¶ Pilates Benefits, Plans, and Challenges
So you're thinking about running but not sure how to take the first step . My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help . Welcome to Brian's Rompod . Well , in the final part of my discussion with Lucy , we talk about how often do we have to go to feel the benefits . Also , we touch on what are our plans for the future . As she explains about the reformer .
Make sure you have a listen to the previous episodes of our chat . So , once a week , that's quite good . That's good enough , sort of thing you can build obviously you can do more times and maybe the old exercise during the week . But you feel that for someone who has a busy life , that's enough .
Yeah , I think it's realistic to say if you've got a busy life , if you've got a family , if you're working full time and if you're doing other things , if you're a runner or if you're cycling and you come once a week , that's a great start .
I would hope that people might get the bug and think actually I want to do this twice a week and , alternatively , we are at our welcome party , so we have an on-demand studio , because 55 minutes is quite a long time . It's a chunk of someone's day . They have to get there , they have to get back .
Obviously , we have got the online classes , but the on-demand studio gives an extra alternative . So we've got classes on there that are seven minutes long and classes that are full length classes .
So you can decide if you fancy it on the weekend or if you've come back from a run and you think , oh , I do want to do some kind of mobility , kind of stretching . There's lots of classes on there . You can go and filter them based on how much time you have , what kind of class you want to do , what level you are .
So if you are more advanced , there's an option for that and then you can pick a class and follow along with it . So if you are starting out and you can only commit to one class a week , you've got the option to add on as and when , kind of ad hoc .
Oh , okay , okay , these are videos which are on the website . Yeah , exactly , okay , all right , so that's probably , you would say , maybe a couple of times a week , two , three times a week . You would certainly feel those benefits in terms of additional training if you were doing running or to any , you know , aerobic or any exercise that you do .
Yeah , but even once a week you would notice the difference . I have people coming who do it once a week and they've told me how much they've noticed the difference . So don't me put off thinking you have to do it loads and loads it's more about the consistency . So , like I said , don't just go to one session and think you're going to be cured .
Pilates is magic , but it's not as good as that . You have to do it a few times to start to know , like anything in life You're not Harry . Potter , Not Harry Potter . No , nothing in life that's worthwhile is a quick fix , is it ?
Yeah , so I mean for a young person this day and age , and you've got your own company and you've got your own business . So what's the mission for Lucy going forward ?
Big question . I would love to have my own studio one day .
That is a big dream .
But for right now I am just looking to expand what I can currently offer my members , obviously always looking for new members as well , so if anyone's listening and wants to come , I'd love to have you . But yeah , so just putting on more classes I'm in the talks with hopefully holding a retreat next September .
Wow .
Yeah , so I've got a space in Italy not my space , but I've found a space in Italy that I'm hoping to do a retreat . That has been another dream that I've had for a while and was looking into doing it just before COVID and then obviously that didn't happen .
But it's the same place and I've been speaking to them and I recently met a really amazing yoga teacher and there's quite a lot of retreats that offer Pilates and yoga . It's quite nice to do a combination of the two and she's very similar to me .
We have very similar values , so we're hopefully going to be doing that next September and putting that on and giving people a nice four or five day retreat .
Are you yoga trained as well ?
No , I'm not yoga trained . So Alli the teacher , she would do the yoga part , I would do the Pilates . It's quite nice as well doing it with somebody else as your first one kind of takes a bit of the pressure off .
All right . So what are Lucy's values then ?
So well at Welcome Pilates . Definitely the inclusivity aspect . So I think my mission really is to get as many people as possible trying Pilates and , like I said , there are some misconceptions around it , so even just getting men to come to the class is quite a challenge .
Yeah , that's a really good point .
So , yeah , I think a lot of men think it's only for women and obviously I told you it was created by a man , so it's definitely not just for women . But I think , in today's society it does seem quite a women's exercise , so really trying to break down those stigmas . That it's not . You don't have to look a certain way to do it .
