Have you ever attended a Pilates class and said afterwards, “I didn’t feel a thing” or “What’s the point?”
Most people want the burn or the heart-pounding-I’m-gonna-die workout. If people don’t get the burn right away, they quickly move on and never return to take another Pilates class. (And what a shame that is.)
What they don’t realize is that, without a doubt, Pilates can make your heart leap out of your chest! The key: You have to learn to use the smaller muscles, not just the larger ones!
If you’re constantly moving from your larger muscle groups, you will feel nothing. Everything will seem easy, disconnected, and boring. Your musculature will never change, and you will most likely overdevelop those larger muscle groups, possibly leading to an injury or chronic pain.
What I know for sure and have experienced in my own body is, you have to change your movement patterns – period! That’s what Pilates gives you in the beginning.
You have to be patient with this form of exercise until you learn to move efficiently, which means using all the muscle groups, and not only the larger ones. Once you learn the fundamentals and your body restructures or rewires its movement patterns, you’ll get that heart-pounding-like-no-other feeling. (Just you wait and see! In Pilates, we call it an internal shower, and it’s addictive!
So be patient and kind with yourself in the beginning. You will get there, I promise!
Just remember: Patience is a virtue.
Check out Dana Fykerud on her blog, “The Lift Girl” at www.liftgirlpilates.com. Lift Pilates Studio Inc. is located at 706 Market St. Call 425-533-3529.
