Bodycenter Studios

By Melissa Noble
LMP, STOTT PILATES® Instructor and Instructor Trainer

You have been doing pilates faithfully, either going to class or doing a private once or more a week. Maybe you can’t afford to add another class or private, or maybe your schedule doesn’t allow for more than one trip a week to the studio. This is the perfect reason to have a home workout. Now before you lie down on the floor and start pumping away with your 100′s, there are a few things to consider and prepare for a comfortable and safe home workout. You don’t need fancy or expensive equipment to make a “home studio”. The minimum requirement is to have a good, thick mat to protect your spine while you do those lovely rolling through the back exercises pilates is famous for. Please don’t just use a yoga mat. These mats are made for yoga, not pilates, and do not have enough padding to protect your spine and sacrum. Spend a little more money to get a thicker mat. A physio ball and a TheraBand are inexpensive but very versatile. Other small and inexpensive pieces of equipment are a roller, mini ball or toning balls. You can purchase much of these at Target or sporting goods stores or you can find them online at STOTT PILATES and many other websites. Now you have your equipment, what do you do? Despite the fact that we repeat many of the same exercises week after week in a class or private lesson, it is harder than you think to remember them once you’re lying on the mat without the instructor telling you what to do. One strategy many people like is using a DVD, kind of a surrogate instructor. Don’t just order the cheapest DVD, you will get what you pay for. Go to a reputable site or ask your instructor for recommendations. STOTT PILATES has wide range of DVDs for many of the small pieces of equipment. Another idea is to ask your instructor to do a private with you and make a workout designed just for your body. This is great for many reasons, the main one being that a DVD may not address what your body needs. Or you may have an injury that prevents you from doing many of the exercises on a DVD. The instructor can design a workout just for you and make sure that you are doing it correctly. This also allows for you to progress as your body is ready and in the way that is best for you as an individual, unlike a DVD, which will have a set program. Whichever path you choose, you will notice that adding even one day a week more to your current workout will show results. Once you have the equipment and the workout, the only thing left is to actually do it. The best recommendation to achieve this, is to put your home workout times in your schedule like any other appointment. And like any other appointment, if you need to break it for some reason, try to re-schedule. Congratulations on opening your own home studio, now go for it!!

By Melissa Noble
LMP, STOTT PILATES® Instructor and Instructor Trainer

The definition of aerobic exercise is: constant moderate intensity work that uses up oxygen at a rate in which the cardio-respiratory system can replenish oxygen in the working muscles. Examples of such activity are running, riding a bike or swimming. To go into greater detail, there are ranges the heart rate should be in to get the work you need. One of the ways to figure this out is to use a formula like this one:

1. subtract your age from 220
2. take that amount times 60% (.60) and 85% (.85)

The resulting 2 numbers are your high and low aerobic heart rate ranges, which means to burn fat your activity must keep your heart rate in that range. While pilates can raise your heart rate some, it does not keep it in the aerobic range for most people. It can be a bit deceiving as pilates can feel very strenuous and difficult and some people even sweat a lot during a workout. However, pilates is a strength training workout and not aerobic activity. Pilates still burns calories though, so is a worthwhile activity. The level of pilates can determine how many calories you burn, for example, beginner level exercises will burn approximately 175 calories in an hour while intermediate level exercises takes it up to 254. Just for comparison, walking 2mph burns 160 calories, while running 8mph burns 864. To lose weight and burn fat, the calories you consume must be less than those you use. To keep the status quo, they should be the same. So if you are trying to lose weight, you will need to incorporate aerobic activity into you workouts in addition to pilates. The recommended amount of aerobic activity is 30-60 minutes, 3-4 times per week. Many people experience losing inches and that their clothes fit better after doing pilates, but will notice they don’t lose any weight on the scale. The muscle toning that pilates provides is a significant part of getting the shape you want. While looking the way you want is important, it’s also important to consider that it’s really good for your heart and overall health to get the recommended amount of aerobic activity.