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Firehaus Pilates Studio

Pilates Fitness Studio in the Denver Highlands Neighboorhood

postural exercises

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.

MindBody

Pilates for a Computer-Based Society

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Written by Rachel Algra, Certified Pilates Instructor/Owner of Firehaus Pilates

The number of workers suffering from a repetitive stress injury or disorder (RSD) is on the rise — mostly because of the increased use of computers in the workplace. You may or may not be surprised to find that Wikipedia now has an entry entitled “Computer-induced medical problems,” described as “various problems a computer user can develop from prolonged and incorrect computer use.”  If this doesn’t seem too hard to believe, there was an article written in the U.K. recently entitled “I-pad Hand.”  The article looks at the rising number of complaints that doctors are receiving regarding pain in the arms and hands associated with increased usage of I-pods, I-pads and I-phones!  A sure sign that we are a computer based society.

Though there are many advantages to computer technology, there is a growing concern for the increase in work-related musculoskeletal disorders (or muscle pain and tightness) associated with prolonged computer use.  Nearly half of the U.S. currently uses a computer at work.  The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries published an article stating the top “work-related musculoskeletal disorders” consist of:

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (the compression of the median nerve in the wrist).
  • Epicondylitis (swelling of the tendon at the elbow).
  • Rotator cuff syndrome (swelling and tearing of the tendons around the shoulder).
  • Sciatic pain (pain radiating from the lower back to below the knee).

So how can Pilates help you avoid the aches and pains associated with our computer-based world?  The focus of a Pilates workout is posture and efficient movement.  Texting, typing and surfing the web, are activities that can result in postural “meltdown” (for lack of a better word)!  A forward head position, shoulders rounded, and a “slouched” or rounded back.  Each one of the above creates unnecessary stress on the muscles and underlying structure, causing overstretching to some muscles and tension in others!  Put all of them together and you are greatly increasing your risk for pain.

At Firehaus Pilates, we try to incorporate postural exercises into every workout, targeting the areas prone to stress from computer work.  Strengthening the upper back, stretching the pectoralis muscles and proper shoulder stability are a few areas we address first.  Most importantly, we educate our clients so they are more aware of their posture and give them tools to correct it on a daily basis.  Computers are definitely not going away, so learning to stay pain free while using them is incredibly important!  Add Pilates to your routine, your body will thank you!

Get started on correcting your posture NOW by following these 5 simple steps while sitting at your computer!

  1. Sit close to the edge of your seat with your feet flat on the floor
  2. Lift the chest as if to be lifted up towards the ceiling by your sternum, opening the shoulders, widening the collar bones
  3. GENTLY slide the shoulders down away from your ears (imagine you are sliding your shoulder blades down your back into your back pants pockets)
  4. Grow taller, lifting out of the top of your head – imagine the ceiling is slowly sinking and you have to press it back up with the top of your head
  5. Lastly, gently draw your belly button in towards your spine

*Test yourself throughout the day to see how long you can maintain this posture!

Pilates for a Computer-Based Society

*Get more answers to your questions about posture and pain associated with prolonged computer use at Firehaus Pilates located in Denver’s Highland / LoHi neighborhood www.firehauspilates.com