You don't have to have fancy leggings to do it . You don't yeah , you can just be yourself and come .
If you have thought about doing it , then this is Although I did see on your Facebook page you do have some men in . Yes , yeah , we do .
It's still more women . But we are getting more men and they do spread the word as well . I know I've got some friends who are teachers who do men-only classes Because I think it is quite daunting . I think Sometimes I've had some men come and they're just quite nervous to come .
They think they're going to be judged or they don't think they're going to be able to touch their toes and I say we don't need to touch your toes . I really strive to make the classes inclusive and non-judgmental space come exactly as you are . So inclusivity and what was the ? Adaptability . That was it .
So , like I said , I want people to come as they are and we can always adapt and exercise .
So if you are suffering with back pain or you have a sports injury or you haven't been doing fitness for a while and you're getting back into it , there's always ways round things and we try to teach the classes based on who's there and make it so that everyone comes and feels like they're getting a really tailored experience .
So we know , when people are coming , their reasons for coming . We ask them before they start and then we make sure that everyone is getting something personal . Even if it's not a one-to-one , they're actually going to benefit from the class and the final value , I think , is how I try to live . My life is fun .
We want the classes to be friendly and fun and welcoming . And exercise can be daunting , it can be scary to go to a class , so we try to keep them light-hearted . We try to have fun in them . We do think that we kind of have drinks at Christmas .
We like to be in the community .
We've done two summer solstice classes on Tuckin'am Green .
The weather's always held out , which has been great . Yeah , I did see that . I did see that on the Facebook page by the Pavilion .
Yeah , exactly so we did that this year and the year before and have a picnic after , and it's just nice for the members to meet each other . Obviously , there's a few classes , so you don't always cross over with everyone , so it's nice to bring everyone together .
And , yeah , the weather's been great the last two years , so it's just nice practicing outside as well .
From a bit left field but sort of thing . Let's say from what have been the challenges for you to setting this up , you know , in the last few years , because you said I mean you've been doing for about five years .
Yes , yeah .
So what would you say have been the kind of the main challenges and setting it up ?
I think when you start , or when I first started , when I decided to train , I think I thought it was going to be quite quick , the training .
Right .
And it actually took me two years to qualify fully , which is a good thing , and I'm very grateful for it now , because I think if I had qualified sooner , I would have been even more out of my depth .
Yeah .
But obviously when you first start it is challenging just to get clients to get classes . We're in London and it is competitive here .
Yeah .
And I think when you first start , you don't really have your own voice or your own style . So you're often trying to emulate and you're trying to please everyone in the room and you want everyone to get something out of the class .
But over time you start to find your own style and I think I now , having done it for five years , do have much more my own style and feel much more confident even just standing in front of a room and talking
¶ Pilates, Teaching, and the Reformer
to people . I wasn't a natural speaker Okay .
I wasn't a native speaker at school .
I know you've done a podcast , my first podcast . Thank you , brian . It wasn't as scary as I thought no , no , no , but yeah . So that was , that was the challenge . And then , obviously , just you know , keeping it afloat , knowing how to do your taxes , all that kind of stuff . Right , exactly , exactly . Yeah , things that you're not really taught at school .
Great , I wouldn't want to do any other job . It's an incredible job . Because you are your own boss , basically , yeah , my own boss , and helping people every day is really amazing , so and did you find it difficult getting other teachers ?
Because you have , I think , two other people who work with you .
Well , I have two other teachers at the moment . The good thing is so where I trained is body control Pilates , and they're very good at kind of keeping everyone Connected . So they have a Facebook group and they have a newsletter .
So whenever I've needed to bring teachers on or get caught cover , I'm able to utilize that and that way you know that the teachers are going to be a really good standard because they've gone through the Quite rigorous training as well . There's that's not to say body control Pilates is the only good training provider .
There's lots of good training providers , but there are some slightly less good ones or ones that are a little bit more Kind of a quick trainers , training providers .
