Rivercity Pilates truly is “Couch Potato” Friendly

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Has it been awhile since you’ve taken an exercise class or worked out?  Would you consider yourself a “couch potato”? Does the thought of starting back to exercise scare you?  Do you worry about making a fool of yourself in class or feeling out of place?  One of the most common things we hear from new clients is,” I don’t know why I didn’t try this sooner!”.  And so if you are one of those people who has been contemplating coming in, but just hasn’t made the leap…this blog is for you!!

We understand there are a lot of “roadblocks” that keep people from scheduling that first session or class and so we made up a quick list of our top 5 reasons why we would consider Rivercity Pilates Couch Potato friendly(ie debunking those excuses you are telling yourself about why you haven’t come in yet!) .

  1. A Complimentary private session.  We know that starting a new exercise method and even just walking into the doors of a new “exercise” place can be scary! This is the number one reason we offer a complimentary private session for new clients.  We really believe that movement is for everyone and we find the best way to get started at a new place is with some time talking and working with a teacher who is focused on your individual needs.  If you’ve never worked one on one with a professional movement instructor you are in for a treat!  You’ll leave this session feeling welcome at the studio, having a better understanding of what the studio offers, have a better understanding of your own body and excited about the possibilities of movement in your life!
  2. A positive, encouraging atmosphere. Are you looking for people to connect with who want to lift you up, support you and help you reach your health goals without feeling like you are out of place or don’t belong?   At Rivercity Pilates it’s our mission to make everyone feel welcome and create an environment where you can be yourself, enjoy your movement time and walk out of our doors feeling better than when you walked in!
  3. Beginners don’t feel like beginners….really!!   You’ll never feel out of place or like a failure because you can’t do an exercise a teacher is instructing.  Our teachers automatically give variations and modifications to all exercises for where ever you are in your body.
  4. We work around injuries, aches and pains and even hip and knee replacements.  Have a chronic sore back, knees that ache or maybe a hip replacement?  Great!! We love to show our clients that you can still do safe, effective movement even when you have “stuff” going on in your body!  And I guarantee if you are in a group class you won’t feel singled out or weird because of it!
  5. Variety.  When you are trying to create a regular movement practice in your life we think it’s nice to be able try lots of different things to see what you enjoy the most!  We have a wide variety of Pilates, Yoga, Barre and Zumba on our schedule that gives you the chance to create a custom schedule based on your favorite classes.

Ready to take the leap?  We would love to help you schedule your first complimentary private session or class!  Have a question before you come in?  Simply email or call us and we would love to answer it!

 

What To Expect in your First Pilates Training Session

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Many people have never worked one on one with a movement or exercise  instructor and have some misconceived ideas about what a one on one Pilates session will be like.  Let me put to rest some of your fears!  If you’ve been watching the Biggest Loser we may have some work to do:) Or maybe you’ve heard horror stories of people doing personal training and being so sore they can’t even walk the next day or lift their arm to brush their teeth?

Today I’m going to walk you through your first Pilates private session at Rivercity Pilates (P.S.- this session is free so definitely take advantage of it!)

When you arrive at the studio we’ll give you a tour of our space.  We’ll show you where you can put your coat, shoes, and gear, point out the restrooms, show you our massage room and our two spacious studio rooms that we use for private sessions and small group classes.

P1020745If you haven’t already filled out our new client paperwork we’ll have you fill out our health intake and other preliminary forms.  The health intake form in particular is very important to us.  Your instructor will start your session by sitting with you and going over your health history and discussing how it effects your exercise program.  As instructors we want to help you create a Pilates practice that meets your goals and is safe for your body!

After we’ve learned a little bit more about you, your instructor will start by sharing a little more in depth about the history of Pilates and what and how we teach the Pilates Method at Rivercity Pilates.  We find that learning Pilates is a process and teaching the “why” behind the method is important when helping others create a Pilates practice in their life.

