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Firehaus Pilates Studio

Pilates Fitness Studio in the Denver Highlands Neighboorhood

Exercise of the Week

MindBody

March MATness

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I either hear “MAT Pilates is easy, I want to take a Reformer class”  or “MAT Pilates is too hard for me!” We obviously need to clarify what MAT Pilates is all about!

Pilates as a whole is never too easy or too hard if you are connecting your mind, body and breathe together to do the movement. Yes, there may be some movements that are easier for you and harder for others depending on what’s going on with your body. Remember that the reformer, tower, chair and other apparatus are amazing and fancy pieces of equipment that provide you with resistance but they also assist you in a lot of areas. Give your body a different challenge without the assistance of the straps or springs!

MAT Pilates requires only one thing, yourself! It is great because you can take home what you learn in class without needing any of the fancy equipment. A lot of the MAT work exercises are original Joseph Pilates moves, the founder of Contrology or better known as Pilates! Joseph Pilates was a pioneer in his time. He believed that mental and physical health are interconnected and that eating healthy and getting sufficient sleep were essential for overall health. It feels kinda’ nice kickin’ it old school with JP! Some of those more classical Pilates exercises require you to work hard to stabilize your core, lengthen those muscles and control your pelvis. Oh yes, and don’t forget to breathe!

You will be in for an exercise routine that tones, strengthens, boosts mental health, improves posture, increases flexibility and focuses on your powerhouse – you know those really important muscles like your abs, pelvic floor musculature, hips and glutes. Remember, a strong core helps ward off back pain and makes daily chores more doable. A strong core is a must and not just for athletes!  For parents picking up their kids, runners, golfers and those who sit at a desk or in their car for long periods of time. When your core is strong, it serves as the center of power so your limbs don’t have to bear as much of the brunt of movement. Studies show that Pilates is effective in reducing pain and improving function in people with back pain. How amazing is Pilates?! We can tell you stories of how Pilates saved numerous people from having to have back surgery.

Don’t be intimidated by the classical MAT Pilates repertoire, At Firehaus Pilates we may switch it up and start with a different warm up then “the hundred” and end with some nice fluid, feel good movement that relax the nervous system. We will always keep the movements appropriate for your body and skill level while still providing you with a challenging workout. Thanks to the balance, focus and strength work in Pilates, you will always leave the MAT feeling strong, energized and de-stressed. Amen to that!

So, if you have you been layin’ all comfy on the Reformer, get yourself into a MAT class and see where that body weight work is at! It takes a lot of control and strength but remember that Pilates of any type is for Every-BODY. Just as we modify movements on the reformer or tower, we also modify on the MAT! I challenge you to take 1 MAT class per week for 1 month and feel the difference in your body, mind and bootay!

 

We offer a MAT Class every Wednesday night at 7pm – For March MATness we are offering a 4 Pack of MAT Classes for $50.00. We encourage you to use them consecutively!

 

Home Work!  Please feel free to take this exercise home with you along with anything else you learn in our classes!

The most commonly known Pilates MAT exercises is The Hundred:

 

Start lying on your back.

  • Bend your knees so the feet are flat on the floor. Place your arms straight beside your torso with  palms facing down.
  • Take a breath in and on the exhale draw your navel into your spine (narrowing your waist as if you were wearing a corset). Then slowly bring your legs up to a tabletop position (lift one leg at a time keeping your abdominals engaged, the knees will be bent at a 90-degree angle and form a 90 degrees angle with your hip joint).
  • Reaching with your arms, nod your chin and curl your torso to bring your head and neck off the floor. Beginning pumping your arms at your sides. Inhale for 5 beats, Exhale for 5 beats. Repeat this 10 times.
  • To advance the exercise – extend your legs to a straight leg position.

Special considerations:

  • Neck pain – Don’t work through it! You can perform all or part of the repetitions with the head on the MAT.
  • Back pain – This is an indication that there is too much load on your abdominals (i.e. they aren’t strong enough yet). Make the position smaller: If your legs are straight, put them in tabletop; If your legs are in tabletop, place the feet on the floor.