So I'm always confident getting a teacher who's trained with body control , because I know that they're gonna Also have similar principles to me and always be teaching the person in front of them rather than and kind of some teacher .
You go to some classes where they'll do the class with you and not actually offer corrections or walk around and check Right doing it . So , yeah , often I mean I've been to gym classes where you have kind of 30 people in the room and it's impossible for the teachers .
Yes , around everyone .
So that's where we keep our classes quite small . We have a max of 12 just so we can get around people and even that sometimes trying to get around everyone .
Yeah , and and are you always looking to build on the education that you've had ? I ? Mean do you have to have to do that ?
Yeah , you do have to . Yes , you have to do a certain amount per year . Okay , which is great , I think , because obviously medical advice and things change all the time , so it's good to be kept up to date . Yeah , and there's loads of different training you can do .
I mean , you kind of think there's not not enough time to do all the things I want to do . But the reformer was something that I did and I qualified in last year , but yeah , so that was really good too .
And also , it's always good to go back to kind of when it all started and be back there , and the trainers there are incredible and they're so generous with their knowledge . Yeah , and you always learn stuff and it makes you a better teacher all round Around . It is a bit like driving a car . You kind of you pass your test and then you learn on the job .
Yeah , just going . I mean we , I mean we , as I said , we , we were , yeah , we did talk about quite a lot , but then talking about the reformer , so what ? Just explain to a Complete novice like myself ?
Yeah , what is ?
the reformer . And then how is it different to , let's say , from someone not using that equipment ?
Yeah , so the reformer is essentially a bed with springs Attached , so you have the carriage that you can lie on , you can sit on , you can stand on and that moves . And Generally with reformers there's five springs .
Yeah .
The heaviest spring is often a red , and then you have a half spring . Yeah yeah , quarter spring , so the spring tension Will . You can get whatever you need to out of the exercise and alter that Depending on what you want to get out of the exercise and the body then you're the person you're working with .
So again , I think people think , oh , you're gonna put it on the heaviest setting , it's gonna be the hardest . It would be really hard , but actually putting on the lighter setting can make it much more challenging . Okay , so essentially you can do the mat work exercises on the reformer to make them more challenging or to make them Easier .
For certain people the reformer is really good for rehabilitation . So if you had injuries . It's raised off the floor so it's much easier to get on and off . So , especially for older people . It's a really good way of getting them onto Interdueing parties .
You also have pulleys so you can do things like your curl up , but with the added resistance of the spring . Yeah okay , it's essentially parties with the resistance as well .
Okay , and would you say that you would ? It's , it's it makes parties or Would you say you're kind of trying to make it ? You know it's for someone who's more advanced would use a reformer or is it something that you know you can get away with doing pilates by just not using the reformer tool ?
Definitely yeah , but it's not something that you feel that is because it's a piece of equipment that it's felt is it something for someone who's done pilates for a while ?
No , it's not Like I said . You can advance the exercises on it . And if somebody wanted to add that resistance and they said you know I've been doing pilates for however long and I want , to add this on then definitely you can get that . But , like I said , it can also be for rehabilitation , so it can make some of the exercises more accessible for people .
It's a very versatile machine and it's growing in popularity , especially how it's done in the last few years . So lots of reformer studios are opening up Right and it is a great piece of equipment . So , yeah , I would say , definitely try it if you've done pilates , but you don't have to do it .
You don't have to . I think my point is is that you can get just as much out of pilates by just not doing it and using the matwork .
Yeah exactly , and the thing is , reformer is often much more expensive than the matwork , so matwork is much more accessible for most people and you can do matwork at home .
Yeah .
If you have a few thousand pounds to spend on a reformer to do it at home , then buy all these but most people are doing a thing to do , all the space for them , right .
Now , seeing as we I can't believe it , we just don't know . But for the first time on Brian's Runpoint we're going to do a Q&A session and it's a big shout out to my sister , irene O'Connell . And so she asks when doing pilates , use , exercise , when do you inhale and exhale ? And I think you kind of may be kind of touched on that earlier on .