Whether you have been practicing Pilates for years or a brand new beginner we will start the movement portion of your session by teaching the Pilates fundamentals in your body.  The Pilates fundamentals are the building blocks of every exercise and movement we do in Pilates and it’s important to us that you understand them as they are used over and over again in your Pilates practice.  These fundamentals include the concepts of breathe, engaging your deep abdominal muscles, how to stabilize your hips and shoulders and more.  We’ll tailor the exercises we use to teach these ideas to your body and move at a level appropriate for you.

RCP-37After we teach you the fundamentals and have had some time to work with you and see how your body moves we’ll introduce you to some Pilates exercises that are appropriate for your body.  We often like to let you experience exercises that are considered Mat work (just using your own body for resistence) as well as letting you experience exercises on some of the traditional Pilates equipment such as the Univeral Reformer, the Cadillac or the Pilates Wunda Chair.

We’ll wrap up your session with some time to talk about what we did and give you an opportunity to ask questions.  Your instructor can help to explain the different ways you can learn and practice Pilates and give suggestions as to what might be best for your body.

Our goal during your first session is to start the teaching process and help you decide whether you want to pursue a Pilates practice.  Your session will be a combination of discussion and movement.  Will you be sore the next day?  You might be.  Often when you are learning a new movement and engaging new muscles you’ll feel it the next day- but in a good way!  You’ll know you did something different but no need to worry about being so sore that you can’t function!!

Ready to try a complimentary session?  Click here to find a time that works best in your schedule!  We look forward to meeting you!

Could an exercise studio really become one of your favorite places?

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As a Pilates teacher and movement nut I can tell you I love to talk about mindful movement and the benefits of Pilates in your life.  But I can tell you as a studio owner the reason so many clients tell me they love our studio has nothing to do with the quality of our teaching (and our teachers are fabulous!… I have some of the best trained, most amazing movement teachers around on staff.) The number one compliment I get from clients is about the amazing community that exists within our studio walls.  That’s right…the community, the tribe of people who consider Rivercity Pilates one of their home away from home places.

You see, very few people actually enjoy exercising (surprise right?).  But most of us know how important regular movement and exercise is to living a long, happy life and so we try to incorporate it into our life.  So even though I know our clients appreciate our highly trained, knowledgeable instructors, I truly think the the reason they keep coming back and the reason they are so successful at consistently adding movement into their life is because of their RCP tribe.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe gives them support, connects them to others, and makes them laugh every time they are here.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe makes exercising fun!! 

We all need a tribe or two in our life.  We need people outside of our immediate family and friends who share similar interests, are going through similar things and who are just fun to hang out with.  And what could be better than a tribe who is just like you…just trying to live your best life by balancing out healthy habits like exercise while  juggling families, juggling careers and just trying to enjoy life.  

Personally, our tribe, our community at Rivercity Pilates is probably the thing I’m most proud of when it comes to my business.  I absolutely love to come to work and get to check in with clients and see how their week is going, I love that I get a chance to really know clients which in turn helps me to better help them reach their health and fitness goals.  I love how friendly everyone is to each other and how supportive everyone is.  I love that clients chat and laugh with each other throughout class.  I love to see class participants catching up with each other before and after class.  

Are you looking for a tribe? Are you one of those people that knows they need to exercise and move more but sometimes just can’t motivate yourself to do it? We would love to introduce you to the Rivercity Pilates tribe!!  Get started by scheduling a one on one session with one of our amazing teachers or start with a complimentary group class.  We would love to meet you!!

Quit looking at your neighbor in Pilates class!!

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cheatingMost of us are naturally visual learners when it comes to movement.  In many ways this can be very helpful.  When our body is trying to figure out how to do a new skill or movement it needs all the input it can get to try to figure out what it is trying to accomplish and how to do it.  Visually seeing something is one of the many ways that your brain processes what it is trying to do.  The problem with visually watching something and trying to repeat it is that when we don’t do the movement exactly like what we  saw we get frustrated and sometimes overwhelmed!  We start to feel like we are failing or not getting something out of the movement because it does not look a certain way.