 

MindBody

Foam Rolling: The Best Kept Secret

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It is no secret that we are believers in the power of the foam roller. But have we converted you yet?

WHY SHOULD YOU FOAM ROLL?

Foam rolling is basically at-home deep tissue massage therapy as it relaxes and stretches muscles. By doing so it helps with correcting postural imbalances, improving faulty movement patterns, taking pressure off joints, easing muscle soreness, and keeping muscles at their original length. Foam rolling is just as important as stretching to keep you exercising many more years without injuries.

HOW IT WORKS

Foam rolling is also called Self Myofascial Release (SMR). SMR targets muscle knots, or myofascial trigger points, that are points where the muscle contracted too much either from prolonged use of the same muscle or a sudden, too strenuous movement that caused the muscle fibers to spasm. This restricts the flow of nutrients and blood into that part of the muscle, which prohibits the proper function of the muscle.

GETTING STARTED

You can find a wide range of foam rollers in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The most common rollers are white or black cylinders between 1’ and 3’ long. The white roller is made from a softer material than the black one, which results in a milder massage. Newer versions of foam rollers have gridlines or a bumpy surface for a stronger massage. You can also find myofascial release balls which allow for a more targeted massage of areas needing deeper pressure such as the gluteus muscles, calves, or for reaching into hard-to-get-to places such as the front of the hip. You can also find hand held SMR tools, like The Stick or smaller versions of foam rollers like the Trigger Point Quadballer. Most of these tools cost between $15.00 to $40.00.

By rolling on the SMR tools with your bodyweight, you push blood and nutrients back into the muscle knots and help them relax and release.

FOAM ROLLING GUIDELINES

Start off by rolling for just a few minutes and spend extra time on painful spots. The first time you foam roll it might be quite painful but it gets better quickly. If you ever had a deep tissue massage or a sports massage you know that you might experience discomfort during the massage but you will feel so much better afterward.

Give yourself a couple of days after your first session to assess for bruises and give the muscles time to recover. Some tenderness afterward is normal but you should never feel pain once off the foam roller. You can roll prior, during and after a workout for as little as a couple of minutes or as long as an hour or more depending on your needs and the amount of muscles that need to be addressed.

STILL NOT CONVINCED YOU NEED TO FOAM ROLL?

Think of your body as a Ferrari that needs regular oil changes to maintain its great performance. Foam rolling is your body’s oil change. Daily activity is enough to create muscle knots that can throw your body off. Foam rolling is a very inexpensive way to keep injuries away.

WHERE TO BUY

Don’t worry, you don’t have to look far to find a good-quality foam roller.  We keep rollers, knot-outs, and other essential Pilates tools in studio for our clients to take advantage of both in class and at home.

MindBody

Exercise of the Week!

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    Pilates Home Exercise from Firehaus Pilates Studio in Denver

Get fit in the comfort of your own home! This week starts the “Exercise of the Week” program here at Firehaus Pilates. All the home exercises in this weekly program can be done just on a basic mat, with or without small props. No worries if you don’t have some of the props, there will be modifications available to fit every home set-up.

This week we introduce Quadruped on the Roller:

This is a great full body exercise with a focus on shoulder strength and stability, core strength, transverse abdominus strength (for a nice flat tummy), and postural awareness.  The advanced variation adds leg extension, but just hovering the knees is adequate if leg extension is too challenging.  10 reps of this exercise and you’ll be shaking head to toe but feeling like you recruited all the “problem” areas of the body.  Helping you achieve buffed up arms and shoulders, and 6 pack abs.  Can’t ask for much more in 1 exercise! Click on the link below for the full exercise.

QUADRUPED ON THE FOAM ROLLER

*Modification for those without a foam roller: Starting in the same position, hands and knees or elbows and knees (if hands and knees is hard on the wrists). Lift and hover the knees off the floor just high enough to slide a piece of paper under the knees. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat!

Learn more about the foam roller in our Pilates classes.