Yes , so generally you would inhale to prepare for an exercise and generally you exhale on the harder part of the exercise .
Right .
And that's to do with your alignment and the breath and your centering , sorry so , as you breathe out you're increasing that intraabdominal pressure and that's going to mean that your core is kind of more switched on , ready to take the load of , say , your legs moving away from your body .
So that's general and , like I said , as long as you're breathing , it's fine ,
¶ Flabby Arms and Sore Lower Back Exercises
yeah .
And then she asks can she recommend any good exercises for flabby upper arms ? I mean ?
I've heard that one before .
You have heard that one before .
I have heard that one before . Yeah , I think I would always , you know , ask why somebody is worried about that . I do understand as a woman . It's .
Yeah , sure .
You know you have those certain pressures , but things like tricep presses it's going to help to strengthen and tone . Unfortunately , some , as we get older , there's some areas of the body which you know even .
Like men , it's , you know round .
Exactly yeah , and you know we .
The abdominals , that's right .
Yeah , I would say , you want to build confidence in your body so that you feel better . But , yeah , I think tricep presses if she wants to , yeah , yeah . Yeah , giving them a go .
And then the final one was and I think it's quite a good question is there's actually just a plantar exercise that's beneficial for a sore lower back ?
Yeah , that's another big one . People tend to come to class having suffered from lower back pain . So , like I said , moving your spine in all directions is really important . Things like One of my favourite exercises is the spine curl .
So lying on the floor with your knees bent and you want to make sure that a comfortable distance from your sit bones , and then you're going to roll your pelvis towards your head , slowly wheel your spine up to about the tips of the shoulders and then , as you come down , it's the same thing .
You want to try and bring every single bone down one at a time . So it's You're kind of getting a massage for the spine . You can even just do it the lower part .
So if it's really your lower back that's suffering , getting the lower part of your spine to mobilize , yeah , doing it gently , recruiting your abdominals to come up and come down and again , using that breath , so using the out breath , to lift the spine up .
So you're lying back on your line on the floor . Yeah with your legs bent , and then you're bringing the leg .
No , no , no you roll your pelvis so you'll feel your lower back press into the floor , and then you start to lift the hips and then lift each bone off , so you're all right in a bridge position Okay and then you roll the spine back down from the top all the way to the bottom Okay , that's neutral , so that one is really nice , and also hip rolls so you
can have the feet together . You could have the feet wide , same position as we just had , and think about your hips rolling to one side . You want to keep your shoulders glued to the floor so that you get that rotation , your lower spine , and then use the abdominals to come back and obviously do both sides .
Links on the show notes .
Great .
Yeah , yeah . So anyway , I think it's we've . Honestly , if you're not convinced about Going to Pilates classes , you never will be , but after this bit fun . But no , it's been wonderful talking to you , lucy . Um well , I just like to ask you is there anything , any links , you know , social media links or anything you'd like to add ?
Yeah , well , thank you so much for having me . I've really enjoyed this .
Oh good .
But yeah , so we're welcome dot Pilates on Instagram . We offer your first class free . So if anyone's in the area or if you want to try an online class , then if you go to our website , welcomeplatescom there's no dot in the middle of that one . Yeah , you can Sign up for a free class and there's no obligation .
Once you've done that , you can come and try us out , see if we're a good fit . And yeah , we're on Facebook as
¶ Promoting Pilates Worldwide
well . Welcome Pilates , and I think that's it really but it's been lovely to speak to you .
Oh , great , and just I mean in general , just give Pilates ago wherever you are in the world .
Yeah , exactly , and then I would say yeah , if you go to a class and it's not quite for you , try a different teacher , because there are lots of styles of Pilates . So yeah , my mission to get everyone to give it a go is right masses .
Thank you very much .
Thanks so much you .