As Pilates teachers we know that the goal of an exercise is not to “look a certain way”.  The goal of an exercise involves gaining strength and flexibility in a balanced way as you do a skill like articulating through your spine or moving your leg in space while supported from your core muscles.  Accomplishing the goals of an exercise can look very different in different bodies.  This is why as teachers we often try to use our words to describe an exercise instead of just demonstrating an exercise.  We also try to give options in a multi level class on how you can do the movement best in your body.

At our studio we have a variety of clients, with a variety of different body shapes, sizes and different injuries or ailments.  You can often peek at a Pilates class and see many different bodies doing what looks like very different things even though they are all doing the same exercise. If you are new to the Pilates method of exercise and just starting to take classes this can be super confusing.  Because we are not accustom to taking verbal cues to learn new movements, the first thing new clients often do in class when learning something new is look at their neighbor and try to repeat what they are doing. But what happens when your neighbors in class are doing what looks like two completely different things?  Your brain and your body get overloaded with confusion!!!

So my best advice for new clients is to try to avoid just watching other clients to learn exercises.  Do your best to listen to the explanations of the movements and the goals of the exercise that your teacher is saying.  If this is hard for you…you are not alone!  Know that this way of learning often takes some practice- so don’t be too hard on yourself! Try not to worry what the movement looks like but instead focus on how it feels.  If you have specific questions about how you could get the most out of an exercise in your body definitely ask your teacher.  If you are not comfortable doing this in class or before or after class, maybe try a one on one session where your teacher can give you individual attention on each exercise.

Pilates is not only an exercise method, it’s a language!

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Book-15There are days when I’m teaching a new client, I say something and they just look at me as if I were speaking a different language.  And then I realize…I am speaking a different language.  As a Pilates instructor, the language and phrases I use to describe movement and to get people to do and feel what I want in their body, are not typical phrases you hear in day to day conversation.  If you are new to the Pilates language I thought I would create a list of some of the most common types of phrases I use  and explain them in normal English!

pilatescuesArticulate
Pilates is very spine focused and we often are trying to “articulate through our spine”.  What does this mean?  Instead of just landing on the mat in one big chunk, you are going to slowly roll down bending through your spine and between each vertabrae in your spine.

Belly to Spine
This cue is often used to remind a student to engage their transverse abdominus.  A common cue in Pilates is to imagine pulling your belly button toward your spine to find the engagement of our deepest layer of abdominal muscles.

Melt through your spine
This is another imagery cue.  When you are rolling down I often use this cue to encourage clients to slowly and with control articulate their back to the mat (instead of just quickly crashing down).

Tuck your tail
Maybe you didn’t know you had a tail?  I often talk about tucking your tail or sticking your tail out behind you in attempts to get clients to move their pelvis into either a posterior or anterior tilt.  Of course you have to pretend like you have a tail to make this one effective!

Big expansive inhale
 This one is pretty descriptive and is kind of what is sounds like. I’m usually asking you to slowly inhale so much that you can feel your rib cage expands in all directions.

Create length in your low back
I often make statements like create length in your back, or your leg, or even your neck.  The Pilates method focuses on learning to use your muscles to decompress your spine and even your limbs so that can move with more ease and efficiency. These cues are used to encourage you to think about what you are trying to create in your body and figure out what muscles you need to engage to do it.

Are there other terms that you have heard in Pilates that you think are part of the Pilates language?

 

 

 

Will Pilates help me gain flexibility?

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“True flexibility can be achieved only when all muscles are uniformly developed.” – Joseph Pilates

The Pilates Method focuses on balancing out your muscles around each joint in the body (we refer to it as uniform development). By creating balance we naturally become more flexible, stronger, and our bodies move with ease, just like when we were kids. It is truly a combination of stretching and strengthening various muscle groups that allows the body to create this balance.

Pilates instructors are trained to look at individual bodies and movements and fine tune each individual’s movements to create balance in each body. If you have ever wondered why there are so many variations and modifications to Pilates exercises – this is why! Every body is unique and its needs change from day to day.

As instructors it’s our job to help clients tune in to their bodies and learn how to adjust their movements in Pilates, fitness, and life.

Learn more about the Pilates Method of exercise by exploring our website!