantage to choose which muscles you want to fire up," he said.
Though Wright believes that, "trying to learn Pilates from a video is like diagnosing yourself with a personality disorder," Body College Pilates allows students to bring in their Pilates or Exercise videos, so that an instructor may help them with the workout.
"Go at your own pace," Nichols gives as advice for beginning Pilates. "It is better to get the correct form on one repetition than not get it at all. Quality of movement rather than quantity. Breathe and have fun."
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